Nina Tandon

Nina Marie Tandon is an American biomedical engineer. She is the CEO and co-founder of EpiBone. She is an adjunct professor of Electrical Engineering at Cooper Union and is a senior fellow at the Lab for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering at Columbia. She was a 2011 TED Fellow and a 2012 senior TED Fellow. From 2003 to 2004, Tandon attended University of Rome Tor Vergata, having received a Fulbright scholarship. She then studied at Columbia University, graduating in 2009 with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, with a concentration in Cardiac Tissue Engineering. She said that she wanted to bridge the gap between the possibilities of her research, and actually making them happen, and this is made possible with a business degree. EpiBone's other co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), Sarindr Bhumiratana had met Tandon during their doctoral studies, and by leveraging each other's educational backgrounds, EpiBone is on a mission to perform and use groundbreaking research to transform skeletal repair.

Currently, millions of bone graft surgeries are performed in the United States, albeit this procedure is in its primitive stages. The existing solution means doctors must perform a surgery that harvests a piece of bone from the patient and then another surgery that sets the graft in its new home. Not only is this procedure excruciating for the patient, but the risks of infection and graft rejection are a harsh reality.

The solution that EpiBone is currently working on would enable a human bone to be customized and grown in a laboratory from a patient's cells. In an interview with Bloomberg, Nina proposes the EpiBone solution for a unique reason: the EpiBone graft would not only fit the patient perfectly, but because it uses real cells, it can continue to remodel and grow with the patient. Nina proposes "a different view of the body, to view as a renewable resource of stem cells that can regenerate new parts as you need them." The technology at the heart of EpiBone is their proprietary "bioreactor," technology which simulates the intricate conditions and functions of the human body to allow the bone to grow in a way that will increase the chances of cell survival, differentiation, and maturation. The team then recreates the bone needed; this is what they call the 'scaffold,' the last step in the process is the infusion of human bone cells into the scaffold. Within three weeks, the bone graft is ready to be implanted into the patient. Nina's invention is crucial because it proposes not only a less risky solution but one that will transform the field of regenerative medicine, which has largely been focused on tissue regeneration.

EpiBone received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2023 to begin testing its lab-grown bones in humans. This is a significant step forward, as EpiBone will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of its innovation and get real-life feedback from medical professionals and from the patient. This is EpiBone's second product to advance into clinical trials. Its first clinical trial is ending, where they used the patient's stem cells to grow bone grafts.

Interests Aside from her scientific research, Tandon has many other hobbies and interests such as metalworking, running marathons, and yoga. Her career was also inspired by her mother, who encouraged science from a very young age.

Tandon is also a TED Senior fellow, speaking there several times. She has long advocated for using biology as a tool to innovate, not just for scientists but for all. In one of her TED talks, she emphasizes that biology must be a consideration for all professions, whether you are passionate about art, sustainability, architecture, or clothing. Biology can be a technology partner for all and must be "taken off its miraculous pedestal and ask how it might be possible to utilize it in our work."

She has taught courses as an adjunct professor of electrical engineering at Cooper Union. Previously, she worked as an associate postdoctoral researcher for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering Laboratory at Columbia University, where she attended school as well. Tandon was a recipient of Marie Claire'''s Women on Top Awards in 2013. She was also named a Wired innovation fellow and a 2015 Global Thinker by Foreign Policy''. L'Oréal Paris named her as one of its Women of Worth in the science and innovation category and Crains New York named her as part of its 40 Under 40 Class of 2015.