Dr. Rhima Coleman received her Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester. She then received a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Bioengineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, where her research focus was tissue engineering of cartilage to prevent growth discrepancies in children. Dr. Coleman then moved to Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City to study methods to prevent mineralization of cartilage for her postdoctoral work. Finally, Dr. Coleman joined the faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan in 2012 to form the Cartilage Healing and Regeneration Laboratory, where she investigates microenvironmental factors influencing stem cell-based cartilage formation and uses synthetic biology techniques enhance the stability of stem cell-derived cartilage cells.