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The Doctor Is In

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Microsurgeon Shao-Yun Hsu is working with Georgia Tech researchers to develop biomaterials that could transform lymphedema treatment—potentially replacing lymph node transplants with engineered solutions.
ID
Jul 22, 2025 | By Joshua Stewart - College of Engineering
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Photo of Coulter BME Professor Brandon Dixon and microsurgeon and Ph.D. student Shao Yun Hsu standing together in Dixon's lab.
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Brandon Dixon, left, and Shao-Yun Hsu are working to improve lymph node transplant surgery, a delicate procedure Hsu spent years training to perform as a microsurgeon in Taiwan. (Photo: Candler Hobbs)
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Microsurgeon Dr. Shao-Yun Hsu, formerly practicing in Taiwan, has joined Dr. Brandon Dixon’s lab at Georgia Tech to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, aiming to revolutionize treatment for lymphedema—a chronic and debilitating condition affecting over 150 million people worldwide.

Motivated by her patients and a lack of effective long-term solutions, Hsu is collaborating with Dixon and Dr. Andrés García on a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded project to improve the success rate of lymph node transplants. Their approach combines surgical expertise with engineered biomaterials, including a hydrogel and lipid nanoparticles, to enhance lymphatic regeneration. The ultimate goal: to make lymph node transplants more effective—or even obsolete—by replacing them with synthetic alternatives. Hsu’s journey from the operating room to the research lab exemplifies the power of clinician-engineer collaboration in solving complex medical challenges.

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