Vishal Thomas, Ph.D.

Education

• Ph.D, Bioengineering, Clemson University (2024)
• M.S., Bioengineering, Clemson University (2022)
• Sc.M, Mechanics of Solids, Brown University (2016)
• B.Tech, Mechanical Engineering, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences (2013)

Research Interests

Dr. Thomas develops naturally derived biomaterials for orthopedic tissue repair. His doctoral work produced Hyala, a nucleus pulposus-derived cartilage analog scaffold designed to support articular cartilage repair following microfracture surgery. He is Principal Investigator on a Technology Maturation Grant ($33,680) from the Clemson University Research Foundation and the South Carolina Research Authority, currently funding preclinical in vivo studies to evaluate whether the scaffold can regenerate cartilage, alongside the design of an arthroscopic device to deploy it - work carried out with orthopedic surgeons at the Hawkins Foundation and Prisma Health.

His teaching centers on medical device design, prototyping and communicating technical work to non-technical audiences. Teams from his senior design courses have won the NIH DEBUT Women’s Health Prize and placed among the top four worldwide at the PDMA MAGSIC Global Innovation Challenge, and he coaches graduate students for the 3-Minute Thesis competition. Before returning to Clemson, he co-founded Orthopedix, an orthopedic device startup whose work on 3-D printed wrist and cartilage implants produced six granted U.S. patents.

Experience

• Lecturer – Bioengineering, Clemson University (2024–present)
• Lecturer – General Engineering, Clemson University (2024–present)
• Medical Device Design Mentor – Bioengineering, Clemson University (2021–2024)
• Graduate Teacher of Record – General Engineering, Clemson University (2020–2024)
• Co-Founder and Product Engineer – Orthopedix, Inc., Louisville, KY (2016–2018)
• Graduate Teaching Assistant – School of Engineering, Brown University (2015)

Professional Activities

• Subject Matter Expert, Science, Advice and Guidance for Emergencies (SAGE), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (2024–present)
• Member, Teaching Effectiveness Task Force, Clemson University (2025–present)
• Reviewer – Acta Biomaterialia; Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research; Springer; NIH DEBUT Challenge (VentureWell/NIBIB); BMES Annual Meeting; PDMA
• Member – Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES); Product Development and Management Association (PDMA); Order of the Engineer (current)
• Member, Society for Biomaterials (2019–2023)

Certificates

• Certified Peer Observer, Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation, Clemson University (2025)
• Certified Quality Science Professional (CQSP), Pathway for Patient Health (2022)

Honors and Awards

• First Place, NSF STRIDE ART Academy Pitch Competition, Clemson University (2025)
• Nationalist, The 3-Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) - The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) 2024
• Regional Champion, The 3-Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) – The Conference of Southern Graduate Schools (CSGS) (2024)
• Guest, Fox Carolina (2024)
• Recipient, The Michael A. Zebuhr Memorial Fellowship for Excellence in Graduate Research, Clemson Bioengineering (2024)
• First Place, 3MT – Clemson University (2023)
• First Place, 3MT – The Society for Biomaterials Annual Conference, California (2023)
• Recipient, Outstanding Graduate Teacher-of-Record Award, Graduate Student Government, Clemson University (2023)
• Recipient, Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, Clemson Bioengineering (2023)
• Recipient, Frank H. Stelling and C. Dayton Riddle Orthopedic Doctoral Research Scholarship Award, Clemson Bioengineering ($10,000) (2021)
• Recipient, Extraordinary Student Service Award, Graduate Student Government, Clemson University (2020)
• First Place, 3MT – Clemson University (2019)
• First Place, Lecture Series – Graduate Research and Development Symposium (GRADS) – Clemson University (2019)
• Recipient – The Christabel Jebaraj Award for Best Outgoing Student, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, India (2013)

Publications

• Thomas VJ, Buchweitz NF, Wu Y, Mercuri JJ. Evaluation of Cartilage-Like Matrix Formation in a Nucleus Pulposus-Derived Cartilage Analog Scaffold. J Biomed Mater Res. 2025;113(1):e35534
• Thomas VJ, Buchweitz NF, Baek JJ, Wu Y, Mercuri JJ. The development of a nucleus pulposus‐derived cartilage analog scaffold for chondral repair and regeneration. J Biomedical Materials Res. 2024;112(3):421-435.
• Thomas V, Mercuri J. In vitro and in vivo efficacy of naturally derived scaffolds for cartilage repair and regeneration. Acta Biomaterialia. 2023;171:1-18.
• V.J., Ramaswamy S. Application of graphene and graphene compounds for environmental remediation. Science of Advanced Materials. 2016;8(3):477-500.

Patents 

• Eltorai, A.E.M., Seetharam, A., Thomas, V.J., “Patient specific carpal implant,” United States Patent, No. US 10925746 B2. Appl. No. 16/045,680. Issued Feb 23, 2021.
• Eltorai, A.E.M., Seetharam, A., Thomas, V.J., “Implant for total wrist replacement,” United States Patent, No. US 11166822 B2. Appl. No. 16/045,737. Issued Oct 20, 2021.
• Eltorai, A.E.M., Seetharam, A., Thomas, V.J., “Prosthetic implant caps,” United States Patent, No. US 10918487 B2. Appl. No. 16/045,700. Issued Jan 27, 2021.
• Eltorai, A.E.M., Seetharam, A., Thomas, V.J., Gupta, A., “Intercarpal surgical implant,” United States Patent, No. US 10918488 B2. Appl. No. 15/602,501. Issued Jan 27, 2021.
• Seetharam, A., Eltorai, A.E.M., Thomas, V.J., “Contralateral image orthopedic implant,” United States Patent, No. US 11804305 B2. Appl. No. 15/412,458. Issued Oct 11, 2023.
• Eltorai, A.E.M., Seetharam, A., Thomas, V.J., “Implant for total wrist replacement,” United States Publication, No. US 20220062001 A1. Appl. No. 17/521,637. Issued Nov 12, 2024.

Recent Conference Proceedings and Presentations 

Presentations

• Thomas. V.J., Buchweitz. N., Wu. Y., Mercuri. J. “The Mechanical Characterization of a Novel Cartilage Repair Scaffold”, Rapid Fire Presentation, Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting, Baltimore, 2022
• Thomas. V.J., Marionneaux. A., Mercuri. J. “The Mechanical Modification of a Novel Scaffold to Treat Focal Cartilage Defects”, Rapid Fire Presentation, Society for Biomaterials Virtual Annual Meeting & Exposition 2021

Posters

• Rao A.K., Liu L, Nichols W, Thomas. V.J. Schmidt L, Gao BZ. “Application of 3D-Bioprinting for the Development and Characterization of Hydrogels for Chondrocyte Regeneration”, Poster, The Biomedical Engineering Society, Baltimore, 2024
• V.J., Mercuri. J. “A Potential Extracellular Matrix-Based Scaffold for Cartilage Regeneration”, Poster, SCbio Annual Conference, Greenville, 2024
• V.J., Mercuri. J. “A Potential Extracellular Matrix-Based Scaffold for Cartilage Regeneration”, Poster, Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting, San Diego, 2023
• V.J., Buchweitz. N., Wu. Y., Mercuri. J. “The Mechanical Characterization of a Novel Cartilage Repair Scaffold”, Poster, Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting, Baltimore, 2022
• K., Laye. D., Thomas. V.J., Mercuri. J.J. “Lowering the Proteoglycan to Collagen Ratio in an Implant to Mimic Natural Cartilage”, Clemson University SPRI Virtual Poster Forum, July 17, 2020
• L., Hodge. H., Thomas. V.J., Mercuri. J.J. “Enhancing the Mechanical Properties of a Cartilage Scaffold for Cartilage Repair”, Clemson University SPRI Virtual Poster Forum, July 16, 2021