Bone grafting is among the most frequently performed surgical interventions globally. Yet despite their prevalence, these surgeries carry real risks, infection, nerve damage, hemorrhage, and the body’s outright rejection of foreign materials.  At Georgetown University , Styliani Alimperti, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology at Georgetown’s School of Medicine, is engineering 3D printed grafts built from substances the body already recognizes. “The process of making the body regenerate its own tissue is very challenging because of aging, injury and other factors,” Alimperti said. “Engineering tissue parts or whole organs that are closer to the native ones with the proper structures and cells will help the regeneration and restoration of the tissue.” In Alimperti’s lab, her team is working on creating a bone graft. Photo via Georgetown University.…