Development of multifunctional devices to mimic complex tissue interface
The motivation behind developing the biomimetic cellular platform is that many physiological processes are complex and dynamic involving spatiotemporal regulation of physical, chemical, and electrical signals. Our goal is to use engineering approaches, biomaterials, and cell technologies to design a versatile device that can manipulate these cues. In doing so, the multifunctional devices can 1) mimic the natural physiologic processes to study tissue and organ development; 2) understand the synergistic effects as well as creating biases in signaling to drive cell behaviors; 3) maximize the therapeutic potential of cellular response to design better regenerative strategies; and 4) screen potential drug candidates and personalize medicine for treatments.
The platform aims to generate insights and treatment strategies in the following areas: 1) peripheral nerve injuries that result in sustained nerve damage due to motor vehicle accidents, combat trauma, as well as neoplastic, vascular, and compression disorders; 2) muscle atrophy associated with aging and loss of nerve innervation; 3) islet health for type 1 diabetes; 4) bone tissue engineering; and 5) personalized cancer treatment with patients’ own tumor cells.
Organs-on-chips
Translating scientific discoveries from animal models for curing human diseases can be very challenging, especially in the areas of neurodegenerative diseases. Animal models often don’t fully recapture human conditions due to differences in physiology, anatomy, injury mechanism, and regenerative potential. Additionally, animal research can be costly and time-consuming. Our goal is to create neurovascular units consisted of multiple cell types with microfluidic techniques to recapitulate the native physiological microenvironment in the brain. The organ-on-chip system will help us understand the biological development, multi-cellular interaction, and disease modeling and provide important insights for screening of neurological drugs and treatments.
Cancer Engineering
