Biomechanical Characterization of Substrate-Free Constructs

The research objective of this award is to use biomedical engineering tools to assess the properties and responses of biological cells to mechanical forces. In particular, the characterization of cells that are cultured in suspension, without a specific attachment surface, will be performed to assess how cells self-regulate under these conditions. Studies conducted under this award involve refining techniques for culturing and applying mechanical stimuli to cell aggregates that are maintained in suspension. Both material properties (e.g., how solid-like or fluid-like the cells are; how stiff the cells are) and molecular responses (e.g., changes in active responses by the cell) will be examined. Such characteristics will be compared and contrasted to the behavior of the cells when plated on more conventional substrates to determine the differences in these two types of culture.

If successful, these studies will contribute to the knowledge of how cells sense and respond to physical forces, and additionally provide insight into how normally adherent cells behave when they are not influenced by a substrate or scaffold. These results may additionally be useful in engineering tissue constructs with different properties compared to those constructed using specially-designed surfaces. The educational plan focuses on multiple paths, including encouraging undergraduates to become more involved in research projects, as well as public school outreach, where K-12 students will be introduced to scientific research and equipment and encouraged to performed exploratory experiments. Both outreaches will be guided by the topic of the research area of this award. These initiatives will help foster the understanding of and hopefully, the appreciation for, contemporary biomedical engineering topics and methods