The objective of this proposal is to support a 3-day international workshop on stem cells in Shanghai, China during March 13th to 15th of 2013, entitled: Stem cell differentiation: The influence of biomaterials and biomechanics. The successful differentiation and maturation of stem cells is critical to many fields of basic and applied research, including stem cell biology, cell-based therapeutics and tissue engineering.
There have been a variety of methods developed to modulate stem cell fate, including biochemical stimulation, biomechanical perturbation, and biomaterial modulation. These studies have revealed that the structure, development, and function of mammalian stem cells are significantly influenced by a wide variety of both extracellular and intracellular factors. In fact, the list of potential modulating factors is so broad that the research teams working in individual areas only rarely interact during scientific conferences. Therefore, this international workshop is proposed with the goal of integrating research groups working on theory, experimentation, and clinical translation of stem cell differentiation. This type of workshop will serve to present novel, current research and seed new ideas and collaborations to investigate the following:
(i) How stem cell division is governed by the dynamic properties of individual molecules during mitosis, motility, and cell polarization. (ii) How these processes can be further enhanced by biomaterial design and biomechanical perturbation. (iii) How the current research in stem cell differentiation could be translated into clinical applications. (iv) Contrast cultural and governmental attitudes toward stem cell research and the impact on government funding
Broader Impact:
The conference will bring together a group of about 75 international researchers and graduate students from the US, Europe and South East Asia to China that have an interest, exposure and/or training in interdisciplinary research but who are not necessarily experts in multiples areas or techniques of stem cells. The conference grant will support 15 investigators, including junior faculty members, and provide travel awards to support approximately 10 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from the US to participate the workshop. The workshop will be organized into morning and afternoon sessions with invited speakers who are experts in cell biology, biophysics, biochemistry, microscopy, genetics and theoretical modeling. The goal is to have more than 30% of women invited speakers and participants. Applicants who are minorities and/or persons with disabilities will be selected for these travel awards. This conference will fulfill an important goal of encouraging international student education by facilitating interactions of graduate students from diverse areas with each other and serve as a platform to highlight undergraduate research collaborations resulting from REU/RET programs. The organizers plan to publish a report summarizing the novel ideas and collaborations that developed during the meeting.
Stem cell research has made tremendous progress in the last few years, with research spanning across traditional disciplines and international boundaries. Biomechanics and Biomaterials, two interrelated areas, have emerged as being central to elements in this research. In order to highlight some of the accomplishments in these areas, and to foster further international collaborations, Lehigh University, SUNY at Stony Brook and the East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), a sister university with Lehigh, co-hosted an NSF sponsored conference titles; "International Workshop on Stem cell Differentiation: The Influence of Biomaterials and Biomechanics". The conference took place in Shanghai, China, from June 3rd to 6th of 2013 and was Co-organized by Lehigh professors, H. Daniel Ou-Yang (Physics), Dimitrios Vavylonis (Physics) and Sabrina Jedlicka (Bioengineering), Stony Brook professors Miriam Rafailovich(Materials Science and Engineering) and Marcia Simon (Department of Oral Biology and Pathology) and the ECUST Dean of Materials Science and Engineering, Changsheng Liu. The workshop was attended by 13 faculty, 2 post doctoral associates, 3 graduate students and one undergraduate student, from the United States, 40 participants from China, and 15 from other countries in Europe and Asia. The conference was sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation { NSF-CBET-1258916 } and raised matching funds from industrial and educational sponsors in China { National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, Tayee Medical Technology Co., Ltd.}. The conference featured speakers with interdisciplinary expertise ranging from biology, physics, and chemistry , to psychology, bioethics, and political science and covered a broad range of topics which included; The theoretical simulation and experimental methods toward the control of stem cell division and differentiation The role of biochemistry and biomechanics in control of stem cell differentiation The features and applications of biological surface materials and nanomaterials in the control of stem cell division differentiation Simulation and control of induced stem cells early differentiation and post-mature cell environment Progress and prospect of regulation of stem cell differentiation in clinical medicine Comparison and discussion of attention and support for stem cell by scientific research departments of different countries Of particular interest was a special session highlighting ethical issues surrounding stem cell research and a discussion on the influence of cultural differences which impact policy decision on support of stem research in the governments of the United States and China. This session was organized by Lehigh Professor Dena Davis (Religion Studies) and Dr. Brooke Ellison (Political Psychology, Stony Brook). Dr. Ellison was injured in an accident when she was twelve, and became a quadriplegic. Despite these circumstances, she graduated Cum Laude from Harvard University, and together with Christopher Reeve, became a renowned advocate of stem cell research. She received her PhD in Bioethics from Stony Brook University, where she continues to lecture and research the broader ethical implications of stem research. Federal funding policy regarding stem cell research and programs available in the United States was presented by Dr. Kaiming Ye of NSF-Biomedical engineering and Dr. Rosemarie Hunziker of NIH-NIBIB via an internet-linked video conference session.
