The Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology-Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (CREST-PRF) track within the CREST program supports beginning CREST Center investigators with significant potential and provides them with training and research experiences that will broaden perspectives, facilitate interdisciplinary interactions and establish them in positions of leadership within the scientific community. This CREST-PRF project is aligned with the research focus of the CREST Center for Complex Materials Design for Multidimensional Additive Processing (CoManD) at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). The goal of this research is to use 3D printed matrixes to study cells in an environment that mimics a natural environment. Using techniques at FAMU and Harvard University, the research will allow a study of cells in a controlled environment. Research techniques and results will be used to create course modules in engineering courses at FAMU. The work will allow the researcher to build a foundation for an independent research career. The larger community will be impacted through demonstrations at middle and high schools to engage students in the community.
Tissue regeneration/repair can often involve the interaction of multiple cell types with different characteristic extracellular matrices (ECM). Such is the case for tendon repair where the tendon-to-bone interface is composed of a transition from aligned fibers in the ligaments to randomly oriented in the bone. Extrusion printing hydrogel scaffolds allows the implementation of pore size, modulus, and even compositional gradients all in one scaffold to create complex cellular environments seen in the body. Consequently, the goal of this work is to use the versatility of extrusion printing to probe tissue regeneration at complex multicellular interfaces. Using a 3D bio printer with a novel microfluidic modified print head and mounted UV lamp, hydrogel scaffolds will be printed for tissue regeneration. This work will focus on the tendon-to-bone multicellular transition demonstrating tunable structural, mechanical, and biochemical properties in a printed scaffold. Extrusion printing and cell studies will present new insights into cell behavior in a complex matrix. By studying this system in a 3D matrix we will be able to probe cell proliferation, migration, and viability in an environment with a closer resemblance to the native extracellular matrix. In addition, through the combination of confocal Raman spectroscopy and the microfluidic technique, this work will investigate and subsequently tune matrix stiffness, anisotropy, and permeability in order to effectively study growth and migration of cells with controlled physical and biochemical cues. The proposed work will serve as a model system for a variety of tissues/organs that require the spatial regulation of cells, nutrients, or growth factors for effective regeneration.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
