Guest Seminar - Engineering Biomaterials Cell Niche with Topographies for Regenerative Medicine Applications

Biological cell niche comprises of biochemical and biophysical signals. An ideal scaffold for tissue engineering application should mimic the microenvironment and present the appropriate biochemical and biophysical cues such as topographies to regulate cellular responses. Our research group is interested in studying the interfacial interactions of cells with the extracellular substrate and how to apply this knowledge to stem cell differentiation and tissue engineering applications.  In this presentation, nanotopography-regulation on adult stem cells and pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) will be presented as examples of applying nanotopography in stem cell regulation. Examples of nanotopography-modulation on cell behaviors for applications in small diameter vascular grafts and corneal tissue engineering will be also be discussed. 
In attempt to understand the sensing mechanisms for nanotopography, we investigated the roles of focal adhesion signaling and cytoskeletal contractility in topography-induced differentiation. The potential mechanisms for topography-induced cell behavior will be discussed in the last part of the presentation.