User-Programmable Hydrogel Biomaterials to Probe and Direct 4D Stem Cell Fate

Cole DeForest - University of Washington

Abstract: The extracellular matrix directs stem cell function through a complex choreography of
biomacromolecular interactions in a tissue-dependent manner. Far from static, this hierarchical
milieu of biochemical and biophysical cues presented within the native cellular niche is both
spatially complex and ever changing. As these pericellular reconfigurations are vital for tissue
morphogenesis, disease regulation, and healing, in vitro culture platforms that recapitulate such
dynamic environmental phenomena would be invaluable for fundamental studies in stem cell
biology, as well as in the eventual engineering of functional human tissue. In this talk, I will discuss
some of our group’s recent successes in reversibly modifying both the chemical and physical
aspects of synthetic cell culture platforms with user-defined spatiotemporal control, regulating
cell-biomaterial interactions through user-programmable Boolean logic, and engineering
microvascular networks that span nearly all size scales of native human vasculature (including
capillaries). Results will highlight our ability to modulate intricate cellular behavior including stem
cell differentiation, protein secretion, and cell-cell interactions in 4D.
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