CAREER: In Silico Tissue Engineering: An Active-Learning Computational Methodology to Guide the Design of Tissue Scaffolds

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program award is to construct a computational methodology that can predict, quantify and eventually control the growth mechanisms of engineered tissues based on scaffold design. The approach will enable detailed investigation into the cellular mechanisms responsible for tissue development, enable a real-time integration between model and experiments and finally open the door to the simulation-based design of tissue scaffolds. Research results will also be naturally integrated into a multi-level educational plan to promote the development of simulation-based materials design in Colorado. If successful, this research will enable the design of hydrogel scaffolds that can support the regeneration of damaged tissue from a patient?s own cells. In the long term, such personalized medicine strategies aim to replace tissue and eventually organ transplants. The project will particularly enable: (a) a fundamental insight onto the transport mechanisms and biomechanics driving the growth of engineered cartilage, (b) a novel methodology in which simulations ?actively learn? from experiments in order to optimize their predictive power and (c) a design strategy to control and optimize the scaffold structure in-silico and guide experimental efforts. From an educational viewpoint, this project will also have an impact by exposing K-12 and undergraduate students to simulation-based materials design via interactive teaching modules and the creation of a simulation-based materials design program option and course at CU-Boulder. This effort will be complemented by the organization of a workshop to promote simulation-based materials design and encourage interactions between experimental and modeling materials science research in Colorado.