Endothelial cells on patterned micro-stars of fibronectin alter their cytoskeleton in response to the engineered surface
(red = actin; blue = nucleus; green = fibronectin)

We develop materials-based, regenerative strategies to control the self-organization and self-assembly of various cell types into tissues. Our goal is to understand the emergence of higher-order function in biological systems, especially in neuromuscular and cardiovascular systems.

To do this we develop novel strategies to encode information in the 3-D environment of the cells. We engineer the biotic/abiotic interaction of cells and tissues with materials and determine how cells sense, respond and modulate their environment. This spans from the molecular (nano) to the tissue (macro) level as we try to elucidate how biochemical, electrical and mechanical signals are integrated and propagated across spatiotemporal scales.

Current reserch areas include:

• Engineered basement membranes for regeneration of the corneal endothelium

• 3-dimensional nano/micro structured tissue engineering scaffolds using protein-based materials
  
  
• Engineered skeletal muscle soft robotic devices and bioprosthetics
  
  
• Stem cell differentiation and engineered morphogenesis of cardiovascular tissues