FIBR: Understanding Multicellular Self-Assembly

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Gabor Forgacs, University of Missouri-ColumbiaIoan Kosztin, University of Missouri-ColumbiaRoger Markwald, Medical University of South Carolina, CharlestonVladimir Mironov, Medical University of South Carolina, CharlestonAdrian Neagu, University of Missouri-Columbia and Medical University of Temesoara, RomaniaStuart A. Newman, New York Medical College, Valhalla Glenn D. Prestwich, University of Utah, Salt Lake CitySelf-assembly is among the most fundamental mechanisms in the evolution of biological systems and the development of any particular organism. It drives processes across scales from the smallest to the largest: protein subunits assemble into fibers, embryonic cells assemble into organ primordia, organ primordia assemble into tissues and organs. Biological self-assembly is under genetic control, but genes do not create shape and do not move matter around: physical mechanisms do. This cross-disciplinary project is aimed at discovering principles of self-assembly at the multicellular level by dissecting the interplay between molecular and biophysical factors driving the organization of cells and tissues into organs, and employing the garnered knowledge to direct the formation of organ modules: functional three-dimensional living structures of specific shape. The discovered principles of multicellular organization will serve as the basis for the construction of functional modules by "bioprinting": the biologically compatible delivery of living cells or their aggregates as "bioink" particles into the "scaffold-biopaper." The products of the project will be generalizable principles of multicellular self-assembly and functional three-dimensional biological structures. The outlined program will integrate basic sciences with engineering, modeling with experiments and research with education. Students involved in this project will go through training that will prepare them for the multiple challenges facing researchers in the life sciences entering today's job market. In particular, they will become "multilingual": able to communicate and collaborate with experts in several scientific disciplines. The successful completion of this project will contribute to our knowledge of biological organization in general, and our ability to guide and thus employ these processes so as to develop functional biological structures for basic science purposes. The principles of self-assembly illuminated through this project will provide a foundation on which other research canbe conducted into possibilities for future organ building and replacement. Through interactive exhibits, it will also help the public understand the process of science and what scientists do, especially as part of an integrated multidisciplinary team trying to tackle a problem of broad interest.