CAREER: Engineering Biomimetic Interfaces with Dual Chemical-Mechanical Gradients to Study Cell Migration

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This Career award by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is to study cell migration, specifically to understand how different and potentially conflicting signals that are processed by the cell in terms of direction and extent of its motion. Since in vivo systems are inherently complex, this research program will aim to develop a class of engineered interfaces that will be used as biomimetic substrates to study cell migration. The overall goals of this project are to design polymeric interfaces that exhibit dual and opposing chemical and mechanical gradients, and to monitor cellular locomotion and responsiveness on these substrates. The specific scientific goals of the project are: a) to utilize a unique and versatile method to introduce multiple biomimetic interfaces on a single substrate; b) to conduct cell migration studies; c) to measure the elasticity of live cells; and d) to study how cells remodel the substrate. Together, these studies are expected to reveal insights into the simultaneous effects of chemical and mechanical stimuli on cellular response. The educational component of this CAREER award seamlessly weaves concepts in biomaterials research into education and outreach. The PI will introduce a week-long laboratory module for ethnically diverse female students that focuses on cell-biomaterial interactions. Through this activity, these students would gain valuable insights into formulating a scientific problem, understanding how to design and conduct new experiments and analyzing data from these studies.The movement of cells (cell migration) is an extremely important biological phenomenon because of its critical role in developmental biology, tissue regeneration, cancer metastasis, and wound healing. Multiple stimuli can modulate and direct cell migration. This Faculty Early CAREER project will focus on developing an understanding how different and potentially conflicting signals are processed by a cell in order for it to make a decision in the directionality and extent of motion. The education component of this project seamlessly weaves concepts in biomaterials research into education and outreach. The PI will introduce a week-long laboratory module for ethnically diverse female students that focuses on cell-biomaterial interactions. Through this module, these students are expected to gain valuable hands-on experience on different aspects of laboratory research such as formulating a scientific problem, designing an experiment, conducting experiments, and analyzing data from these experiments.