Workshop: Functional Imaging for Regenerative Medicine, May 31 - June 1, 2012, Gaithersburg, MD

该奖项由美国国家科学基金会化学、生物工程、环境和运输部门的生物光子学项目和生物化学、生物化学和生物质工程项目共同支持，将资助一个关于“再生医学功能成像（FIRM）”的研讨会，该研讨会将确定机会领域，并促进新的合作和前沿成像方法在组织工程和再生医学（TERM）中的应用。会议成果有望帮助塑造组织工程和再生医学研究的未来。会议主题将包括：(1)体外细胞功能：高分辨率单细胞成像；(2)体内细胞功能：体内细胞成像；(3)组织移植：宏观成像；(4)整个器官再生：全身成像。知识价值-研讨会的主要目标是培养在TERM中应用的尖端成像。为了实现这一目标，研讨会将汇集来自TERM和成像社区的领导者，以交流思想和实践方法。研讨会旨在通过确定组织工程师从分子到宏观尺度的当前需求，加速先进成像方法和工具的开发和采用，并考虑满足这些需求的方法，重点是适用于体外和体内TERM工作的功能性、非侵入性方法。参与者包括学术界、工业界和政府的成员，他们对TERM、成像，特别是成像方法在TERM中的应用感兴趣。更广泛的影响-组织科学与工程使用物理，化学，生物和工程过程来控制和指导细胞的聚集行为。组织工程和再生医学疗法在产生非免疫原性器官替代或特别促进组织愈合和再生方面具有巨大的前景。已经有证据表明，基于干细胞和生物工程的策略可以在体内用于再生心脏、神经、胰岛、膀胱和肺组织，自体皮肤替代品正在开发中。此外，干细胞和生物工程技术也被用于产生体外三维模型系统，模拟人体组织和器官，足以用于毒性筛选和药物开发。虽然这些疗法和模型系统显示出非凡的前景，但它们的商业化和广泛使用在很大程度上仍然存在重大障碍，因为在时间和空间上对这些过程在体外和体内进行精确的实时监测和操纵存在困难。一个特别的挑战是能够评估细胞的效力，以及培养细胞的哪些特征可以预测它们在体内的命运。新的多模态成像方法对于了解体外-体内的转变将是重要的。

1242233/ Vunjak-NovakovicThis award supported by the Biotechnology, Biochemical and Biomass Engineering Program along with the Biophotonics Program in the Chemical, Bioengineering Environmental and Transport Division of NSF will fund a workshop on 'Functional imaging for regenerative medicine (FIRM)' that will identify areas of opportunity, and stimulate new collaborations and applications of cutting edge imaging methods in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM). The meeting outcomes are expected to help shape the future of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research. Session Topics will include: (1) Cellular Function in vitro: High Resolution Single Cell Imaging, (2) Cellular Function in vivo: In Vivo Cell Imaging, (3) Tissue Grafts: Macroscopic Imaging, and (4) Regenerating Whole Organs: Whole Body Imaging.Intellectual Merit - The main objective of the workshop is to foster cutting-edge imaging for application in TERM. Toward this goal, the workshop will bring together the leaders from the TERM and imaging communities for cross-fertilization of ideas and practical approaches. The workshop aims to accelerate development and adoption of advanced imaging methodologies and tools by identifying current needs of tissue engineers, from the molecular to the macroscopic scales, and consider approaches to meet those needs, with a focus on functional, noninvasive methods appropriate for in vitro and in vivo TERM work. The participants include members of academia, industry, and government with interests in TERM, imaging, and especially the application of imaging methods in TERM.Broader Impacts - Tissue Science and Engineering uses physical, chemical, biological, and engineering processes to control and direct the aggregate behavior of cells. Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine therapies have tremendous promise for generating non-immunogenic organ replacements or specifically promote healing and regeneration of tissues. Already there have been demonstrations that stem cell- and bioengineering-based strategies can be used in-vivo to regenerate heart, nerve, pancreatic islets, bladder and lung tissues, with autologous skin replacements under development. Additionally, stem cell and bioengineering technologies are also being employed toward generating in vitro three dimensional model systems that mimic human tissues and organs closely enough to be used for toxicity screening and drug development. While these therapies and model systems show exceptional promise, there remain significant barriers to their commercialization and widespread use to a large extent because of the difficulties in precise real-time monitoring and manipulation of these processes in vitro and in vivo in time and space. A particular challenge is to be able to evaluate cell potency and what characteristics of cells in culture are predictors of their fate in vivo. Novel multimodal imaging methods will be important for understanding the in vitro - in vivo transition.