2009 Research Infrastructure Improvement Grant

提案标题： 2009年研究基础设施建设机构： 南卡罗来纳州研究机构南卡罗来纳州2009年NSF EPSCoR RII提案联合了Claflin、Clemson、MUSC、SC州立大学和南加州大学，并提出了一项综合计划，以实现全州范围的愿景，使南卡罗来纳州在生物制造领域具有竞争优势。新兴？转化？技术？操作上定义为计算机辅助的、逐层沉积生物学相关材料，目的是工程化功能性3D组织和器官。设计3D血管树的拟议研究计划分为五个部分？推力？地区推力我专注于一个真实的（天然）分支血管树的结构功能特性的分析。Thrust II专注于成体干细胞定向分化为血管细胞类型的单体单位，特别是诱导从脂肪组织分离的干细胞进入平滑肌细胞谱系。Thrust III要求对工程化的连续节段进行功能生物力学测试，并与天然存在的（真实的）分支血管树进行比较。推力四是分支血管树的生物模型，也就是说，创造线性三维，中空管状段代表分支，可以转化为分支？Y？还是？T？血管单位Thrust V专注于加速生物打印的分支脉管的组织成熟。智力优势。组织工程中的主要挑战是在从体外培养条件转移到体内宿主时维持大量细胞或组织构建体的活力的能力。目前大多数努力集中在快速制造固体支架，或2D和3D细胞生物图案化。较少强调应用发育生物学原理和细胞和组织自组装的基本生物过程。拟议的基础设施增强是工程化分支管腔化小管的重要组成部分，这些小管可以按比例放大（工业化），以在未来组装功能性分支血管树，解决可能是组织和器官替代成功工程化的最大障碍。拟议的RII活动将导致：（1）在新兴的高科技，高影响力行业中培训新劳动力的创新伙伴关系;（2）关于工程，科学和计算界面的进步和突破的传播和公共教育;（3）在开发和改进生物打印，生物反应器和生物力学定量原型设备方面的学术-工业合作;（4）在一个真正全球性的、不受地理、文化和历史界限限制的新科技领域中处于先锋地位，有最好的机会吸引代表性不足的群体进入生物工程、计算和生物医学科学等尖端新领域;&以及（5）社会科学和其他专业学科评估和整合道德、法律的最终植入生物制造的替代组织和器官的社会和经济影响。这些考虑突出了高度科学素养、消息灵通的记者团和公众的重要性，以便理解和公正地代表复杂问题的多个方面。

Proposal Title: 2009 Research Infrastructure ImprovementInstitution: South Carolina Research Authority The South Carolina 2009 NSF EPSCoR RII proposal unites Claflin, Clemson, MUSC, SC State University, and USC and presents an integrated plan to implement a statewide vision that will give South Carolina a competitive edge in the field of biofabrication ?an emerging ?transforming? technology ? operationally defined as computer-aided, layer-by-layer deposition of biologically relevant material with the purpose of engineering functional 3D tissues and organs. The proposed Research Plan to engineer a 3D vascular tree is divided into five ?thrust? areas. Thrust I focuses on analysis of structural-functional properties of an authentic (natural) branched vascular tree. Thrust II focuses on directed differentiation of adult stem cells into monomer units of vascular cell types, specifically to induce stem cells isolated from fat tissue to enter a smooth muscle cell lineage. Thrust III requires functional biomechanical testing of engineered, sequential segments and comparison to naturally occurring (authentic) branched vascular trees. Thrust IV is biofabrication of a branched vascular tree; that is to create linear 3-D, hollow tubular segments representing branches that can be transformed into branched ?Y? or ?T? vascular units. Thrust V focuses on accelerated tissue maturation of bioprinted, branched vascular tubes. Intellectual Merit. A major challenge in tissue engineering is the ability to maintain viability of large masses of cells or tissue constructs upon transfer from in vitro culture conditions to in vivo hosts. Most current efforts focus on rapid fabrication of solid scaffolds, or on 2D and 3D cell biopatterning. Less emphasis has been placed on applying the principles of developmental biology and the fundamental biological process of cell and tissue self-assembly. The proposed infrastructure enhancements are essential components for engineering branched, lumenized tubules that can be scaled up (industrialized) to assemble in the future a functional, branched vascular tree, addressing perhaps the greatest obstacle to successful engineering of tissue and organ replacements.Broader Impacts. Proposed RII activities will lead to: (1) innovative partnerships for training a new workforce in an emerging high tech, high impact industry; (2) dissemination and public education regarding advances and breakthroughs at the interface of engineering, science, and computation; (3) academic-industrial collaborations in developing and improving prototype devices for bioprinting, bioreactors, and biomechanical quantitation; (4) a vanguard position in a new S&T field that is truly global, unfettered by geographical, cultural and historic boundaries, with prime opportunities to attract underrepresented groups into a new field at the cusp of bioengineering, computation and biomedical science; and (5) opportunities for social sciences and other professional disciplines to evaluate and integrate ethical, legal, social and economic implications of ultimately implanting biofabricated replacement tissues and organs. These considerations highlight the importance of a highly science-literate, well informed press corps and public in order to understand and fairly represent multiple sides of complex issues.