CAREER: In Silico Tissue Engineering: An Active-Learning Computational Methodology to Guide the Design of Tissue Scaffolds

这个学院早期职业发展（Career）项目的目标是建立一种计算方法，可以预测、量化并最终控制基于支架设计的工程组织的生长机制。该方法将能够详细研究负责组织发育的细胞机制，实现模型和实验之间的实时集成，并最终为基于模拟的组织支架设计打开大门。研究成果也将自然而然地融入到一个多层次的教育计划中，以促进科罗拉多州基于模拟的材料设计的发展。如果成功，这项研究将使水凝胶支架的设计能够支持患者受损组织的再生。S自己的细胞。从长远来看，这种个性化医疗策略的目标是取代组织，最终实现器官移植。该项目将特别能够：(a)对驱动工程软骨生长的运输机制和生物力学的基本见解；(b)一种新的模拟方法。积极学习?从实验中优化其预测能力和(c)设计策略来控制和优化硅支架结构并指导实验工作。从教育的角度来看，该项目还将通过互动教学模块向K-12和本科生展示基于模拟的材料设计，并在科罗拉多大学博尔德分校创建基于模拟的材料设计项目选择和课程。这一努力将通过组织一个研讨会来补充，以促进基于模拟的材料设计，并鼓励科罗拉多州实验和建模材料科学研究之间的互动。

The objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program award is to construct a computational methodology that can predict, quantify and eventually control the growth mechanisms of engineered tissues based on scaffold design. The approach will enable detailed investigation into the cellular mechanisms responsible for tissue development, enable a real-time integration between model and experiments and finally open the door to the simulation-based design of tissue scaffolds. Research results will also be naturally integrated into a multi-level educational plan to promote the development of simulation-based materials design in Colorado.If successful, this research will enable the design of hydrogel scaffolds that can support the regeneration of damaged tissue from a patient?s own cells. In the long term, such personalized medicine strategies aim to replace tissue and eventually organ transplants. The project will particularly enable: (a) a fundamental insight onto the transport mechanisms and biomechanics driving the growth of engineered cartilage, (b) a novel methodology in which simulations ?actively learn? from experiments in order to optimize their predictive power and (c) a design strategy to control and optimize the scaffold structure in-silico and guide experimental efforts. From an educational viewpoint, this project will also have an impact by exposing K-12 and undergraduate students to simulation-based materials design via interactive teaching modules and the creation of a simulation-based materials design program option and course at CU-Boulder. This effort will be complemented by the organization of a workshop to promote simulation-based materials design and encourage interactions between experimental and modeling materials science research in Colorado.