2009 Research Infrastructure Improvement Grant

提案标题：2009年研究基础设施改进机构：南卡罗来纳州研究机构南卡罗来纳州2009年NSF EPSCoR RII提案将克莱夫林、克莱姆森、南加州大学、南加州州立大学和南加州大学联合起来，并提出了一项综合计划，以实施全州范围的愿景，使南卡罗来纳州在生物制造领域具有竞争优势？一种新兴的？转型？科技？在操作上被定义为计算机辅助的、逐层沉积与生物相关的材料，目的是设计具有功能的3D组织和器官。提出的设计3D维管树的研究计划分为五个方面：推力？区域。第一推力重点分析一个真正的(天然)分枝维管束树的结构-功能特性。推力II专注于将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中分离的干细胞进入平滑肌细胞谱系。推力III需要对工程设计的连续节段进行功能生物力学测试，并与自然形成的(真实的)分支维管树进行比较。推力IV是对分枝维管树的生物制造；也就是创造线性的3-D中空管状节段，代表可以转化为分枝的分支？Y？还是？T？血管单位。推力V专注于加速生物打印的分支血管管的组织成熟。智力上的功绩。组织工程学中的一个主要挑战是在从体外培养条件转移到体内宿主时保持大量细胞或组织结构的活性的能力。目前的大多数努力集中在快速制造固体支架，或2D和3D细胞生物标记上。较少强调应用发育生物学的原理和细胞和组织自组装的基本生物学过程。拟议的基础设施增强是设计分支、管状管状结构的关键组件，这些管状结构可以放大(工业化)，在未来组装成功能丰富的分支血管树，解决组织和器官替代工程成功的最大障碍。拟议的RII活动将导致：(1)创新的合作伙伴关系，以在一个新兴的高科技、高影响力行业培训新的劳动力；(2)关于工程、科学和计算界面上的进步和突破的宣传和公共教育；(3)在开发和改进生物打印、生物反应器和生物机械定量的原型设备方面的学术和产业界合作；(4)在一个真正全球化的新领域的先锋地位，不受地理、文化和历史边界的束缚，具有吸引未被充分代表的群体进入生物工程、计算和生物医学科学前沿的新领域的绝佳机会；以及(5)社会科学和其他专业学科有机会评估和综合最终植入生物富含的替代组织和器官所产生的伦理、法律、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，以便理解和公平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.