IRES Track I: US-Canada Collaborative Research on Biomaterials for stem cell culture and neural differentiation

该奖项支持德克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校(UTEP)加拿大维多利亚大学(UVic)的美国本科生在代表生物工程和神经科学领域进行跨学科研究的国际研究经验。该项目主要面向UTEP的西班牙裔工程学学生，这是一所以西班牙裔为主的4年制公立院校。UVIC学生对UTEP的互访将得到加拿大资金的支持。UTEP将为学生提供专业发展和前沿研究的教育机会。具体地说，该项目将干细胞生物学与先进的三维生物材料技术相结合，从干细胞制造组织。通过产生患者特有的“人造”组织，研究人员可以控制干细胞的生长和分化速度。这项研究对疾病建模和未来的药物开发具有重要意义。这个跨学科团队通力合作，旨在通过利用先进的材料和工艺，确定将人类诱导多能干细胞(IPSCs)定向分化为神经表型的独特方法。具体地说，UTEP团队在人类诱导多能干细胞(IPSC)培养和3D生物打印方面拥有专业知识，UVic在以纤维蛋白为基础的支架上培养人IPSC神经元分化方面拥有专业知识。研究的重点是应用基于微流控的三维生物打印技术将人IPSCs与生物材料支架共打印，以生成高保真的所需结构的生物复合材料。使用先进的生物材料和支架生物打印IPSCs有望开发出3D组织，理想的情况是包括被包裹的细胞并促进其增殖和靶向分化。该项目能够解决该领域的关键问题：1)先进的材料及其独特的设计如何促进干细胞培养并促进其分化？2)3D生物打印作为一种先进的制造技术如何应用于模拟复杂的环境来调节干细胞的生长和分化？3)与对照组相比，培养在微纹理支架上的细胞分化后的后代是否表现出更强的功能和表型？因此，科学目标是更好地了解生长因子、微环境和从生物材料支架释放的线索在调控成人IPSC分化为神经表型中的作用。众所周知，分散注意力的生物材料支架结合了图案化的结构和特定的生长因子隔间，可以更复杂地指导干细胞的发育。实现这一目标能够解决有关神经元生长和分化的基本神经生物学问题，这对于设计神经系统疾病或创伤性脑损伤的治疗方案至关重要。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award supports international research experiences for U.S. undergraduate students from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) at the University of Victoria (UVic) in Canada in interdisciplinary research representing the fields of bioengineering and neuroscience. The project engages primarily Hispanic engineering students at UTEP, a majority Hispanic 4-year, public institution. Reciprocal visits to UTEP by UVic students will be supported with Canadian funds. UTEP students will be afforded professional development and educational opportunities in cutting-edge research. Specifically, the project engages the synergism of stem cell biology with advanced 3-dimensional biomaterial technology to manufacture tissue from stem cells. Generating patient-specific "artificial" tissue allows the researchers to control the rate of growth and differentiation of stem cells. This research is significant in paving the way for modeling disease and for future drug development. Working together, the interdisciplinary team aims to identify unique approaches of targeting differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells [iPSCs] into neural phenotypes by utilizing advanced materials and processing. Specifically, the UTEP team has expertise in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) culture and 3D bioprinting, and UVic has expertise in culturing neuronal differentiation of human iPSC on fibrin-based scaffolds. The research focus is the application of microfluidic-based 3D bioprinting for coprinting of human iPSCs together with biomaterial scaffolds to generate bio-composites of the desired architecture with high fidelity. Bioprinting iPSCs with advanced biomaterials and scaffolds bears the promise to develop 3D tissues, ideally including encapsulated cells and facilitating their proliferation, and targeted differentiation. The project enables addressing critical questions in the field: 1) How can advanced materials and their unique designs facilitate stem cell culture and promote their differentiation? 2) How can 3D bioprinting be applied as an advanced manufacturing technique to mimic the complex environment for regulating growth and differentiation of stem cells? 3) Does the differentiated progeny of cells cultured atop micro-textured scaffolds exhibit enhanced functionality and phenotype, compared with controls? Thus, the scientific goal is to better understand the role of growth factors and micro-environmental niche and cues released from biomaterial scaffolds in the regulation of adult human iPSC differentiation into neural phenotypes. It is widely known that distractive biomaterial scaffolds that incorporate patterned structures and specific compartments of growth factors can more intricately guide stem cell development. Achieving this goal enables the ability to address fundamental neurobiological questions about neuronal growth, differentiation, which is essential for designing treatments for nervous system disorders or traumatic brain injury.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.