Event

BIOE Seminar: Dr. Alisa Morss Clyne

Friday, March 6, 2020
9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
A. James Clark Hall, Zupnik Forum (1101)
Emily Rosenthal
301 405 3936
erosent1@umd.edu

Dr. Alisa Morss Clyne

Associate Professor of Bioengineering

University of Maryland

Biofabrication of 3D vascularized in vitro models

Conventional 2D in vitro cell culture fails to represent the tissue specific architecture,
thereby providing limited physiological relevance. Animal models recapitulate tissue
architecture and whole organism physiology but are difficult to control and may not
accurately represent human disease. 3D human tissue models therefore provide a critical
intermediary between conventional 2D in vitro culture and human disease. These 3D in
vitro models additionally need a complex biomimetic vasculature to maintain tissue
viability and recreate critical interactions between the vascular cells and parenchymal
tissue. In the Vascular Kinetics Laboratory at the University of Maryland, we engineer
vascularized 3D human tissue models to discover metabolic interactions between the
vasculature and parenchymal tissue in cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s
disease. In parallel, we create computational models to predict complex interactions
among biomechanics, biotransport, and reaction kinetics in the in vitro systems and then relate these predictions to human data. These studies clarify the role of the vasculature invaried diseases, reduce dependence on animal models, and enhance translation into clinical medicine.