Graduate NIH Training in Biotechnology
Trainees
Heidi Hofer
Project Description
My proposed graduate research combines different aspects of biotechnology in an attempt to develop a tissue-engineered scaffold capable of facilitating bone regeneration through non-viral DNA-delivery. Recent studies have shown the potential for polymeric scaffolds to release, but not actively deliver, DNA to osteogenic cells with the final goal of inducing bone regeneration. In our laboratory, we have identified a library of easily-synthesized polymers that both facilitate DNA delivery and induce cells to mineralize the surface. These polymers can be combined with polylactic acid (PLA), an FDA approved biodegradable biomaterial, to capture the best properties of each material. Additionally, similar polymers in the library have been identified as being soluble in super-critical carbon dioxide. This property leads to the possibility of fabricating our new scaffolds without the use of potentially harmful organic solvents.
I believe that the combination of the 1) bioactivity and delivery properties of our new polymeric materials, 2) incorporation of DNA encoding for relevant growth factors, and 3) solvent-free manufacturing process, will provide us with an extremely attractive technology to promote bone regeneration from native cells. I first propose in vitro research using several lineages of osteogenic cells and mesenchymal stem cells that are readily available from our collaborators in the School of Dental Medicine. Using these resources, I will determine if our polymer blends are, in fact, triggering cell differentiation or merely affecting the extra-cellular environment of the cells. I will also explore the possibility of enhancing cellular differentiation by the DNA-delivery capacity of our polymer scaffolds. Delivery efficiency will be optimized by adjusting the ratios of polymers in the blend. If necessary we are also able to incorporate growth factors directly into the polymer matrix. Finally, I will examine the performance of the polymer blend as a tissue engineering / gene delivery scaffold in vivo, using a rabbit model.
Courses
Introduction to Statistics
Molecular Cell Biology and Biophysics
Fundamentals of Tissue Engineering
Advisor
Steven R. Little
Assistant Professor and Bicentennial Alumni Faculty Fellow
Departments of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Immunology
The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
University of Pittsburgh
