Stem cells · Development · Engineered environments
Artificial cell environments
Cells respond to their surroundings. We study how the right signals, surfaces, and three-dimensional spaces help them grow and become different tissue types.
Why it matters
A seed needs more than its genetic instructions to grow: its surroundings matter. Cells also respond to neighboring cells, soluble signals, and the material beneath them. Human pluripotent stem cells can give rise to many cell types, but that potential alone does not tell us how to produce a reliable tissue model. We engineer artificial cellular microenvironments to investigate which conditions make the difference.
How we study it
- Change the surroundings systematicallyUse microfluidic devices and culture materials to compare combinations of surfaces, cell density, and chemical signals. This helps separate the effects of factors that usually change together.
- Follow cell identity and functionLook at individual cells, measure proteins, and analyze which genes are active. A change in appearance is not enough: we need evidence of the cell type and what it can do.
- Ask how cells organize togetherStudy three-dimensional cell assemblies to understand parts of early development. These models reveal selected processes; they are not equivalent to complete embryos or mature organs.
Published examples
High-Purity Production of Endothelial Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Adjusting the timing of developmental signals produced a high-purity population of blood-vessel-lining cells without a subsequent sorting step. The cells showed vascular functions, while some features remained less mature than adult-cell references.
Primed human pluripotent stem cell-derived blastocyst-like cell aggregates with partial lineage specification
A hydrogel environment supported blastocyst-like cell assemblies from primed stem cells. Single-cell analysis showed only partial specification of the expected cell lineages—an important distinction from a complete embryo.
Microfluidic-Nanofiber Hybrid Array for Screening of Cellular Microenvironments
A combined channel-and-nanofiber platform compared environmental conditions and individual stem-cell responses. This provides a foundation for studying how physical and chemical surroundings interact.