George McColgan
Atherosclerosis often leads to stenosis of coronary or peripheral arteries. Treatment of stenosis includes surgical bypass with autologous vessel (usually vein) or a synthetic conduit such as Teflon. However, failure rates of these solutions remain high due to limited tissue engraftment/remodeling capacity and immune rejection. Tissue engineering approaches to this problem offer great promise via the use of autologous stem cells and biomechanically matched biomaterials.
My research involves the use of hydrogel biomaterials that can be tuned to match the stiffness of the arterial wall in conjunction with biochemical factors to improve the differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells into vascular cell types (i.e., endothelial, smooth muscle, and fibroblast). These vascular-differentiated stem cells can be encapsulated within 3D tubular hydrogel conduits reinforced with a 3D-printed, biocompatible mesh network, in turn generating tissue-engineered vascular conduits with micro- and macroscale mechanical properties that reflect those of native arterial tissue. My research also explores how the exposure of fabricated tissue engineered vascular conduits to simulated versions of the fluid shear and cyclic stretch hemodynamic forces observed within the cardiovascular system drive cellular differentiation and phenotypic maturation. The tissue engineered vascular conduits fabricated in this research may be used in bypass surgery in the future.
Supervisors
A/Prof Yu Suk Choi, A/Prof Elena De-Juan-Pardo, Adj/Prof Rodney Dilley, Clin/Prof Shirley Jansen
Contact
Keywords: Vascular tissue engineering | Adipose stem cell differentiation | Mechanobiology | Hydrogels | Melt Electrowriting