Abstract:  The development of advanced engineering strategies to create realistic model systems that facilitate the exploration of the profound complexity of biological tissues is essential for enhancing our understanding of human health and disease. Recent advances in stem cell research have led to the development of human adult stem cell or pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids that follow the developmental trajectories of living human organs in vitro and create multicellular tissue constructs that recapitulate the key structural and functional aspects of human organs with greater biological and cellular complexity. In parallel, organ-on-a-chip technology allows us to engineer human organ-like tissue constructs by enabling precise control over their culture conditions and microenvironment. Inspired by the potential of combining these two approaches, our lab is interested in creating microfabricated devices and developing stem cell-based tissue engineering approaches to investigate the biochemical and biomechanical cues that are responsible for guiding organoid growth and maturation. I will discuss how we synergistically combine organoids and organ-on-a-chip technology, so called organoids-on-a-chip, to create in vitro replicas of living human organs with unprecedented levels of maturity and complexity. I will also describe how our approach can contribute to the biomedicine community using some of the model systems we have developed.   

Biography: Estelle Park is an Assistant Professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University. Her research focuses on using engineered tissues and organoid models to understand how biomechanical and biochemical cues direct stem cell differentiation, maturation, and function during development and disease progression, with a particular emphasis on the intestine and liver. Her research is best known for growing stem cell-derived organoids in physiologically relevant microenvironments through microengineered organ-chip devices to study tissue morphogenesis and identify biomarkers in diseases. When she’s not thinking about her research, Estelle enjoys walking her dog and trying out new restaurants.

~ BME Host: Young Kim ~

Zoom link:  https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/5593290378?pwd=eFBOZFlNTU50ZDA2S2gwcnpyOWIwUT09

Note: Students registered for the seminar are expected to attend in-person.