Comparing Pericyte and Fibroblast Growth in Engineered Vascular Models

Mentors

Christopher Chen**

Professor (BME, MSE)

Project Description

This project focuses on identifying the proliferation differences between pericytes and fibroblasts in co-culture with endothelial cells. The primary objective is to evaluate how different culturing methods, such as encapsulating stromal cells in bulk collagen gels versus layering them with endothelial cells on top of the gels, influence cell proliferation rates and migration. By investigating these variations, the project aims to provide insight into cellular behavior within a vascular context, which will contribute to optimizing our vascular models for future applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Research Goals

Learning Goals

Timeline

Week 1-2: Will involve an introduction to the lab, including safety training and onboarding. During this period, the student will shadow lab members to gain an overview of tissue culture techniques and collagen gel formation protocols. They will gain hands-on training with primary cell culture including plating, expanding, growing, and maintaining endothelial cell, fibroblast, and pericyte cultures.
Week 3-4: Will focus on the testing of different co-culture conditions. The student will experiment with different ways of co-culturing endothelial and stromal cells in or on a collagen gel. The student analyze cell proliferation and migration within these conditions and will prioritize configurations that show differences between pericyte and fibroblast behavior.
Week 5-6: Will focus on using patient isolated stromal cells in the chosen collagen gel set up and comparing the behavior to commercial cell lines of pericytes and fibroblasts.
Week 7-10: Will focus on continuing to optimize culture methods, conducting final analyses, and compiling findings. The student will prepare a presentation that synthesizes their research results, allowing them to discuss their contributions to understanding vascular cellular interactions and future directions for improving vascular model systems.