A Micro-Physiological System to Mimic Human Microbiome-Organ Interactions. This project aims to mimic gut microbiome-organ interactions by developing a microbial-gut coculture chip, which can reversibly interface with other organs-on-chips. This is achieved through the systematic integration of highly customisable biofabrication and microfluidic technologies. This project fills a critical technological gap in the availability of an animal-alternative system to investigate microbiome-host interac ....A Micro-Physiological System to Mimic Human Microbiome-Organ Interactions. This project aims to mimic gut microbiome-organ interactions by developing a microbial-gut coculture chip, which can reversibly interface with other organs-on-chips. This is achieved through the systematic integration of highly customisable biofabrication and microfluidic technologies. This project fills a critical technological gap in the availability of an animal-alternative system to investigate microbiome-host interactions, which will greatly complement existing meta-omics approaches. The deliverables include a proof-of-concept system validated for gut-liver axis as well as the creation of new knowledge and framework to assimilate design thinking and advanced manufacturing to elevate tissue engineering into physiology engineering. Read moreRead less
Molecular definition of cellular states in the vascular endothelium. The endothelium is the main cell type forming blood vessels and spans across multiple cell states from stem/progenitor to a variety of terminally differentiated cells. How each of these cell states are defined at the molecular level is not known preventing the optimal formation and integration of blood vessels in bioengineered tissues. Using innovative single cell gene expression and chromatin accessibility studies combined wit ....Molecular definition of cellular states in the vascular endothelium. The endothelium is the main cell type forming blood vessels and spans across multiple cell states from stem/progenitor to a variety of terminally differentiated cells. How each of these cell states are defined at the molecular level is not known preventing the optimal formation and integration of blood vessels in bioengineered tissues. Using innovative single cell gene expression and chromatin accessibility studies combined with innovative analysis, we propose to define and validate each cell state at the molecular level.
This new knowledge would greatly enhance our ability to control the transition between cell states leading to a more widespread use of endothelial cells in bioengineering of tissues globally for many applications.
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The role of protein glycosylation in erythropoiesis . This project aims to understand how the sugar code of key-signalling proteins influences the development of red blood cells. This project expects to generate new fundamental knowledge in the area of stem cell signalling by innovative integration of biological and computational molecular characterisation techniques. The expected outcomes of this project include the development of novel workflows to study key regulators of cell development and ....The role of protein glycosylation in erythropoiesis . This project aims to understand how the sugar code of key-signalling proteins influences the development of red blood cells. This project expects to generate new fundamental knowledge in the area of stem cell signalling by innovative integration of biological and computational molecular characterisation techniques. The expected outcomes of this project include the development of novel workflows to study key regulators of cell development and the generation of new knowledge in stem cell signalling that will find applications in transforming stem cell therapies and associated research for future applications such as the laboratory manufacturing of red blood cells to close the availability gap for transfusion purposes.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC190100026
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,969,663.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Cell and Tissue Engineering Technologies. The ARC Training Centre for Cell and Tissue Engineering Technologies aims to provide training to create a highly skilled workforce for the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine sector and to enhance research performance and innovation in Australia through fundamental and applied research carried out in industry-led PhD projects. The research aims to address major aspects of the manufacturing and commercialisation pathway an ....ARC Training Centre for Cell and Tissue Engineering Technologies. The ARC Training Centre for Cell and Tissue Engineering Technologies aims to provide training to create a highly skilled workforce for the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine sector and to enhance research performance and innovation in Australia through fundamental and applied research carried out in industry-led PhD projects. The research aims to address major aspects of the manufacturing and commercialisation pathway and barriers faced by the sector, namely improving process efficiencies, enabling early-stage scale-up (cell/tissue) and development of the sector's supply chain. The knowledge created and research undertaken would help to accelerate commercialisation in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and cell therapies.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL160100139
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,965,538.00
Summary
Outside-In: Strain stiffening as a key to cell control. Outside-In: Strain stiffening as a key to cell control. This research project aims to unravel the highly complex mechanical behaviour of the extracellular matrix, and develop a whole new class of sophisticated and responsive extracellular matrix (ECM) materials. In any multicellular organism, the ECM provides cells with essential mechanical (such as strain stiffening) and biochemical support. The ECM is also critical for biological processe ....Outside-In: Strain stiffening as a key to cell control. Outside-In: Strain stiffening as a key to cell control. This research project aims to unravel the highly complex mechanical behaviour of the extracellular matrix, and develop a whole new class of sophisticated and responsive extracellular matrix (ECM) materials. In any multicellular organism, the ECM provides cells with essential mechanical (such as strain stiffening) and biochemical support. The ECM is also critical for biological processes inside the cell, including proliferation, differentiation and migration. Exactly how the physical and chemical properties of ECMs on the outside of the cell modify the behaviour of a cell on the inside remains unclear. Outcomes would include a blueprint for synthetic ECMs, pushing the boundaries of materials development in the biological and life sciences.Read moreRead less
Redefining tissue-specific endothelial cells through bioengineered matrices. This project aims to improve our understanding of the biological mechanisms that drive blood vessel formation and function. The endothelial cells that make up each blood vessel are inherently unique across different sites within the human body and this project expects to generate new knowledge regarding their organ specificity. Using advanced bioengineering approaches, this project will map human endothelial cell specif ....Redefining tissue-specific endothelial cells through bioengineered matrices. This project aims to improve our understanding of the biological mechanisms that drive blood vessel formation and function. The endothelial cells that make up each blood vessel are inherently unique across different sites within the human body and this project expects to generate new knowledge regarding their organ specificity. Using advanced bioengineering approaches, this project will map human endothelial cell specificity and develop state-of-the-art modelling technologies to improve knowledge of environmental influence on endothelial cell fate and function. This should provide a new framework to modulate the adaptive capacities of endothelial cells and can potentially enable more predictive and targeted drug efficacy and safety testing.Read moreRead less