Project Description
In this project, you will learn to decellularize materials, combine tissues with hydrogel polymers, and create biomaterials that can be used for tissue engineering, tissue culture, or 3D printing. You will learn to process tissues to remove the cell contents and leave behind the extracellular matrix (ECM). You will then learn to process the ECM from a variety of tissues (bone, cartilage, muscle, etc.) and combine the tissue with a natural hyaluronic acid based hydrogel. You will characterize the tissue-hydrogel combination by learning and utilizing techniques such as microscopy and mechanical testing, along with the associated data analysis and presentation tools utilized in the lab. With a fellow student, you will work to optimize the materials to be used for cell culture and 3D bioprinting. The majority of your time will be spent processing tissues from dissection through decellularization and analyzing the different aspects of the biomaterial to optimize each material for specific use.听 听We are looking for a student who is passionate about learning new techniques, is a team-player, is dedicated, and is potentially interested in continuing the work beyond the summer.
Special Requirements
All training will be performed in the lab for your specific tasks, so no specific pre-requisites are required.听
Contact
- Corey Neu (faculty)
- Jeanne Barthold (graduate student)