DHLRI Research in Progress Seminar: Dr. Rosalyn Abbott

Assistant Professor, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract: 

“The use of in vitro tissue engineered models to study metabolic disease”.

There is a critical need for monitoring physiologically relevant, sustainable, human tissues in vitro to gain new insights into metabolic diseases. In Professor Abbott’s lab, human adipose microenvironments are being developed and tested for responsiveness to stimuli hypothesized to alter disease mechanisms (i.e. the transition of obese tissues to insulin resistant type II diabetic tissues), metabolic behavior, and therapeutic potential. The lab focuses on integrating biomaterials with tissue engineering techniques and perfusion bioreactors. Specifically, silk is used as a natural biomaterial to support long term culture of adipose micro-environments in vitro. The ultimate goal is to use these adipose tissue systems to inform preventative and therapeutic measures for patients affected by the metabolic syndrome.

 

Bio: 

Assistant Professor in the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering (courtesy) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). BS & MS in BME from  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. PhD in Bioengineering with James Iatridis and Helene Langevin from UVM/Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai with a focus on mechanical properties and their effects on biological tissues. Post-doctoral fellow in David Kaplan’s lab at Tufts University in the area of silk biomaterials and tissue engineering.