BME Graduate Students Accepted into Graduate Scholars Program at OSU

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Congratulations to Mark Calhoun and Shuting Zhao on their acceptance into the The Ohio State University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute MED into GRAD Scholars Program! Mark is advised by Dr. Jessica Winter, and Shuting is advised by Dr. Xiaoming (Shawn) He. We wish them the best of luck!

 

About the Program:

The OSU HHMI MED into Grad Scholars Program was established to augment the biomedical applications of traditional basic science research programs at The Ohio State University. Combining elements of OSU’s Independent Study Program (ISP) in the College of medicine, Graduate School, and Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), the MED into Grad Scholars Program will further the training of exceptional precandidacy graduate students whose dissertation research is relevant biomedical areas. This additional training will prepare MED into Grad scholars to facilitate the sharing of information between basic scientists and clinicians. It will also increase their understanding of the language, culture, and practice of medicine, and help them develop the skills needed to form future partnerships and collaborations with physician scientists.

Below is a description of Mark's research:

Glioblastoma is an aggressive and highly invasive brain tumor with a particularly dim prognosis. Even with the combination of surgical resection of the tumor, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, median patient survival is a dismal 14 months. A key characteristic of this tumor is its migratory behavior, which enables cancer cells to spread extensively throughout the brain. This migration, at least in part, makes it impracticable to improve patient prognosis, moreover eradicate the tumor. We are interested in how features of the tumor microenvironment influence migratory behaviors in glioblastoma cells. Specifically, we are interested in how glioblastoma migration is affected by altered flow patterns, as a result of a disrupted blood-brain barrier, and increased intracranial pressure, as a result of tumor growth. By developing an understanding of the signaling pathways that modulate migration, and working with clinicians through the HHMI Med into Grad Program, we hope to identify drug targets with the potential to translate to the clinic and improve a menacing patient prognosis.

Below is a description of Shuting's research

Development of pre-vascularized cardiac tissue utilizing micro-scale biomaterials to facilitate cardiac tissue regeneration

Myocardial infarction is the leading cause of death globally. This is due in part to the limited capacity of self-repair or self-regeneration of the human heart. In this study, we propose to regenerate pre-vascularized 3D human cardiac tissue by utilizing novel micro-scale biomaterials and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. First, iPS cells will be encapsulated in an aqueous liquid core enclosed in a hydrogel shell to maintain high stemness because the core-shell configuration mimics the native physical niche of the stem cells in vivo. After proliferating to the desired amount, the stem cells will be coaxed towards cardiac lineage and the microcapsules will be assembled in collagen gel embedded with endothelial cells, followed by interstitial perfusion in microfluidic devices. Our hypothesis is that microcapsules with a cell-laden core and hydrogel shell can facilitate blood vessel formation in vitro. With this novel approach, we will be able to investigate the effect of mechanical cues, surface properties, and interstitial flow on neovascularization. Ultimately, the pre-vascularized human cardiac tissue will be used to facilitate the emerging cell-based treatment of myocardial infarction.