*** Faculty Candidate ***

Sebastian Vega, Ph.D.*
Postdoctoral Researcher
Department of Bioengineering
University of Pennsylvania

“Single Cell Imaging-Based Approaches to Classify Stem Cell Behavior”

ABSTRACT

An improved understanding of how stem cells interpret signals from engineered environments is integral to developing better cell therapies. The organization of numerous intracellular components is tightly regulated by the same outside-in signaling events that control cell behavior. In this talk, I describe an imaging-based framework to classify single cell responses to engineered environments. I will first show how we used the spatial organization of nuclear speckle domains to classify stem cell responses to stimulatory soluble factors, surface patterns, and microscale topographies. I will then discuss our work on developing protease-degradable hydrogels to investigate how dimensionality affects mechanotransduction. Lastly, I will present our recent efforts on designing combinatorial hydrogels in tandem with single cell analysis to create hydrogel environments that promote stem cell differentiation into cartilage-producing chondrocytes. The work presented here has the potential to identify signals for developing stem cell environments with broad applications in regenerative medicine.

Host: 

Ed Botchwey