Christina Sheng 

BME PhD Proposal Presentation 

Date:2024-01-18 

Time: 8:00 AM 

Location / Meeting Link: https://emory.zoom.us/j/91026616160 

Committee Members: 

Sung Jin Park, PhD (advisor) 

Haifeng Chen, PhD (co-advisor) 

Guy Benian, MD 

Shuichi Takayama, PhD 

Andres García, PhD 

Hee Cheol Cho, PhD 

Title: Development of muscle microphysiological systems for myokine therapeutic studies 

Abstract: Though exercise is known to reduce the risks of various diseases, the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. In the last few decades, researchers have identified protein factors secreted by contracting skeletal muscle, termed myokines, that exert biological functions in the whole-body. Of all known myokines, however, only a small fraction has been studied and the majority of current in vitro myokine studies are conducted on hard plastic dishes, which limits the physiological relevance of the studies. Here, we propose to better understand the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of exercise and myokine using soft substrate-based muscle models. Frist, we will characterize the effect of substrate stiffness on skeletal muscle growth. Second, we will develop soft substrate-based exercise models and compare them with an in vivo mice exercise model. Finally, as a case study, we will investigate the protective effect of myokine on engineered muscles challenged with dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid commonly used as potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs but often leads to side effects, such as muscle atrophy. In vitro exercise models that better mimic in vivo exercise will serve as an important platform for future novel myokine-based drug discovery.