Andrés J. García, Ph.D., George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Thesis Committee Members

Michael A. Helmrath, M.D.  Division of Pediatric Surgery, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Hang Lu, Ph.D., School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Asma Nusrat, M.D., Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical Campus

Johnna S. Temenoff, Ph.D., Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Engineered Synthetic Hydrogel Platform For Human Intestinal Organoids In Vitro Culture And In Vivo Therapeutic Delivery

Human intestinal organoids (HIOs) represent an excellent in vitro model of the human intestine and a promising source for intestinal tissue repair therapies. Major limitations to the clinical translatability of the HIO technology are limited HIO in vitro differentiation reproducibility and the lack of clinically relevant in vivo delivery materials. This thesis project aims to address these challenges by engineering a 2D synthetic hydrogel to support the initial stages of the HIO in vitro differentiation process and engineering a clinically translatable synthetic hydrogel vehicle to support in vivo HIO cell engraftment to the injured intestinal tissue. The objectives of this thesis were accomplished in two aims. In Aim 1, I generated a 2D synthetic hydrogel substrate that can support human induced pluripotent stem cell attachment and support definitive endoderm differentiation. In Aim 2, I engineered a synthetic hydrogel to deliver human intestinal organoids to the injured intestine enabling their engraftment into the intestinal wall. The results of this thesis will provide a foundation for enhanced HIO therapeutic potential and clinically translatable materials to advance the use of HIO in the regenerative medicine field. 

Zoom link: https://gatech.zoom.us/j/99129280007?pwd=Y8Ry5GbusfacOw1xRcyMNfXXSrY8t1.1