Maher Saadeh
BME PhD Defense Presentation

Date: 2026-02-16
Time: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM EST
Location / Meeting Link: HSRB I W106 (Rollins Auditorium 160) / https://emory.zoom.us/j/95991547535?from=addon

Committee Members:
Holly Bauser-Heaton, MD, PhD (Advisor); Vahid Serpooshan, PhD; Lakshmi Prasad Dasi, PhD; Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD; Hee Cheol Cho, PhD


Title: Fabrication and Validation of a Bioprinted Vascular Model for In Vitro Investigation of Vessel Wall Mechanotransduction

Abstract:
Vascular cells respond to the interplay between biological signaling and mechanical forces within the vessel wall. Vascular disease initiation may be driven by acquired or genetic factors that alter this interplay, but how mechanical cues are integrated to regulate pathological cellular responses remains incompletely understood. Existing experimental models cannot independently and simultaneously control multiple mechanical cues within a physiologically relevant vascular architecture, limiting mechanistic insight into vascular disease pathogenesis. The overall objective of this thesis is to develop a mechanically informed framework for studying vascular mechanotransduction using reproducible bioprinted vascular models. Aim 1 is to design and optimize a hydrogel-based vascular bioink that balances printability, mechanical relevance, and biological compatibility. To establish quantitative design criteria, a systematic review and meta-analysis of contemporary vascular bioprinting literature is performed to identify key formulation strategies, validation metrics, and trade-offs that inform bioink development. Aim 2 is to investigate distinct classes of vascular bioinks and to fabricate and validate a bioprinted vascular construct platform suitable for mechanotransduction studies. Representative bioink classes are evaluated with resulting constructs assessed for print fidelity, mechanical properties, and biological validation. Steady and pulsatile flow conditions are developed and validated to assess the platform’s ability to isolate cyclic stretch. Aim 3 leverages the validated bioprinted vascular model developed in Aim 2 to investigate vascular mechanotransduction under cyclic stretch. By directly comparing smooth muscle cell responses in 2D and 3D culture systems, this aim examines how dimensionality and local micromechanical environment shape mechanosensitive signaling. Williams syndrome serves as a motivating case study to explore how altered mechanical cues influence disease-relevant signaling pathways. This work establishes a mechanically informed, reproducible bioprinted vascular modeling platform and provides a framework for investigating the coupled biological and mechanical drivers of vascular disease in vitro.