Overview
In the Almeida Lab, we build upon expertise in organic chemistry, materials science, engineering, and stem cell biology to develop a wide variety of advanced, functional biomaterials (e.g. nanoparticles, hydrogels, biofunctionalized surfaces, etc.) mimetic of the stem cell microenvironment (physical cues: e.g. matrix stiffness, cellular geometry, cell-cell contacts; chemical cues: e.g. growth factors, soluble proteins) in order to modulate human mesenchymal stem cell behavior.
Human mesenchymal stem cells have huge potential as therapies for a wide range of human disease and health conditions due to their multipotent differentiation and immunomodulatory capabilities. However, these therapies often fail in clinical trials due to a variety of limitations including, but not limited to, heterogeneous differentiation, 2D to 3D translation, and differences between in vitro and in vivo conditions.
We focus primarily on applications in musculoskeletal tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, wound healing, and immuno-engineering. We focus on fundamental basic science, such as elucidating the molecular and genetic mechanisms behind biomaterials-mediated stem cell behavior and investigating the interrelationship between stem cell culture conditions and biomaterial physicochemical properties in order to apply this knowledge to lead the development of novel, clinically-relevant biomaterial-stem cell therapies.