Biophysical control of adult stem cell fate
Helms, Jill A. (Surgery)
Heilshorn, Sarah (Materials Science and Engineering)
Brunski, John (Surgery-Plastic and Reconstructive)

Virtually every orthopedic and maxillofacial treatment tries to control the mechanical environment of the injured tissue; this is because it is understood that cells within an injured tissue are “sensitive” to mechanical forces. Stem cells are also sensitive to mechanical forces- enough so that when grown on stiff substrates the stem cells opt to become bone-forming cells—at least when studied in cell culture dishes. We will test if controlling the stiffness of a stem cell scaffold leads to improved regeneration of bone after injury. In a more general context, discovering how stem cells sense their mechanical environment- and then using that information to engineer better tissue constructs- is an important step towards the future treatment of skeletal injuries.