View Kyle's Lab Group at University of Virginia

Neurodegenerative diseases and injuries to the central nervous system such as stroke and spinal cord injury take a considerable toll on the worldwide population. While neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation shows great promise for therapies in this regard, current transplant strategies are limited and insufficient. By encapsulating adult NSCs in our novel protein-based biomaterials we hope to develop strategies for: expanding these cells in vitro, specifically controlling cell differentiation, providing cells with protection during the implantation process, and localizing cell delivery upon transplantation. These materials have been engineered with neural tissue-appropriate mechanical properties and specific functions including cell-mediated degradation, adhesive site presentation, injectibility, and enhanced drug delivery. With these tools, we hope to learn more about how materials impact NSC fate (differentiation and self-renewal), viability, and functionality as well as develop CNS injury models to assess protein hydrogel utility in vivo.