| Affiliations: | Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Texas A&M Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing |
| Project Leader: | Andrew Haskell andrew.haskell@tamu.edu Molecular and Cellular Medicine |
| Faculty Mentor: | Dr. Carl Gregory, Ph.D. |
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Meeting Times:
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TBD |
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Team Size:
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3 (Team Full) |
| Open Spots: | 0 |
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Special Opportunities:
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Tissue culture, histology, hydrogel fabrication, animal studies, clinical manufacturing, poster presentations, publication authorship |
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Team Needs:
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Team members will initially be required to attend classroom training for work in a BSL-2 laboratory and complete various annual online training units. Class schedules must be compatible with laboratory work, usually around 9 hours/week. Prior laboratory experience is not required but a genuine interest in the project and reliable attendance are a must. Team members will be trained to fabricate microcarriers using a microfluidic device as well as stem cell culture using traditional monolayer methods and microcarrier/bioreactor methods. Other assays include common fixation and staining protocols, PCR, western blots, and imaging using various microscopy techniques. Animal studies will eventually be performed but participation will be optional. Exceptional team members may be encouraged to present posters at local conferences at their convenience and included in publications.
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Description:
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The goal of this project is to make stem cell therapies an affordable treatment option by developing a method to culture mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that can be scaled for manufacturing. MSCs are grown on custom-made spherical microcarriers in three-dimensional bioreactors as opposed to traditional monolayer techniques. If successful, our system will allow for mass production of stem cells while simultaneously minimizing cost and variability, resulting in a product that will be more readily approved as a clinical therapeutic for musculoskeletal disorders, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and other conditions.
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