Overview

The research group of biomaterials and stem cell-based therapeutics was created in January 2008 at CNC. The research group aims at generating fundamental and translational knowledge in the intersection of biomaterials with stem cells. The research group has two main avenues of research:

Disease modeling and drug screening program: in vitro cell/tissue models from human stem cells. Stem cells, in particular induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), may be an excellent source of cells for disease modeling and drug discovery programs related to cardiovascular diseases. The potential of iPSCs to generate disease models led to the creation of several biobanks in USA (Coriell Institute for Medical Research, NIH Center for Regenerative Medicine, ATCC and University owned biobanks), Europe (Cellartis; and an European initiative of Stem cell biobank) and Japan (RIKEN bioresource center) for storage and distribution of iPSC lines originated from patients and healthy controls.

In the last 6 years my research group has developed several tissue models from stem cells that may be an important platform for drug discovery programs related to cardiovascular diseases. A particular interest of the group is to develop biomaterials and bioengineering platforms for the efficient maturation/specification of stem cells and their progenies.

The research group uses many tools to accomplish this goal, including the design of new biomaterials with relevant biological information, molecular and cell biology, microfluidic systems, high content analysis, and animal experimentation. Nanomedicine platforms to modulate the activity of stem cells and their progenies. The development of a wide spectrum of nanotechnologies (referred as Nanomedicine by National Institutes of Health for applications in the biomedical area) during the last years are very promising for the study of stem cell biology and to control exogenous and endogenous stem cells for regenerative medicine.

Our group is particularly interested to use these tools to induce in vivo stem cell differentiation and to mobilize stem cells from their niches to treat cardiovascular diseases. For this purpose, we are developing nanomaterials that release efficiently biomolecules (small molecules, proteins or non-coding RNAs) to manipulate stem cells or their progenies.