Engineering biomaterials for cellular maturation

In vitro models to investigate striated muscle function are of increasing biological and medical significance. However, current cell culture systems and microtissue models lack reproducibly and maturity owing to various factors. Some of their limitations is the lack of 3D spatial context of the microtissue including: paracrine signalling from cellular neighbours; substrate organisation that mimics those observed in tissues; appropriate matrix stiffness. This PhD proposal will harness such information to generate bespoke engineered biomaterials to improve both tissue maturity and reproducibility by better recapitulating conditions observed in vivo.