Tissue engineering design of novel bio-therapeutics for cancer treatment

With medical research advancing it has become clearer that an interdisciplinary approach to developing effective therapeutics for a variety of diseases are needed. I therefore wish to pursue a research project utilizing tissue engineering to develop novel anti-cancer therapeutics. Previously, tissue engineering has been used to model tumor micro-environment as well as cell invasiveness and response to chemotherapeutics through the design of scaffolds. Furthermore, implantable scaffolds have successfully been used as cancer immunotherapeutics. However, there are still multiple problems associated with this which need to be resolved, such as issue associated with cell delivery and arrangement of appropriate cell phenotypes in scaffolds. The aim of this research project is to develop a tissue scaffold which provides a more amenable environment for cell transplants utilized to regenerate tissue following cancer radiation therapy. Manipulation of the cellular niche by a scaffold could perform a multitude of functions such as promoting endogenous regeneration, aiding in transdifferentiation/cellular plasticity, or supporting cell grafts in salivary glands. Moreover, given the similarities between glandular and/or epithelial organs, the scaffold designed will be translational to other environments and organs damaged by therapeutic radiation. For example, if the scaffold affects the vascular endothelium within the salivary glands, this may also be applicable to any other tissue containing vascular endothelium damaged by radiation therapy. Ultimately, this project will... use a novel scaffold technology to build a supportive niche to facilitate the delivery of cells to the site of tissue damage, thus promoting regeneration and restoration of tissue function.