Past Event: Oden Institute Seminar

Computational modeling of engineered cartilage growth and development

Bob Nims, Columbia University

Abstract

Cartilage tissue engineering is a promising technology for resurfacing the degenerate articular cartilage occurring in symptomatic osteoarthritis. While tissue engineering protocols can successfully grow small cartilage constructs (~0.1 cm^2) with properties matching those of native cartilage, osteoarthritis presents clinically when the cartilage lesions occupy a large portion of the joint surface (>5 cm^2, about 25% of the joint surface). Previous attempts to engineer cartilage constructs of this size have failed as cellular nutrient consumption hinders adequate nutrient supply to the cells within the tissue interior, limiting the biosynthetic activity within the tissue. These tissues suffer from severe matrix heterogeneities and fail to reach native cartilage mechanical properties. Strategies to improve critical nutrient availability, such as supplementing nutrient channels within the tissues, have had limited success in improving matrix deposition due to limitations in trial-and-error type experiments. Our lab employs mixture models to capture the salient biological growth phenomena present in the culture of engineered tissue development. We have developed computational growth models that can predict spatial matrix deposition and the development of mechanical properties in the presence of different culture conditions. These models are being used to improve our experimental culture of large cartilage tissues and optimize the spacing of nutrient channels. In this talk I will discuss our work to develop system-specific computational models for modeling the matrix development and growth of engineered cartilage and the application of these models to growing joint surface-sized cartilage constructs. Biosketch: Bob Nims is a Ph.D. candidate in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Columbia University. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University. He is a Presidential Fellow at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University. His research interests include the mechanics of growth and remodeling of biological tissues, tissue engineering, and growth factor induction and synthetic biology application to drive and direct engineered tissue development.