INSciDE Collaborators Kick Off Multi-University Research Initiative to Investigate the Role of the Microbial Ecosystem in Healthy, Injured and Disease States
The Army Research Office has sponsored a multi-university research initiative (MURI) between Tufts University, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of Pennsylvania to use bioengineered 3D human brain tissues and animal models to investigate the role of the microbial ecosystem in healthy, injured, and disease states. This multi-year project is led by Dr. David Kaplan as Principal Investigator and aims to explore the hypothesis that the pathology associated with injury and neurodegenerative disease is due to inflammation resulting from the persistence of undegraded microbiota-derived cells or fragments in affected human brains.
Latest Research from the INSciDE Team Published in Scientific Journals
Several papers on INSciDE research were recently published in Science Advances, bioRxiv, and Pediatric Surgery International. These papers include the latest advances imaging and analysis of neural systems using our 3D bioengineered brain-like tissue models as well as silk-based drug delivery approaches for neuroblastoma treatment. To read the papers, click on the links below:
- Synergistic label-free fluorescence imaging and miRNA studies reveal dynamic human neuron-glial metabolic interactions following injury
- Yang Zhang, Maria Savvidou, Volha Liaudanskaya, Pramesh Singh, Yuhang Fu, Amreen Nasreen, Marly Coe, Marilyn Kelly, Dustin Snapper, Chelsea Wagner, Jessica Gill, Aviva Symes, Abani Patra, David L. Kaplan, Afshin Beheshti, Irene Georgakoudi. Science Advances (2024).
- Multi-modal, Label-free, Optical Mapping of Cellular Metabolic Function and Oxidative Stress in 3D Engineered Brain Tissue Models
- Yang Zhang, Maria Savvidou, Volha Liaudanskaya, Varshini Ramanathan, Thi Bui, Lindley Matthew, Ash Sze, Ugochukwu Obinna Ugwu, Fu Yuhang, Dilsizian E. Matthew, Xinjie Chen, Sevara Nasritdinova, Aonkon Dey, Eric L. Miller, David L. Kaplan, Irene Georgakoudi. bioRxiv (2024).
- Concurrent application of interferon-gamma and vincristine inhibits tumor growth in an orthotopic neuroblastoma mouse model
- Jasmine Zeki, Burcin Yavuz, Lauren Wood, Hiroyuki Shimada, David L. Kaplan, and Bill Chiu. Pediatric Surgery International (2023).
- To see a full list of INSciDE publications, click here.