NIH awards grant to study Ultrasound Technologies for Tissue Engineering

Diane Dalecki, Ph.D. and Denise Hocking, Ph.D., serve as multi-PIs on a grant from the NIH NIBIB titled Ultrasound Technologies for Tissue Engineering. The overall goal is to develop ultrasound-based enabling technologies for the fabrication and monitoring of functional, 3D artificial tissues. Through the project, they will develop the use of ultrasound to regulate the structure and organization of the extracellular matrix in order to stimulate cell processes that are critical for engineering functional tissue constructs. Current studies are testing the ability of ultrasound to produce conformational changes in fibronectin, an extracellular matrix protein that plays key roles in regulating cell growth and migration. Working with co-investigators Stephen McAleavey, Ph.D. and Sheryl Gracewski, Ph.D., the team is also developing and applying new ultrasound imaging and tissue characterization techniques to noninvasively monitor the material and biological properties of engineered tissues, and to validate the measurements through mechanical testing and finite element modeling.