CAREER: ENGINEERED BIOMATERIAL GRADIENTS FOR CONTROL OF NEURAL CELLS

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).0846328ShreiberIntellectual Merit: The proposed microfluidics system uniquely allows examination of a combinations of factors in a physiologically relevant 3D environment, and holds great promise for elucidating guidance principles that underlay neurodevelopment and for identifying and implementing regenerative therapies, particularly in conjunction with the quantitative modeling of growth cone and filopodial (thin cytoplasmic protusions from the cell) dynamics.Broader Impact: Thousands of patients suffer from central nervous system (CNS) trauma and degenerative disorders and may ultimately benefit from this research. Two hundred economically disadvantaged students are recruited into the Future Scholars program each year - or 1,000 students over the course of this proposal, and Rutgers' home communities are largely dominated demographically by under-represented groups. The proposed initiatives provide unique opportunities to these students that will excite them about education and training in biomedical and tissue engineering and helps shape future leaders of our scientific and engineering communities.