Principal Investigator Jeffrey Karp
Project Website http://www.karplab.net/research/stem-cell-eng.html
We are working towards development of intraoperative autologous stem cell based therapeutics that can be performed rapidly under emergent situations (e.g., within emergency room or battlefield settings).
Concept for intraoperative programmable stem cell therapy: (A) a bone marrow aspirate obtained within the operating room is placed within (B) a disposable bioreactor containing pre-programmed cell adhesive microcarriers containing a single factor or multiple factors for differentiation into multiple cell types (i.e. BMP-2 for osteogenic differentiation or VEGF for endothelial differentiation). (C) Connective tissue progenitors adhere to the microcarriers and are (D) isolated and combined with bone graft substitute for transplantation into a bone defect. Upon implantation, the mircrocarriers release growth factors which encourage differentiation of particular cells types on their surface and subsequent tissue generation.
We are also developing a state of the art stem cell based therapeutic system that can be used to combat nearly any disease and reverse aging.