Valeria Montserrat Juarez
BME PhD Proposal Presentation

Date: 2024-05-01
Time: 1:00 PM
Location / Meeting Link: EBB Krone Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Seminar Room/ https://gatech.zoom.us/j/95631795468?pwd=V1pzaFM2Z2tnUWxVUjR2Qng3Ym5wUT09 Meeting ID: 956 3179 5468 Passcode: 297124

Committee Members:
Ankur Singh, PhD (Advisor) Andrés J. García, PhD Ahmet Coskun, PhD David Myers, PhD Michael Woodworth, MD PhD


Title: Spatially Patterned, Hydrogel Niches to Bioengineer Immune Competent Gut

Abstract:
A leaky gut, marked by increased intestinal permeability and dysfunction of the intestinal barrier, is increasingly linked to immune dysfunction in conditions like inflammatory bowel diseases, autoimmunity, and gut microbiome dysbiosis. Hence, understanding the complex connection between the gut, bacteria, and immunity is crucial. However, current mouse models often lack the immune complexity seen in humans and it is challenging, if not impossible, to obtain human clinical samples for the cellular study of this microenvironment. Hydrogels and on-chip technologies have emerged as powerful tools for modeling both immune organs and the gut. They offer physiologically relevant microenvironments that recapitulate key tissue architecture and cellular interactions. However, current gut-mimicking organ-on-chip platforms lack immune response. To address this challenge, my long-term goal is to bioengineer an immune-competent gut with the ability to decode immune responses against pathogenic stimulations. My overarching hypothesis is that by engineering an immune-competent technology and incorporating essential mucosal and systemic immunity components of the intestinal tissue microenvironment, we will more accurately predict the immune response against gut-resident bacteria. This innovative platform provides a unique opportunity to study the gut-immune axis, host-microbe interactions and holds potential for personalized therapeutic applications in the future.