Developing synthetic substrates for neurodegenerative disease platforms
Year
2017
Project team
Paula Hammond & Linda Griffith with Marianna Sofman
Advancing stem cell therapies
As the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases continues to grow, there has been increased attention toward advancing stem cell therapies. This project focuses on developing a synthetic polymer material upon which neural progenitor cells can grow, expand, and differentiate into different neural lineages. This material will yield more homogenous stem cell populations, is advantageous over current poorly defined animal-derived substrates, and will enhance cell attachment that will enable long-term studies.