Regenerative medicine increasingly draws from developmental biology to inform tissue engineering strategies. At RPI, we have developed a scaffold-free method that directs cells to form fibers by leveraging their natural abilities for differentiation, organization, and extracellular matrix production. This approach replicates key aspects of embryonic development, such as high cellularity and direct cell-cell contact, to grow functional tendon and skeletal muscle fibers through directed cellular self-assembly. A custom bioreactor delivers precise mechanical strain, electrical stimulation, and/or soluble growth factors to the cells during fiber formation, enabling us to study the impact of environmental stimuli on fiber development and maturation and explore how these factors can be leveraged to tune fiber biomechanical properties and accelerate maturation.

Lead PI: Dr. David Corr