Direct Lung Tissue Morphogenesis via Controlled Cellular and Matrix Interactions

Abstract

Effective tissue engineering requires recreating the orchestrated interactions between cells and their surrounding cellular and extracellular matrix environments. Research in our group investigates how these interactions drive lung tissue morphogenesis. This talk will highlight our recent efforts to direct apicobasal polarity and lineage diversification in lung epithelia through controlled presentation of matrix and stromal cues, as well as strategies for shaping tissue geometry using bioprinting. We will also discuss the potential applications of these engineered tissue systems in therapeutic development and delivery.

Bio

Dr. Ren is currently an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Ren received his B.S. in Biological Sciences and Ph.D. in Cell Biology, both from Peking University. He completed his post-doctoral training in tissue engineering at Harvard Medical School. Current research in his lab focuses on understanding and engineering lung and vascular tissue morphogenesis, and are funded by grants from the NSF, NIH, DoD, ARPA-H, and private foundations. Dr. Ren received the NSF CAREER Award, Rising Star Award from the Biomedical Engineering Society, Biomedical Engineering New Innovator Award from the Northeast Bioengineering Conference, and was named Dean’s Early Career Fellow by the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He serves on the Young Investigator Committee at the Cell Transplant and Regenerative Medicine Society, and on the Publication Committee at the American Society of Matrix Biology.

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Steve Henikoff, PhD

Professor of Basic Sciences - Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle

Abstract

Genome-wide hypertranscription is common in human cancer and predicts poor prognosis. To understand how hypertranscription might drive cancer, we applied our CUTAC method for mapping RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) genome-wide in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) sections. RNAPII occupancy at S-phase-dependent histone genes accurately predicted rapid recurrence of meningiomas and corresponded to total whole-arm chromosome losses. Whole-arm losses alone predicted outcome in RNA-sequencing and whole-genome pan-cancer sequencing data. We propose that elevated RNAPII at histone genes both drives hyper-proliferation and displaces the CENP-A histone H3 variant from centromeres, causing centromere breaks and aneuploidies that shape the selective landscape in cancer progenitor cells. Our experimental investigation of the S-phase-dependent histone genes in flies and humans has uncovered a negative feedback loop that regulates histone gene expression over the cell cycle.

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About Steve Henikoff

Steve Henikoff received a BS from the University of Chicago, a PhD from Harvard University and performed post-doctoral work at the University of Washington. He is a professor of Basic Sciences at Fred Hutch, and an affiliate professor of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington. He is also an HHMI investigator, a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He received the Genetics Society of America Medal in 2015, and the 55th Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research in 2025. His laboratory performs research on chromatin and nuclear dynamics, transcriptional regulation, centromeres and cancer epigenetics, and develops experimental and computational tools for studying these processes.

Sponsored by the Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering, the Cancer and Physical Sciences Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, and NIH Grants T32GM142604 and U54CA268084

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Bringing Microfluidics into the Clinic: Lessons from COVID19 and Cancer

Abstract

Dr. Stott will share her laboratory’s work using microfluidics to isolate cell-specific extracellular vesicles in cancer and infectious disease applications alongside a new approach to isolate extracellular vesicles from urine.

Bio

Professor Stott is a biomedical engineer that works at the interface of technology and clinical medicine. She has an extensive background in microfluidics, optics, and biopreservation, with a focus on applications in cancer and infectious diseases. Manipulating blood flow for the isolation of biological components has been a hallmark of her work and recent efforts include using microfluidics to separate cancer cells and extracellular vesicles. The primary goal of the Stott laboratory is to use these technologies to improve patient lives through early diagnosis and a greater understanding of how cancer spreads and kills.

Dr. Stott has >25 patents issued or pending, and her research has been highlighted in Nature, Science, CNN, MIT Technology Review, as well as the television show, Jeopardy. She serves on various advisory boards, both in academic and industrial settings. Dr. Stott has been awarded many different honors, but she is most proud of receiving the 2021 MGH Excellence in Mentorship Award.

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Magnetic Stimulation of Neuronal Fibers: From Macroscopic Dorsal Column Neuromodulation for Sciatica to Microscopic L1 Circuit Activation for Connectome Studies

Abstract

Magnetic neuromodulation offers a compelling alternative to pharmacologic therapy and conventional electrode-based stimulation by enabling contactless activation of neural tissue across multiple spatial scales. In this talk, I will present a multiscale engineering framework for magnetic stimulation spanning macroscopic activation of spinal pathways to microscopic manipulation of local neural circuits in the rat.

At the systems level, we developed a high-frequency trans-spinal magnetic stimulation (HF-TSMS) platform designed for noninvasive treatment of chronic neuropathic back pain. The stimulator operates in quasi-resonant mode to generate multi-kA current pulse trains at 10 kHz, driving a custom ribbon-based figure-of-eight coil to induce spatially confined electric fields within the spinal cord. Electromagnetic simulations were used to optimize coil geometry and field distribution for rodent anatomy. In spared nerve injury models, HF-TSMS produced behavioral improvements and modulation of BOLD fMRI responses compared with sham controls, providing preliminary evidence for therapeutic efficacy and supporting future translational development.

At the microscopic scale, we engineered a silicon-based micro-magnetic stimulation (µMS) device (200 × 400 × 7 µm³) fabricated using advanced microfabrication techniques. The µMS coil was deployed in rat cortex and driven with high-current, short-duration pulses to generate highly localized magnetic fields. Neuronal activation was quantified using optical glutamate sensing via fiber photometry in combination with local field potential recordings. µMS elicited stimulus-locked increases in glutamate release in vivo that were absent post-euthanasia, confirming biological specificity. Quantitative analyses demonstrated significant increases in peak amplitude and integrated glutamate response during stimulation epochs.

Together, these results demonstrate that magnetic stimulation can be engineered to operate across anatomical scales—from dorsal column modulation to focal microcircuit activation—using physics-based design, microfabrication, and multimodal validation. This multiscale approach establishes a foundation for next-generation magnetic neuromodulation technologies that are noninvasive at the systems level yet capable of highly localized circuit control.

Bio

Dr. Giorgio Bonmassar is an Associate Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Analog Brain Imaging (ABI) Laboratory at the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital. For more than two decades, his research has focused on bioelectromagnetic modeling and the design of MRI-compatible electrophysiology and neuromodulation technologies. His work integrates engineering, physics, and neuroscience to develop safe, high-performance systems that operate seamlessly within the MRI environment, advancing both fundamental brain research and clinical translation. Dr. Bonmassar is internationally recognized for pioneering multimodal neurostimulation platforms, including the first low-frequency focused ultrasound (LiFU) system for spinal cord neuromodulation and a novel high-frequency trans-spinal magnetic stimulation (HF-TSMS) system funded by the NIH. His laboratory develops non-invasive magnetic and ultrasound approaches aimed at transforming the treatment of chronic pain and neurological disorders. In parallel, he has led the design of MRI-conditional deep brain stimulation (DBS) and electrocorticography (ECoG) systems based on metamaterial and resistively tapered technologies, substantially reducing RF-induced heating and imaging artifacts. Earlier contributions include the first demonstration of simultaneous visual evoked potentials and fMRI, MRI-invisible microelectrodes, and polymer-based high-density EEG systems (InkCap and InkNet) that enable safe EEG-fMRI at high field strengths. As Principal Investigator on multiple NIH awards (including U01, R01, SBIR, and BRAIN Initiative mechanisms), Dr. Bonmassar leads interdisciplinary efforts spanning computational modeling, device fabrication, safety validation, and preclinical translation. His work is unified by a central mission: to engineer next-generation neurotechnology platforms that are safe, imaging-compatible, and capable of precise, multimodal control of neural circuits.

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