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SUMMARY:Making 3D Models That Matter: Engineering Skeletal Muscle Tissue i
 n a Dish
DTSTART:20170608T131500
DTSTAMP:20260502T121715Z
UID:604446fa56014f522a5df8c339afe8c70d218b3d4aaeeab961d291f7
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Penney M. Gilbert\, University of Toronto (CAN)\nBIOENGI
 NEERING SEMINAR\n\nAbstract:\nSkeletal muscle tissue is found throughout t
 he human body and allows for actions such as walking\, swallowing\, and br
 eathing. A skeletal muscle is comprised of bundles of long cylindrical mus
 cle cells that are often attached to bones via tendons and that contract i
 n unison in response to human intent (i.e. thought). Numerous genetic and 
 acquired conditions can impact skeletal muscle performance\, but the lack 
 of robust culture models to study contractile skeletal muscle tissues outs
 ide of the body has made it challenging to study this tissue. Using a 3D p
 rinting and tissue engineering approach\, we developed methods to grow arr
 ays of tiny human skeletal muscle tissues in a dish. By combining the musc
 le tissues with post-mitotic motor neurons derived from human pluripotent 
 stem cells\, we show that it is possible to study developmental processes 
 and diseases that impact the communication between motor neurons and muscl
 e that cannot be studied using classic two-dimensional co-cultures. Furthe
 rmore\, by establishing methods to model and study human exercise and skel
 etal muscle tissue endogenous repair in a dish we uncover novel regulators
  of skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Together\, this body of work highlights t
 he value of biologists and engineers working side-by-side to create robust
  culture models in order to advance knowledge and improve tissue health.
 ​\n\nBio:\nDr. Gilbert is an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Bio
 materials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) and holds cross-appointments 
 in the Department of Biochemistry and the Donnelly Centre at the Universit
 y of Toronto. Penney obtained her BSc (1999) from Haverford College and he
 r PhD (2006) from the University of Pennsylvania in the area of cell biolo
 gy and mammary oncogenesis. Following this she switched research focus and
  became a postdoctoral fellow with Helen Blau at Stanford University in Ca
 lifornia working in the field of skeletal muscle stem cells under the supp
 ort of an NIH Pathway to Independence K99/R00 Award.\n\nIn 2012\, Dr. Gilb
 ert was recruited to the University of Toronto where her research program 
 is focused on skeletal muscle endogenous repair. Her team engineers and st
 udies three-dimensional models of human skeletal muscle and explores muscl
 e stem cell mechanobiology with the goal of identifying signaling pathways
  that can be tweaked to boost the function of skeletal muscle stem cells i
 n the body. Her lab was supported by grants from the Canadian Foundation f
 or Innovation\, Connaught Fund\, and U of T Faculty of Medicine Dean’s F
 und. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research\, Natural Sciences and Eng
 ineering Research Council\, Ontario Research Fund\, Medicine by Design CFR
 EF\, and an Early Researcher Award from MRI currently support her work.\nA
 t the University of Toronto Dr. Gilbert is Chair of the IBBME Distinguishe
 d Seminar Series\, and she is a member of the IBBME Curriculum Committee\,
  the Collaborative Program in Developmental Biology Steering Committee\, a
 nd Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy Animal Care Committee. Penney has been
  involved with OIRM as a member of the Governing Council and is an Associa
 te Member of the American Society for Cell Biology Women in Cell Biology C
 ommittee.
LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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