Faculty Sponsor: Anita Shukla

Unlike many cells in the body, chondrocytes—cartilage cells—cannot regenerate. Therefore, loss of cartilage due to degenerative diseases, such as osteoarthritis, is irreversible. Cell-based therapies, in which doctors implant new, healthy chondrocytes derived from stem cells, may circumvent this problem by allowing new cartilage formation in the patient. However, the transformation, or differentiation, of stem cells into chondrocytes within the laboratory currently results in a suboptimal population of cells. Seeking to optimize the differentiation parameters, Lauren investigated the effect of physical cues from geometric constraints on chondrogenesis for improved differentiation for therapeutic application.