Ep. 160: “Engineering Human Cardiac Muscle” Featuring Dr. Kacey Ronaldson-Bouchard

Guest:

Dr. Kacey Ronaldson-Bouchard is an Associate Research Scientist in the Laboratory for Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering at Columbia University, focusing on biomedical engineering. She is also the co-founder of TARA Biosystems, which offers physiologically relevant human “heart-on-a-chip” tissue models for cardiac risk assessment and drug discovery applications. She also a strong supporter of initiatives that mentor young women to pursue STEM related fields.

Featured Products and Resources:

•  Muscle Cell News
• STEMdiff™Cardiomyocyte Media 

The Stem Cell Science Round Up

Strong Blood Vessel Graft Created – Vascular grafts have been engineered from iPSC-derived smooth muscle cells with comparable strength to the original blood vessels.

New Method for Lung Regeneration – Through a procedure similar to bone marrow transplantation, investigators were able to induce lung regeneration without the need for chronic immune suppression.

How Stress Causes Grey Hair – Scientists have discovered that stress activates sympathetic nerves that are part of the fight-or-flight response, driving the depletion of pigment-regenerating stem cells in hair follicles.

Biodegradable Bridge for Nerve Injury – Researchers have created a biodegradable scaffold that releases a growth-promoting protein that can regenerate long sections of damaged nerves, without the need for transplanting cells.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Kacey Ronaldson-Bouchard