SEMINAR: CMCA Seminar Series: "Stem Cell Mechanobiology: developing smart biomaterials to control stem cell fate"

Stem cells rely on, and are finely tuned to respond to, their immediate microenvironment, which can be exceedingly complex. Biomaterials must present cells with finely tuned mechanical cues to systematically examine their control over development or pathological insults. In this talk I will introduce how stiffness affects stem cells via mechanotransduction and the state-of-the-art materials technologies (atomic force microscopy, traction force microscopy, and smart material fabrication) used to mimic stiffness of the microenvironment.