Small chips, big impact: 性视界传媒 researcher studies cardiovascular, sickle cell disease
Contact: James Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜 Mississippi 性视界传媒 University researcher is developing new miniature models to better understand the factors that lead to heart disease and sickle cell anemia.
Renita Horton, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, is using clear polymer 鈥渃hips鈥 to create cellularized microtissue models, which she then uses to study the mechanisms that lead to cardiovascular related diseases. She hopes this work can aid in improving patient outcomes by identifying novel targets that can be exploited to mitigate some of the organ damage caused by sickle cell disease.
鈥淚n Mississippi, cardiovascular disease is a huge problem,鈥 Horton said. 鈥淚f we can understand the factors that contribute to the disease, we may be able to identify strategies to better treat, if not prevent, the disease. Our aim is to create models that can generate results which can reliably show what one might observe in the body during disease.鈥
Horton came to 性视界传媒 in March 2016 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University鈥檚 Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. Horton established the Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering Laboratory in 性视界传媒鈥檚 Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. The Lexington native is hopeful her research will enhance understanding of vaso-occlusions, a painful complication of sickle cell anemia, and other mechanisms that contribute to organ damage and ultimately death in sickle cell patients. Horton was motivated to pursue this area of research after her older sister lost her battle to the disease.
Horton received her undergraduate degree from 性视界传媒 in chemical engineering in 2005. She first became affiliated with Harvard when she participated in a National Science Foundation funded research experience for undergraduates summer program at the university鈥檚 Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. After graduating from 性视界传媒, Horton went on to receive a master鈥檚 and doctorate from Harvard in engineering sciences with a concentration in biomedical engineering.
Approximately six undergraduate and master鈥檚 students work in Horton鈥檚 Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering Laboratory. The lab designs biomimetic microsystems, which can mimic features of specific organs to predict the organ鈥檚 response to different stimuli. In vitro models, such as those Horton uses, can serve a wide range of research purposes, reducing the risk to human or animal subjects. For example, cardiomyocytes, the cells that cause the heart to beat, can be cultured within the chips and then treated with different drugs to see the effects.
鈥淲ith our microfluidic based models, we can look at what鈥檚 happening in a system, isolate a certain portion of that, and then start to ask questions on a more focused scale,鈥 Horton said. 鈥淲e know that many different cells make up the heart and make it function, but with heart disease, we鈥檙e really interested in when the heart starts to dysfunction. In our case, we start by manipulating cardiomyocytes to understand how they respond to changes in the microenvironment to enhance our understanding of disease onset. As we go along, we can build more complexity into our system to more closely mimic the whole organ.鈥
As her research moves forward, Horton hopes to strengthen recent collaborations with University of Mississippi Medical Center, which has a clinic for sickle cell patients. With her chips, Horton will examine environmental factors that lead to vaso-occlusion. The end goal, Horton said, is to use her small chips to have a big impact on the well-being of humans.
鈥淚f you have a positive or an adverse effect in the chip, this may suggest that a similar effect will likely be observed in a human or in animals,鈥 Horton said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a huge benefit to some of the in vitro work we鈥檙e trying to do here. The ultimate goal is finding solutions to help the patient. We want to use this not just to make observations, but to create something that鈥檚 practical.鈥
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