Active Research Projects
T cell mechanosensing
How do T cells sense the mechanical properties of their environment?
Mechanical forces play critical roles in physiology, directing molecular activation to human health. Our group provided some of the initial studies that T cells can sense the stiffness of cell culture surfaces, mimicking the phenomenon of matrix mechanosensing observed in adherent cell types, but in an entirely different molecular setting. In particular, T cells can exert force on their surroundings without engagement of integrin receptors, using instead the TCR/CD3 complex for force generation.
Biomaterials for growing T cells
Reengineering bioreactor materials can improve cellular immunotherapy
Leveraging our discovery that T cells can sense the mechanical properties of a cell culture surface, our group is developing new systems to improve activation and growth of T cells for cellular immunotherapy. Replacing the mechanically stiff materials typically used for cell culture with soft counterparts increases the number of cells that result from a round of cell growth.