Lauren D. Black

TL;DR: Eight constructs decellularized hearts by coronary perfusion with detergents, preserved the underlying extracellular matrix, and produced an acellular, perfusable vascular architecture, competent a cellular valves and intact chamber geometry that could generate pump function in a modified working heart preparation.

TL;DR: The biological underpinnings of both mechanical and electrical signaling, as identified via studies related to cardiac development and those related to an evaluation of cardiac disease progression are sought, as well as the development of bioreactors that combine electrical and mechanical stimulation in order to mimic the complex signaling environment present in vivo.

TL;DR: The developed visible light crosslinked hydrogel could be used for the repair of various soft tissues such as the myocardium and for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases with enhanced therapeutic functionality.

TL;DR: The effects of fetal, neonatal and adult cardiac ECM on the expansion of neonatal rat ventricular cells in vitro are studied and it is suggested that proliferation may be a major mechanism of cardiomyocyte expansion on young ECM.

TL;DR: Regardless of the specific mechanism, the results presented in this study underscore the importance of recapitulating the anisotropy of the native tissue in engineered myocardium.