Movement is fundamental to life. Every step we take, every stretch, and every shift in posture generates mechanical forces that cells constantly sense and respond to. In musculoskeletal tissues, these forces are not merely passive background signals - they actively regulate metabolism, extracellular matrix (ECM) production, and overall tissue homeostasis.
My PhD project explores how we can recreate these mechanical cues using dynamic biomaterials. Specifically, I develop hydrogels that can reversibly swell and shrink, mimicking the cyclic biomechanical changes naturally experienced by tissues in the body. Rather than acting as static scaffolds, these materials create an active and changing microenvironment for cells.
As the hydrogels swell and contract, they alter hydrostatic pressure, nutrient transport, and waste removal, exposing cells to controlled mechanical stimulation. This provides a powerful platform to study mechanosensing, the process by which cells sense physical forces and convert them into biochemical signals that influence intracellular signaling pathways, gene expression, and cellular behavior, including proliferation, migration, differentiation, and extracellular matrix remodeling. Together, these responses are critical for regulating tissue development, maintaining homeostasis, and driving regenerative processes following injury.
This is especially relevant for cartilaginous tissues such as cartilage and the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc. These tissues are avascular, meaning they lack direct blood supply and rely entirely on diffusion for nutrient delivery and waste removal. As a result, they have low metabolic activity and very limited regenerative capacity, making degeneration difficult to reverse.
My project supports the DRIVE-RM mission by providing a controllable in vitro platform to study how mechanical cues influence regeneration in load-bearing tissues under pathological conditions, such as cartilage and intervertebral disc degeneration. By engineering hydrogels that mimic dynamic tissue loading, this work helps uncover how biomechanical signals regulate cellular behavior, extracellular vesicle function, and tissue homeostasis. These insights can guide the development of regenerative biomaterials and localized therapies for tissues with limited intrinsic healing capacity.
This research is inherently interdisciplinary. Developing and characterizing these dynamic systems requires expertise in supramolecular chemistry, material science, cell biology, mechanobiology, and extracellular vesicle research, since extracellular vesicles are increasingly recognized as important mediators of tissue repair, regeneration, and cell-to-cell signaling. Collaborations within the consortium enable the integration of advanced hydrogel design with biological validation and translational perspectives.
What excites me most is the idea that materials can do more than support cells structurally - they can actively instruct them. Understanding how physical forces shape regenerative signaling opens exciting opportunities to engineer materials that harness the body’s own repair mechanisms.
By combining dynamic biomaterials with mechanobiology, this project aims to unlock how mechanical stimulation can drive regenerative signaling in tissues with limited healing potential.
