Technology Thrust

 In nature, protein structure and function are principally encoded in amino acid sequence. Proteins achieve superior properties by altering aminoacid sequences, which in turn yield secondary and tertiary structures. There is great potential in harnessing the functional sequences in nature and translating them into biomaterials design.

 The technology thrust in the Ozdemir Lab will focus on building technologies to translate biological information in extreme proteins into the design of intelligent protein-polymer hybrids towards reinforcing existing materials.

  Despite their critical roles in tissue repair (i.e. wound healing) and pathological processes such as fibrosis and cancer progression, the origins of mesenchymal cells remain poorly understood. Epithelial to mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) emerge as an important source of these cells. Growing evidence shows that the changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) properties play a role on the plastic nature of EMTs.

  The fundamental thrust in the Ozdemir Lab will focus on building tunable biomaterials to understand fundamental mechanisms cells use to change their fate through EMTs and further to design microenvironments to control phenotypic plasticity.

  Salivary Gland regeneration follows strictly sequential events that lead to the formation of hierarchically branched ductal networks ending with secretory acini. During branching morphogenesis, different extracellular factors coordinate synergistically to form the macroscale tissue architecture. 

  The translational thrust in the Ozdemir Lab will focus on developing high-throughput bioengineered culture platforms to develop functional and implantable salivary gland tissue engineering models. The knowledge gained will be translated into other glands in the craniofacial area such as lacrimal,  meibomian and eccrine glands.