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Workshop 2: Cell and Tissue Engineering (October 22-24, 2007)

Organizer: Melissa L. Knothe Tate and Stanislav Shvartsman

The challenges of tissue engineering include the need to overcome mass transport limitations, to exploit biophysical stimuli in enhancing engineered tissue function, to address anisotropic structural requirements in "manufacturing" of the tissue, immunological considerations, as well as the challenge of designing "off the shelf technology" that will be applicable for the needs of specific patients. Engineered tissues of the future will serve as multifunctional molecular delivery devices that provide a microenvironment conducive to cell infiltration and cultivation. To address and optimize these multiple functions, tissue engineers have begun to exploit principles of transport and biophysical stimuli as well as to hone knowledge of cell recruitment, adhesion, migration, proliferation, and differentiation to improve success of cell cultivation in tissue scaffolds. Interestingly, the focus of many tissue engineering symposia appears to be specific to tissue type or a clinical problem; yet, by organizing symposia that bridge across length and time scales, diverse organisms and tissue types, experimental models (in vivo, in vitro, in silico), as well as bioscience and engineering disciplines, it may be possible for the sub-specialists to recognize common themes and solutions that have wide applicability across a variety of tissues. Hence, the goal of this workshop is to bring developmental biologists, cell and tissue engineers, as well as computational modelers together at a joint forum, bridging across specific cell and tissue types as well as model platforms, to recognize common challenges and relevant strategies for addressing these challenges in tissues from diverse organisms, including plants, drosophila, zebrafish and humans. The promise of predictive modeling in accelerating advances in the field of tissue engineering will be highlighted.