Brian O'Grady's Biography

Brian O'Grady, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Vanderbilt University

I am a Materials Engineer focused on developing platforms that capture the complex multi-cellular hierarchy and cell interactions required to sufficiently model the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and neurovascular unit. In my postdoctoral training, I established two technologies that provided a foundation for creating a lumen-perfusable, vascularized microfluidic device: 1) A biomimetic hydrogel (GelMA-Cad) that supports iPSC-derived neurons, astrocytes, pericytes, brain microendothelial cells, and the continued growth of human ex vivo arterial-specific vasculature while retaining appropriate anatomical structure with neovascularization, and 2) a manufacturing technique for rapidly creating complex microfluidic devices without the need for specialized, expensive cleanroom equipment. This novel lumen-perfusable microfluidic platform represents a significant advance toward an anatomically and physiologically accurate model of human brain vasculature. I plan to use this humanized model system to screen therapies and study mechanisms of pathologies affecting the BBB and neurovascular unit.