Eric Darling,
Associate Professor of Medical Science, Engineering, and Orthopaedics,
Brown University
Eric M. Darling is an Associate Professor of Medical Science, Engineering, and Orthopaedics in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, & Biotechnology at Brown University. He also currently serves as the Graduate Program Director for the Center for Biomedical Engineering. He received a B.S. in engineering from Harvey Mudd College, a Ph.D. in bioengineering from Rice University, and post-doctoral training in orthopaedic research at Duke University. His group conducts research on cell mechanics, mesenchymal stem cell differentiation, and musculoskeletal tissue regeneration. He is specifically interested in understanding heterogeneity in adult stem cell populations and developing approaches to identify tissue-specific cells for regenerative medicine and disease diagnostics.
Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have garnered intense interest for
their application in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
therapies. Unfortunately, the heterogeneity inherent in these cell
populations complicates their use. Traditional, surface marker-based
approaches have had limited success purifying autologous MSCs at
sufficient cell yields such that ex vivo expansion is not required.
Recently, our group has shown that both single-cell mechanical
properties and live-cell gene expression signals can be used to predict
the differentiation potential of MSCs. These approaches target all cells
in stem/stromal populations that are capable of producing
lineage-specific metabolites, encompassing a broader swathe of cell
types and differentiation states than traditional techniques. In
mechanical property-based experiments, we have shown that less compliant
MSCs are more likely to deposit large amounts of calcified matrix
compared to more compliant MSCs following osteogenic induction.
Conversely, more compliant MSCs showed a propensity to produce large
amounts of intracellular lipids following adipogenic induction. In gene
expression-based experiments, we have shown that MSCs can be sorted
using a fluorescent marker that binds to early osteogenic mRNA
molecules, resulting in cell populations that deposited larger amounts
of calcified matrix deposition over unsorted controls. Cell yields were
also significantly higher than standard, cell enrichment approaches.
While osteogenesis has been the primary target of investigation,
continuing work is applying these techniques to other cell types and
tissues.
Add to Calendar ▼2015-02-09 00:00:002015-02-10 00:00:00Europe/LondonClinical Applications and Clinical Translation of Tissue EngineeringSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
Add to Calendar ▼2015-02-10 08:30:002015-02-10 09:30:00Europe/LondonNovel, Cellular Biomarkers Indicating Tissue-specific, Regenerative PotentialSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
