Breaking Barriers: Unlocking the Potential of Bioengineering

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease in the world, affecting around 10% of men and 18% of women over 60 years of age. Despite its prevalence, and the significant associated economic and social burden, there are currently no disease-modifying treatments for OA. My research is focused on developing in vitro models of human musculoskeletal tissues to understand OA disease processes with a view to improve existing treatments and develop new ones. Most recently, I have been developing these models using ‘organ-on-a-chip’ technology.

Cardiomyocytes (CM) are mechanically coupled through cell-cell and cell matrix contacts in order to transduce force and coordinate the overall contraction of the heart. CMs are connected through intercalated discs (ICDs), implicated in mechanosensing and signalling, while extracellular matrix stiffness is sensed at integrin adhesions. We investigated the crosstalk between the cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesions, using FRET/FLIM tension sensors. We identify stiffness dependent changes to talin interactions at the costamere, as well as a previously unknown mechanosensing complex ICDs.