Zoe Mote
BME PhD Defense Presentation

Date: 2024-08-02
Time: 11:00am-1:00pm
Location / Meeting Link: IBB Suddath Seminar Room, https://gatech.zoom.us/j/99533968707 

Committee Members:
Johnna Temenoff, Edward Botchwey, Krish Roy, Melissa Kemp, Robert Guldberg


Title: Biomaterial-Based Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Manufacturing and Transport Methods to Expand Access to Therapeutic Cell Products

Abstract:
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) are a therapeutic cell type of interest for the treatment of various inflammatory injuries and diseases. MSCs have been used in research for many years, but robust manufacturing methods are necessary to ensure quality and consistency of cell products for clinical use. Hundreds of ongoing clinical trials are investing their therapeutic benefit to inflammatory conditions and injury from arthritis to stroke. Typical doses of MSCs require hundreds of millions of cells per patient, necessitating large scale culture processes that can produce billions or trillions of high-quality therapeutic cells. Furthermore, large scale manufacturing presents challenges related to culture platforms, high costs, and cryopreservation-related transportation challenges. The overarching goal of this thesis was to develop biomaterials-based solutions to address challenges facing MSC manufacturing in order to enable scalable, reduced-cost, high quality manufacturing of MSCs as cell therapies. First, we explored a hydrogel microcarrier platform to enhance proliferation and modulate gene expression in small scale cultures and large scale bioreactors. Next, we investigated the integration of heparin into microcarriers to support MSC expansion in low serum conditions. Lastly, we developed a hyaluronic acid support gel that enables the transport of viable and functional MSCs at ambient temperature for up to 72 hours. Overall, this work provides biomaterial platforms that can be used to address multiple arms of MSC manufacturing challenges, from scale-up to transport.