Javier Santiago Perez
Program: Unspecified
Current advisor:
Undergraduate university: University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras
Research summary
1. During my rotation in the Huebsch Lab, I worked on the fabrication and computational analysis of microdevices for cardiomyocyte tissue culture. The goal was to evaluate their contractile resistance to iPSC-derived Micro-Heart Muscle. For the fabrication process, I utilized the double molding approach developed by the lab, and varied the PDMS ratios to generate both stiff and soft devices. In turn, this variation modulated the mechanical load experienced by cardiomyocytes during contraction in order to mimic and study hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
For the second part of the project, I performed finite element analyses of the microdevices for both previous and newer generation devices. The model I developed characterized the deflection of the posts under different contraction loads and foci in order to validate the contraction force calculated to be exerted by the tissues onto the posts. This analysis utilized a Design of Experiments based on material properties, with input parameters such as Poisson’s ratio and elastic modulus, as well as the force of contraction, and an output parameter for the maximum total deformation. This allowed for the generation of a Response Surface to estimate the contraction force, utilizing the total deformation values obtained for the posts. Furthermore, this approach could be used to optimize microdevice designs.
2. During my rotation in the Lavine Lab, I refined a cardiac decellularization protocol that retained the native ECM proteins, architecture, and structural integrity, and developed a protocol to reseed normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) onto the previously decellularized myocardial ECM (D-ECM). The goal was to assess NHDF viability after seeding and migration into the D-ECM and generate a high-throughput platform for pharmacological testing in the long run. To do so, I utilized a chemical decellularization approach with SDS and Triton-X and varied the cardiac tissue’s thickness, decellularization & rinse times, and cell loading technique. In turn, this affected cell viability and migration into the human-derived cardiac D-ECM.
Graduate publications