Christina Tringides

Developing tissue-inspired systems to enable physiologically-mimicked 3D neuronal cultures

Abstract:

Biomaterial scaffolds have emerged as a tool to build 3D cultures of cells which better resemble biological systems, while advancements in bioelectronics have enabled the modulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration. Here, we first describe a porous conductive hydrogel with the same mechanical modulus and viscoelasticity as neural tissue. Electrical conductivity is achieved by incorporating low amounts (<0.3% weight) of carbon nanomaterials in an alginate hydrogel matrix, and then freeze-drying to self-organize into highly porous networks. The mechanical and electrical properties of the material can be carefully tuned and used to modulate the growth and differentiation of neural progenitor cells (NPCs). With increasing hydrogel viscoelasticity and conductivity, we observe the formation of denser neurite networks and a higher degree of myelination. To investigate the functionality of neurite networks in 3D, we begin by placing a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microstructure on an underlying multielectrode array (MEA). We then explore different materials and techniques to integrate hydrogels into the PDMS microstructures, such that the hydrogel can facilitate neurons to form 3D networks while still confined by the PDMS. This platform is compatible with various methods to assess neuronal functionality (e.g. MEA electrical recordings), and can be used to understand the effect(s) of hydrogel properties on the resulting neuronal networks. Both described biomaterial platforms can support the growth of neuronal cells for over 10 weeks, and could be used to investigate neuronal development and disease progression.

Speaker: Christina Tringides , Rice University 

Christina Tringides is a tenure-track assistant professor in Materials Science and Nanoengineering, and a core member of the Neuroengineering Initiative (NEI) at Rice University. She earned her B.S. degree in physics and a B. Eng. in materials science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2015, after which she spent one year as a Fulbright Scholar at the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. In Fall 2016, she returned to Boston where she did her PhD work in the laboratory of Dr David Mooney (Harvard University), and was part of the Harvard Biophysics and MIT-Harvard HST Medical Engineering and Medical Physics program. In May 2022, after graduating, Christina moved to ETH Zurich as an ETH Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr Janos Voros (D-ITET). She's been named to the MIT Technology Review 35 under 35 Innovators list in 2024, is a CPRIT (Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas) scholar, and a Sontag Foundation Distinguished Scholar Awardee in 2025. 

Seminars start at 4:00 pm, and refreshments will be served at 3:45 pm. All seminars are held in the 2136 Physical Sciences Complex (#415) unless otherwise noted.