Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MADE-TEC (Advanced Modelling Aided Design of Tissue Engineered Construct for Optimal Soft Tissue Repair)
Reporting period: 2021-03-01 to 2023-02-28
Conclusion of the actions
The progress of this fellowship was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during the year of 2021. Nevertheless, most goals initially set out for the proposal are achieved. In total, this fellowship leads to 9 peer-reviewed publications, 7 conference abstracts, and 4 manuscripts that are under preparation. The research output generated through this fellowship improves the current understanding of cartilage growth and degeneration, as well as the design of biomaterials used for tissue engineering.
RO-1: This research objective was achieved. A one-month research visit in November of 2021 to the laboratory of Prof. Jos Malda at the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht allowed the awardee to learn the state-of-the-art three-dimensional (3D) printing of fibrous mesh, and the use of photo-crosslinkable hydrogels for cell culture. Computation biomechanical models of articular cartilage and hydrogels with and without reinforcement by the fibrous mesh were successfully developed and validated using experimental data (doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2021.03.031). Multi-scale computational model accounting for length scale at the tissue and cell levels was also successfully developed (doi: 10.1007/s10439-021-02900-1) thereby allowing for accurate prediction of the deformation behaviour of the tissue and residing cells.
RO-2: This research objective was partially achieved. A 3-month research visit of UMC Utrecht from June to August of 2022 allowed the awardee to collect important experimental data related to the growth of cell-laden gelatin-based hydrogels and the associated changes of mechanical properties during different time points of the tissue growth. Computational biomechanical growth model was also constructed successfully based on the computational model available in the literature. However, the characterisation of the computation model was not completed due to a lack of time following the research visit (< 4 months before the end of the fellowship) and an early termination of the fellowship as the awardee started a faculty position at Carleton University in Canada on January 2023. Nevertheless, the awardee maintains a strong collaborative relationship with Profs. Korhonen and Malda, and will continue the unfinished work in Canada. Research updates regarding this project will be posted on the public website created on ResearchGate for this project.
RO-3: Due to the unforeseen pandemic, RO-3 initially drafted in the research proposal needed to be adjusted to follow a different, but relevant directions. Two new research goals were set to unravel the mechanism of cartilage degeneration through computational simulation. The first goal was aimed at investigating the mechanism that triggers the initial degradation of cartilage tissue at the onset of osteoarthritis. The second goal was aimed at investigating the mechanical effect of tissue crack, which is a risk factor of osteoarthritis, on cartilage tissues of different skeletal maturity. These two goals were successfully achieved and led to two publications in scientific peer-reviewed journals (doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2022.09.002 and doi: 10.1002/jor.25243). Despite a change of direction, the research methods used in the new projects are aligned with those originally planned in the research proposal. Specifically, a numerical optimisation procedure was successfully developed to identify the material properties of the structural proteins in cartilage.
The research findings of this project were shared in three international conferences. In addition, the awardee was also invited to give research seminars on three occasions to discuss the findings of the project. The audience includes undergraduate and graduate students, as well as senior researchers and professors.
On the personal level, the research and transferrable skills acquired through the MSCA fellowship enriched the expertise of the awardee and made him a more complete researcher. The awardee is starting a research faculty position at the Carleton University in Canada on January 2023. The research collaborations developed during this fellowship with the researchers from the University of Eastern Finland and UMC Utrecht will continue in the future and strengthen the tie between European and Canadian universities, which is important to facilitate the collective efforts in tackling of the research problems that can have important impacts in the field of osteoarthritis and tissue engineering.