Growing 3D Brain Tissue to Better Understand Neurodegenerative Disorders

Dr. David Kaplan tells us about a novel technique using a donut-shaped scaffolding that allows his team to grow brain tissue and directly observe the progress of neurodegenerative disease and brain tumor growth, the impacts of traumatic brain injury, and the effects of potential treatments.

David Kaplan is the Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering at Tufts University and a Distinguished University Professor. He is Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. His research focus is on biopolymer engineering to understand structure-function relationships for biomaterials, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. He is the editor-in-chief of ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering and he serves on many editorial boards and programs for journals and universities.