MechE PhD Prospectus Defense: Ruifeng Hu

TITLE: BIOPHYSICAL PLATFORM TO STIMULATE CARDIAC MICROBUNDLES

ABSTRACT: Cardiac microbundles (CMBs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) hold promise for personalized patching, disease modeling, and drug testing, but their clinical application is hindered by immaturity. CMBs can spontaneously contract and relax, with maturity indicated by higher contractile force and electrophysiological behavior. Electrical pacing (E-Pace) regulates the onset and repetition of contractions, as well as promoting CMBs maturity. Mechanical stimulation is used to increase contractile force. This study aims to: (1) examines the combined effect of mechanical stimulation and E-Pace on CMB maturity, and (2) simultaneously measure contractility and electrophysiology through scaffold deflection and calcium imaging. Our biophysical platform allows for long-term conditioning and real-time behavior measurement. Preliminary data show synchronized electromechanical conditioning significantly enhances contractile force compared to E-Pace alone and control groups. Future work will explore relative temporal dynamics of mechanical stimulation and E-Pace to assess their combined effect on CMB maturation.

COMMITTEE: ADVISOR/CHAIR Professor Thomas Bifano, ME/MSE/BME/ECE; Professor Emma Lejeune, ME; Professor Christopher Chen, BME/MSE