Engineering a 3D, biological construct: Representative research in the South Carolina Project for Organ Biofabrication

The SC Project is an alliance of 10 colleges and universities working together to achieve the goal of engineering a functional, 3D, bioengineered construct. Scientific progress includes computational modeling of vascular trees and experimental testing of natural and engineered constructs. Future directions of the science focus on overcoming challenges such as scalability, sustainability of biofabricated constructs, and identification of chemical or physiological factors that can accelerate the differentiation and maturation of biofabricated vascular tissues (maturogens). Studies include those of hemodynamic forces or growth factors that can promote expression and assembly of collagen and elastin fibers.