Guest Speaker – Analytical (CHEM 741) – April 10, 2023

Bio
Dr. Chengpeng Chen received his B.S. degree from the Ocean University of China in 2011, and then join the Chemistry Department of Michigan State University to continue his education as an analytical chemist (advisor: Dr. Dana M. Spence). After receiving his Ph.D. in 2015, Dr. Chen moved to the Chemistry Department of Saint Louis University as a teaching/research postdoc fellow in Dr. R. Scott Martin's lab. In 2018, Dr. Chen became an assistant professor in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where he has been leading a bioanalytical and bioengineering research lab with multiple graduate and undergraduate trainees. Dr. Chen's research interest lies in translational microfluidic tissue models, extracellular matrix biophysics, cell metabolome, and wearable sensor development.

Abstract
Microfluidic-based physiological devices are critical platforms for disease studies, drug screening, and toxicity evaluation. Current devices typically lack 3D extracellular matrices (ECMs) or are too complicated to be translated. My lab has been developing new technologies combining 3D printing and microfabrication to develop such devices. In this presentation, a new platform that is modular, high throughput, and physiologically relevant will be introduced. On the biomedical side, many diseases, such as fibrosis, accompany ECM microstructure alterations. Nonetheless, the roles of restructured ECMs in cell functions are largely unknown. We recently found that ECM microstructures can regulate the metabolome of various cell types. A further study showed that integrins are involved in the ECM-metabolome interactions. Our findings enhance the understanding of ECM-cell interactions, and shed light on new treatments for unconquered fibrotic diseases.