Summary of Research in the Kamm Laboratory

Current research activities in the Kamm Laboratory can be grouped into three broad categories, each of which is briefly described below:

Molecular mechanics.  Current projects include studies into the formation and structure of oligomers and protofibrils of amyloid-b protein using computational (molecular dynamics) and experimental approaches.  These oligomers are of interest because of their central role in causing the cytotoxicity associated with Alzheimer’s disease.  Other studies are directed toward understanding the conformational changes that occur in certain intracellular proteins, and the changes in protein binding affinities and enzymatic activity that result from the changes in conformation.  This process, known as mechanotransduction, is the fundamental mechanism by which cells sense mechanical force.

Tissue engineering and microfluidics.  Our laboratory has been developing new scaffolds for tissue engineering comprised of self-assembling peptides.  These scaffold have the advantage of having a filamentous structure similar to that of the exracellular matrix in terms of stiffness and fibril size and density.  In addition, the peptides can be functionalized to present specific growth factors or cytokines required for specific tissue function.  Current efforts are directed toward the development of microvascular networks, the major obstacle in the creation of vascularized organs.
             Interest in developing vascular networks in vitro has led to new activities in the design and fabrication of novel microfluidic systems that provide an environment for growing three-dimensional vascular networks within a microfluidic platform that allows for simultaneous control over a wide range of biochemical factors and biophysical factors.  Time-lapse imaging also provides the opportunity for real-time control of these factors to achieve a desired outcome.  Computational models are also being developed to simulate the process of angiogenesis, and to couple with the experiments.

Cellular rheology.  The cytoskeleton is comprised of a filamentous network (actin, microtubules and intermediate filaments) capable of polymerization, depolymerization, cross-linking, and branching in response to both biochemical and mechanical stimuli.  Our laboratory is conducting experiments in living cells to probe this dynamic behavior and also developing computational models to simulate it. 
             Multi-scale modeling is one of our goals in which we plan to couple cytoskeletal modeling with molecular dynamics simulation of cytoskeletal proteins, or proteins that link the cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix (focal adhesions) or neighboring cells (adherens junctions).