Bachelor of Science, Biomedical Engineering, 2008 - Boston University
Melissa Kinney
Research
In order to fully realize the therapeutic potential of incorporating ESC-derived cells in vivo, methods for homogeneous delivery of soluble factors must be developed. Various methods employ biochemical factors such as cytokines or growth factors to promote in vitro differentiation of ESCs into clinically relevant cell types, including cardiac, hematopoetic, and neural precursors. However, these methods rely on diffusive transport of molecules. This diffusive transport is hypothesized to lead to heterogeneous differentiation and necrotic regions at the center of the EB. My work focuses on the application of microfluidics to modulate the delivery of factors within the 3D embryoid body environment. Preliminary results of this work indicate that microfluidic perfusion may overcome transport limitations and deliver molecules more homogeneously through the EB. Ultimately, this work is expected to serve as a screening tool for morphogen delivery in order to spatially and temporally direct differentiation. The development of a method for optimal delivery of soluble factors is a significant technological advance for creating homogeneous, clinically relevant populations of cells for replacement of injured cells in tissue engineering applications.
Selective Awards
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2009-2012)
Outstanding Student Advisor Award, Boston University College of Engineering, (2008)
Engineering Scholar Award Scholarship, Boston University College of Engineering, (2004)
For full list, please see CV
Publications
Sargent CY*, Berguig GY*, Kinney MA, Hiatt LA, Carpenedo RL, Berson RE, McDevitt TC. Hydrodynamic modulation of embryonic stem cell differentiation by rotary orbital suspension culture. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, in press (2009).
Selective Presentations
Kinney, MA. Investigation of Mechanisms for Creating Microconduits in the Stratum Corneum: Application to Decreasing Skin Impedance for Electrophysiological Monitoring. Oral Presentation, Boston University Biomedical Engineering Senior Design Conference, Boston, MA. May 2, 2008.
For full list, please see CV
Biography
Melissa graduated from Boston University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering. She began her research in the Behavior Genetics Lab at Barrow Neurological Institute (Phoenix, AZ) in 2003, where she concentrated on changes in genetic expression due to the early rearing of animals exposed to maternal deprivation. She continued her research with microarrays at BU under the mentorship of Dr. Charles DeLisi, where she studied hybridization and stripping conditions for glass microarrays and analyzed the binding of transcription factor proteins to double-stranded DNA arrays. In the lab of Dr. Timothy Gardner at Boston University, her research focused on molecular recombination and cloning of the RNA polymerase gene from the T7 bacteriophage into E. coli, with application to quantifying transcription factor binding to different promoters. Her senior design project at BU was conducted in conjunction with Aspect Medical Systems, where she investigated skin biomechanics and methods for reducing skin impedance in electrophysiological monitoring. In September 2008, Melissa joined the Engineering Stem Cell Technologies Lab under the direction of Dr. Todd McDevitt at Georgia Institute of Technology, where she is working on microfluidic delivery of morphogens to embryoid bodies for directing stem cell differentiation.