This is a past event.

Chemical Engineering Seminar

Dr. Renita E. Horton

Assistant Professor

University of Houston

Abstract

Traditional in vitro studies poorly recapitulate properties of the native in vivo cardiac microenvironment. Currently, there are limited tools that adequately mimic features of the heart for disease studies. Creating in vitro systems capable of mimicking properties such as tissue architecture, shear, and cell-cell interactions may prove beneficial in studying disease mechanisms and identifying novel therapeutics. Further, these models can serve as testbeds for drug efficacy and toxicity assays. We seek to build a physiologically relevant microtissue model to investigate heart disease mechanisms.

Environmental factors including air quality have been associated with cardiovascular diseases. Inorganic carbon and metal-containing nanoparticles have been linked to inflammation and is a risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease. Chronic damage to heart tissue can occur with prolonged exposure to pollution. Specifically, particulate matter (PM) has been associated with an increased risk for cardiac fibrosis, myocardial infarction, and atherosclerosis thus contributing to cardiovascular morbidities and mortalities. Further, pro-inflammatory signaling pathways and oxidative stress caused by PM exposure have been associated with altered cell morphology and tissue damage.

In this study, we utilize a heart-on-chip platform to investigate the pollution-driven mechanisms that contribute to cardiovascular diseases. We assert that the tunable model is suitable for investigating the burden of air pollution on cardiovascular-mediated heart tissue remodeling.

Bio

Dr. Renita E. Horton is an assistant professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at the University of Houston, where she directs the Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering Laboratory. She earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Mississippi State University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Harvard University. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Wyss Institute in Boston.

Dr. Horton's research explores how microenvironmental cues influence heart development and disease, focusing on extracellular matrix presentation and oxygen levels in human stem cells. She has developed organs-on-chip models to study cardiovascular diseases, lupus, and sickle cell disease.

Dr. Horton has received the NSF CAREER Award, Lupus Research Alliance Career Development Award, and the Young Investigator Award at the Gordon Research Conference on Biomechanics in Vascular Biology and Disease. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Biomedical Engineering Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and American Heart Association.