Rachael H. Schmedlen

 

Rachael is a 5th year Bioengineering Ph.D. candidate in Dr. West’s lab at Rice University.  She received her B.S in Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan.

 

 

Rachael is working with others in the lab on the development of a tissue engineered small diameter vascular graft.  The TEVG group is using photopolymerizable polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based hydrogels as scaffolds for this purpose.  Rachael’s project involves using a pulsatile flow bioreactor that mimics mechanical conditions found in vivo to enhance synthesis and organization of extracellular matrix by smooth muscle cells (SMCs).  These vascular SMCs are seeded inside elastic PEG hydrogels that transmits cyclic strain to the cells. 

 

 

Publications

 

 

R.H. Schmedlen, W.M. Elbjeirami, A.S. Gobin, J.L. West.  Tissue Engineered Small Diameter Vascular Grafts.  Submitted to In the Clinics of Plastic Surgery, March, 2003.

 

R.H. Schmedlen, K.S. Masters, and J.L. West.  Photopolymerizable Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogels That Can Be Modified with Cell Adhesion Peptides for Use in Tissue Engineering.  Biomaterials (2002) 23:  p. 4325-32.

 

B.K. Mann, A.S. Gobin, A.T. Tsai, R.H. Schmedlen, J.L. West.  Synthetic ECM Analogs: 

New Polymer Constructs for Tissue Engineering.  Biomaterials (2001) 22:  p. 3045-3051.

 

B.K. Mann, R.H. Schmedlen, J.L West.  Tethered TGF-b Increases Extracellular Matrix Production of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Peptide-Modified Scaffolds.  Biomaterials (2001) 22:  p. 439-444.