A LOOK AT SARAH'S BACKGROUND

"I did my PhD at Ecole Centrale de Lyon on the development of bioprinted models to study cell-matrix interactions. I developed models for bone and dermis. I then moved to the Netherlands to do a postdoc in Eindhoven University of Technology. I worked on cell-matrix interactions with in vitro models based on hydrogels. The aim was to develop a method to use cells’ natural contraction capacity to reorganise their environment and reproduce the organisation of the tissues observed in vivo. I am now a postdoc at Ecole des Mines,  in the SAINBIOSE laboratory."
 

SARAH'S MOTIVATION FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

I study cell-matrix interactions to understand how cells react to their mechanical environment and how they modify this environment. To achieve this, I use hydrogels to create in vitro models to culture cells in a 3D environment. I can tune the mechanical properties of the hydrogels to see how cells react. We’re interested in smooth muscle cells from aorta. I use microscopy techniques to quantify the traction forces they generate inside the hydrogels. We’re developing a protocol to use in-line holography to image the live cells in their environment. This technique allows fast volumic imaging to capture the dynamic behavior of cells at the timescale of the second. Understanding this will contribute to understand vascular aging.