Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 2 sessions/week, 1.5 hours/session
Prerequisites
Biology (GIR) 
One of the following courses:
- 7.012 Introductory Biology
- 7.013 Introductory Biology
- 7.014 Introductory Biology
- 7.015 Introductory Biology
- 7.016 Introductory Biology
Chemistry (GIR)
One of the following courses:
- 3.091 Introduction to Solid-State Chemistry
- 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science
- 5.112 Principles of Chemical Science
Physics I (GIR)
One of the following courses:
- 8.01 Physics I
- 8.011 Physics I
- 8.012 Physics I
- 8.01L Physics I
Course Description
This course presents the fundamentals of tissue engineering (TE) and organ regeneration (OR). Emphasis is on clinical translation and the development of workable medical devices. Topics include factors that prevent the spontaneous regeneration of tissues/organs in the adult (following traumatic injury, surgical excision, disease, and aging), and the cellular and molecular mechanisms that can identify the agents to employ therapeutically to enable induced regeneration. A principal focus is the assessment of the criteria that need to be met by biomaterials to deliver these agents and to fill defects. The course presents the principles underlying strategies for employing select biomaterial scaffolds, exogenous cells, and soluble regulators for the formation of tissue in vitro (TE) and regeneration of tissues/organs in vivo (regenerative medicine/OR). The course describes the methodologies for producing biomaterial scaffolds to accommodate the infiltration of endogenous cells (e.g., for the treatment of stroke) and for delivering cells and regulatory molecules (e.g., for the treatment of blindness). Examples of clinical successes and failures of regenerative devices are analyzed as case studies.
This course was created by Professors Myron Spector and Ioannis Yannas in 2003, and has been since taught annually. The course content is updated regularly to include new knowledge acquired by the scientific, engineering, and clinical communities. The goal of the subject is to provide knowledge that may be used to identify targets for treatment for medical problems.
Topics
Part I: Fundamentals of TEOR
- Principles underlying TEOR; distinguishing the approaches of TE and OR
- How to model the clinical problem to guide the selection of the tools: “unit cell processes” (UCPs)
- The tools available for facilitating improved healing and regeneration: biomaterial matrices, exogenous cells, and regulators (growth factors and cytokines)
- Understanding the interactions among matrices, cells, and molecular regulators; how tissues naturally assemble during development to form organs, to provide models for OR; and how matrix proteins (viz., collagen) can be modified to achieve therapeutic effects
- Defining the clinical problem; impediments to spontaneous regeneration in defects resulting from injury, disease, and aging
- Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) as the cause of fibrotic conditions and cancers, and as a guide to OR
- Understanding the roles that mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress can play in disease, and the attendant therapeutic targets
- The cell and molecular biology underlying wound healing and the tissue response to permanent and absorbable biomaterials, analyzed through UCPs
Part II: The Tools for TEOR; What They Are and How to Use Them
- Design criteria for pre-formed and injectable matrices, and methods of fabrication
- Criteria for the selection of stem and progenitor cells and differentiated cell types, and methods for their use in conjunction with biomaterial matrices
- Determinants of the use of regulatory molecules, and delivery vehicles
Part III: Practice/Translation of TEOR: Clinical Applications
- Examples of TEOR solutions to specific clinical problems
Readings
Readings for the course comprise lecture notes, PowerPoint slides, and journal articles.
Grading
The final grade is determined by 3 quizzes. Each quiz is 90 minutes in length and covers the information presented and discussed in class and in the practice quiz questions. Any notes can be used during the quiz.
“Credential” Letter
An option for select students, who are not enrolled at MIT or Harvard, is to obtain a letter grade for taking this course, certified in a letter from Professor Spector. The grade would not be recognized by MIT or Harvard; there will be no official record of the grade at the institutions. In exercising this option, the student would meet periodically by Zoom with Professor Spector, who would also administer and grade the 3 quizzes. Students interested in this option should contact Professor Spector at mspector@mit.edu.
