Medical Engineering Trailblazer Seminar, Eri Takematsu

Age-associated skeletal maladies cause significant suffering in elderly patients. To address these diseases, skeletal stem cell (SSC)-targeted regenerative medicine with therapeutic proteins offers a novel approach. My research focuses on three areas: 1) SSC biology to understand their regenerative properties, 2) osteoimmunology to explore how SSCs interact with niche cells, and 3) developing next-generation synthetic growth factors using nanobodies. First, I investigate the diversity of SSCs based on their anatomical location and its effect on regenerative activity. Second, I study the crosstalk between SSCs and immune cells, particularly neutrophils, and its impact on skeletal regeneration. My third focus is developing a synthetic BMP-2. While BMP-2 is used for bone regeneration due to its therapeutic potential, it also has pleiotropic effects on immune cells, leading to adverse outcomes. The new BMP-2 mimetic, or surrogate BMP-2, is engineered using nanobodies to selectively activate certain cell types while minimizing adverse effects. Through these three focuses, my goal is to advance skeletal regenerative medicine and develop safer, more effective protein- based therapeutics.

Biography: Dr. Takematsu began her research career as a material scientist at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, earning her master's degree in 2015. Her interests shifted towards biology, leading her to join the biomedical engineering program at the University of Texas at Austin. She focused on reducing the pleiotropic effects of stem cell factor proteins to minimize side effects on mast cells while preserving their angiogenesis capacity in endothelial cells. After completing her doctoral training, she pursued postdoctoral training at Stanford University's Stem Cell Institute, focusing on skeletal stem cell-based bone and cartilage regenerative medicine in Dr. Charles Chan's lab. Her research combines stem cell biology with the engineering of therapeutic proteins. Her contributions have earned her multiple young investigator awards from organizations like the American Heart Association, the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine.