Thomas Michaël Braschler
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Our research theme is the cellular microenvironment in cell transplantation. Our aim is to enhance cellular survival, differentiation, and ultimately function in regenerative cell therapy. For this, we employ a combination of porous hydrogels and microfabrication technologies to control the environment cells encounter during and after transplantation.
Our porous hydrogel scaffolds allow minimally invasive implantation, and we are currently developing engineering tools to control the cellular environment in-vivo, beyond the transplantation step. Our engineering targets are the biochemical properties of both scaffold and interstitial fluid, interstitial flow, and the biophysical properties of the scaffolds.
Our focus is currently on two application domains: regenerative cell therapy in the brain for stroke and Parkinson’s diseae, and soft tissue reconstruction.