Building Living Machines: Microvasculature Networks for a Living Machine

This presentation will discuss the state-of-the-art in developing biological and cellular machines and how this new discipline requires a fusion of various sub-disciplines ranging from synthetic biology, micro and nanotechnology, tissue engineering, and systems biology. Specifically, efforts to develop in vitro microvascular networks will be presented that are needed for maintaining cell viability over time and over multiple length scales. These vascular networks need to be functionally integrated with multiple cell types such as muscle, neurons, etc. to realize integrated cellular systems.