Scaffold design incorporating multi-scale cues for clinically-relevant, aligned tissue regeneration has potential to improve structural and functional integrity of multi-tissue interfaces. The objective of this pre-clinical study was to develop poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds with mesoscale and microscale architectural cues specific to human ligament progenitor cells and assess their ability to form aligned bone-ligament-cementum complexes in vivo. PCL scaffolds were designed to integrate a 3D printed bone region with a micropatterned PCL thin film consisting of grooved pillars. The patterned film region was seeded with human ligament cells, fibroblasts transduced with BMP-7 genes seeded within the bone region, and a tooth dentin segment positioned on the ligament region prior to subcutaneous implantation into a murine model. Results indicated increased tissue alignment in vivo using micropatterned PCL films, compared to random-porous PCL. At 6 weeks, 30um groove depth significantly enhanced oriented collagen fiber thickness, overall cell alignment, and nuclear elongation relative to 10um groove depth. This study demonstrates for the first time that scaffolds with combined hierarchical mesoscale and microscale features can align cells in vivo for oral tissue repair with potential for improving the regenerative response of other bone-ligament complexes.

Molecules can be immobilized onto biomaterials by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coating strategy. Pentafluorophenolester groups react with amine side chains on antibodies, which can selectively immobilize adenoviral vectors for gene delivery of growth factors. These vectors can produce functional proteins within defined regions of biomaterials to produce customizable structures for targeted tissue regeneration.

The COVID-19 outbreak has sown clinical and administrative chaos at academic health centers throughout the country. As COVID-19-related burdens on the health care system and medical schools piled up, questions from medical students far outweighed the capacity of medical school administrators to respond in an adequate or timely manner, leaving students feeling confused and without clear guidance. In this article, incoming and outgoing executive leaders of the University of Michigan Medical School Student Council and medical school deans outline the specific ways they were able to bridge the gap between medical students and administrators in a time of crisis. To illustrate the value of student government during uncertain times, the authors identify the most pressing problems faced by students at each phase of the curriculum—preclerkship, clerkship, and postclerkship—and explain how Student Council leadership partnered with administrators to find creative solutions to these problems and provide guidance to learners. They end by reflecting on the role of student government more broadly, identifying 3 guiding principles of student leadership and how these principles enable effective student representation.