Awarded in 2006
Home Department: Mechanical Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Christopher Jacobs (Mechanical Engineering)

Research Description: The powerful potential of stem cell therapy motivates a better understanding of the basic mechanisms regulating developmental biology. The role of mechanical and electrical forces in the adult physiology and pathology has been well documented, and Jennifer was interested in what clues these phenomena may hold for generating robust, terminally differentiated stem cells. The pluripotent capacity of human embryonic stem cells makes them an attractive source for cell-based myocardial therapy. Specifically, the delivery of cardiac myocytes, which constitute 70-80% of the adult myocardium, may restore tissue viability and function to ischemic tissue damaged by a heart attack. Her research was motivated by the limitations of current methods to derive cardiac myocytes from stem cells. Her aim was to increase the differentiation yield of cardiac myocytes through electromechanical conditioning and ultimately the in vivo performance of myocardial cell-transplants.

WHERE IS SHE NOW?

Jennifer is the Chief of Innovation at UCLA Health and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She is the Executive Director of UCLA Biodesign and an Associate Director of the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI).