Winter 07: New Voices at BME

Rensselaer’s junior biotech faculty tackle everything from back pain to biophotonics


David Corr
David Corr: Healing Soft Tissue

David Corr knows quite a bit about engineering tissues as well. At Rensselaer, he is using that expertise to discover what happens to soft tissue—skin, tendons, ligaments, muscles—when injury strikes.

“Our goal is to tailor a custom tissue replacement material, built cell by cell, to the precise geometries of the uninjured tissue,” explained Corr, who is collaborating on the project with Professor Doug Chrisey in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. “To do this, we image the surrounding uninjured tissue, create the desired CAD/CAM blueprint, and print and grow the replacement tissue.” 

In doing so, Corr and his colleagues hope to achieve several aims: to better understand the natural structure-function relationships in soft tissue; to identify the specific mechanics involved in injury; and, ultimately, to create a process. “We envision exploiting the rapid prototyping capabilities of this technique to assemble custom-engineered replacement tissues, built out of the patient’s own cells.”

Such a process could well result in better healing from serious injuries—a result that also serves as Corr’s motivator. “I derive much of my inspiration from the thought that my research may improve someone’s quality of life,” he noted. “I’m also inspired by the intricacies and beauty of nature’s design; by the hierarchical structures of muscle, tendon and ligament; and by their ability to produce or resist loading.

“Selfishly, I also want these problems solved so I can benefit from them, and hopefully be able to ride my bike and snowboard when I’m retired.”

Fig. 1. Polarized light microscopy of healthy, uninjured porcine skin. Due to the birefringent property of collagen, polarized light selectively displays the collagen component in skin, illustrating fiber orientation with a preferred direction (Langer's line). Fig. 2. Polarized light microscopy of a mature scar following full-thickness skin excision. With respect to uninjured skin, the healing wound displays thinner collagen fibers, with an altered preferred (principal) direction.

Figure 1.  Polarized light microscopy of healthy, uninjured porcine skin.  Due to the birefringent property of collagen, polarized light selectively displays the collagen component in skin, illustrating fiber orientation with a preferred direction (Langer's line).

 Figure 2: Polarized light microscopy of a mature scar following full-thickness skin excision.  With respect to uninjured skin, the healing wound displays thinner collagen fibers, with an altered preferred (principal) direction.