Researcher working on purifying retinal cells for better testing results

A team of Hopkins researchers including Claire Hur, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and researcher with the Institute for NanoBiotechnology and the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute, has received a Launch Award grant from the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF),  to accelerate the development of innovative stem cell–based therapies. The grant is meant to encourage junior faculty to bring innovative research and technology to the field of regenerative medicine.

The team’s goal is to develop a novel microfluidic system to purify Retinal Ganglion Cells (RGCs) generated from stem cells for potential use in replacing diseased ones. RGCs are located in the inner layer of the retina and play a crucial role in vision, as they are responsible for receiving and processing signals from photoreceptor cells (rods and cones) and transmitting them to the brain.

Purifying the cells, which involves isolating them from contaminants and other cell variants, and eliminating external influences on cells, ensures that investigators can get uncorrupted data about specific cell types.

“This technology employs gentle viscoelastic forces—arising from fluids that behave like a liquid and an elastic solid in different situations—to separate cells based on softness,” Hur said. “Cells whose softness differs in a way that identifies retinal ganglion cells can be directed to specific outlets, allowing researchers to obtain pure populations of retinal ganglion cells without relying on genetic or antibody labels.”

The team’s method will accelerate research into blinding diseases like glaucoma and conditions which damage the optic nerve.

“In the long term, this platform could help produce clinical-grade RGCs for transplantation or drug screening, bringing stem-cell-based vision restoration closer to reality,” Hur said.

This project originated as a collaboration between Hur, who holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Donald Zack and Cynthia Berlinicke at JHU’s Wilmer Eye Institute, supported by a 2020 Johns Hopkins Discovery Award.

Story by Jonathan Deutschman from the Department of Mechanical Enginering.