Overview

The Chen lab aims to understand how physical and chemical signals embedded in the microenvironment instruct aberrant behavior of resident cells to drive the progression of diseases and disorders within the central nervous system (CNS). We take a bioengineering approach to explore these questions by employing engineered biomaterial platforms, biomechanical characterization techniques, and traditional molecular biology assays. We utilize the insights gained to aid in the development of new approaches to combat neurodegeneration in traumatic injury and limit cell infiltration in glioblastoma.