Members’ Labs

Sharon Gerecht, PhD

Paul M. Gross Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering
Duke University

Primary Research:

Our lab studies how the microenvironment regulates cellular responses, with the long-term goal of developing countermeasures and therapeutics. We develop biomaterials and culture systems to emulate mechanical and physical stressors toward understanding tissue function, reliance, and homeostasis. We also use that information to uncover pathways in injury and disease development to guide tissue healing and regeneration. Specifically, we focus on blood vessels and their multifaceted roles in tissue performance, aging, and disease.

Laboratory web site URL:

https://gerechtlab.duke.edu

Members of the Laboratory

Recent Publications

Wei Z, Lei M, Wang Y, Xie Y, Xie X, Lan D, Jia Y, Liu J Ma Y, Cheng B, Gerecht S^, Xu F^. Hydrogels with Tunable Mechanical Plasticity Regulate Endothelial Cell Outgrowth in Vasculogenesis and Angiogenesis. Nat Commun. 2023 14:8307.
Guan Y, Racioppi L, Gerecht S. Engineering biomaterials to tailor microenvironment for macrophage-endothelium interactions. Nat Rev. Mat. 2023:8; 688–699.
Hemmati F, Akinpelu A, Song J, Amiri F, McDaniel A, McMurray C, Afthinos A, Andreadis ST, Aitken AV, Biancardi VC, Gerecht S, Mistriotis P. Downregulation of YAP Activity Restricts P53 Hyperactivation to Promote Cell Survival in Confinement. Sci. Adv. 2023;2:e2302228.
Wang D, Brady T, Santhanam L, Gerecht S. The extracellular matrix mechanics in the vasculature. Nat Cardiovasc Res. 2023: 2; 718-732.
Pruitt HC , Liu H, Guan Y, Carey AE, Brennen WN, Lu J, Joshu C, Weeraratna A, Lotan T, Eisinger-Mathason K, Gerecht S. Collagen VI Deposition Mediates Stromal T cell trapping through inhibition of T cell motility in the Prostate Tumor Microenvironment. Matrix Biol. 2023: S0945-053X(23)00072-0.
Schnellmann R, Gerecht S. Reconstructing the aging extracellular matrix. Nat Rev Bioeng. 2023.
Song J and Gerecht S. Engineering vascular morphogenesis using cell-ECM interactions. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2023 43:e291-e302.
Warren E, Gerecht S. In vitro systems to study endothelial/pericyte cell interactions. Vascular Biology. 2023; 5:e220021.