Central OC Times

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, and the Keck School of Medicine of USC have embarked on a new project to develop treatments for damaged brain regions using intelligent biocomputing. Funded by a four-year, $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), this initiative aims to combine engineering principles with stem cell research to restore motor functions in patients who have suffered brain damage from strokes or other neurological issues.

“We believe that combining systems engineering and regenerative medicine might, with further research, help patients with neurological damage,” said Dr. An Do, associate professor of neurology at UC Irvine and principal investigator of the study. “The program will support the scientific research necessary to establish the foundations for future patient-treatment applications.”

The research team plans to use advanced biofabrication and adult stem cell technology to construct 3D neural networks that emulate the self-learning mechanisms of a healthy brain. These networks are envisioned to integrate with the brain and body, potentially restoring lost functions.

Dr. Do will oversee the project and lead bio-fabrication efforts. He will collaborate with Zoran Nenadic, UC Irvine professor of biomedical engineering, who will manage neural signal processing and neural network training processes. Hung Cao, an associate professor of electrical engineering at UC Irvine, will address microfabrication and microelectronics engineering needs.

Leigh Turner, a professor of bioethics and public health at UC Irvine, will explore ethical, legal, and social issues related to the project. Dr. Charles Liu, a professor of clinical neurological surgery at USC and director of the USC Neurorestoration Center, will work directly with patients.

The UC Irvine-USC team has been developing brain-computer interfaces for neurorestoration for years. In 2017, they received an $8 million grant from NSF to expand their work.

Stem cells hold promise for treating brain and spinal cord damage but have not yet been able to create functional and self-sustaining neural networks. The researchers believe an engineering solution is needed to achieve this goal.

Initially, the team will develop methods to print 3D networks of neural stem cells in culture using cells gathered from adult donors reprogrammed to a pluripotent state. They plan to create artificial blood vessels to help these networks grow larger and thrive.

Subsequently, they aim to establish bidirectional connections between cultured brain cells and living human brains during behavioral tasks performed by research participants at UC Irvine. These studies will later involve epilepsy patients implanted with electrodes by the USC Epilepsy Care Consortium.

Although still theoretical and many stages away from clinical practice, successful outcomes could advance treatments for various neurological conditions. The researchers also plan to investigate whether these intelligent biocomputers can perform complex functions such as logic and computing.

This work is supported by NSF grant 2422412.

Six other institutions received Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation grants: University of Michigan, University of Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Harvard University, University of Maryland, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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