Tracy Hookway
Assistant Professor
Biomedical Engineering
Background
Research Focus:
The focus of our lab is to develop predictive engineered in vitro models of human cardiovascular tissues to interrogate the mechanisms that drive morphogenic developmental processes. To achieve this we use multi-scale, three-dimensional cultures of stem cells and their differentiated progeny to recapitulate tissue development, tissue homeostasis, and pathophysiological states. We focus on understanding the bi-directional interactions between cells and their local environment.
Other areas of interest in the lab include age-specific changes in tissue state, cell-extracellular matrix interactions, bioprocessing and tissue fabrication.
Academic Appointments:
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering Department, ÂÌñÉç, ÂÌñÉç, NY, 2018
Honors & Awards:
- Outstanding Poster Award, Gladstone Institutes Scientific Retreat, Asilomar, California, 2017
- American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2015 – 2016
- Above and Beyond Award, Petit Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Georgia Tech, 2013
- Koerner Family Fellowship, School of Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2011
- Potvin Award, Biomedical Engineering Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2010
- Innovation Competition, Second Place, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2010
- Outstanding Poster Award, NAVBO VMBB Workshop II, Whistler, British Columbia, 2009
- Arvid Marietta Anderson Graduate Fellowship, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2006 – 2007
Relevant Publications:
Strobel, HA, Calamari EL, Alphonse B, Hookway TA, Rolle MW. Fabrication of custom agarose wells for cell seeding and tissue ring self-assembly using 3D-printed molds. Journal of Visualized Experiments (In Press).
Khalil AS, Yu X, Xie AW, Fontana G, Umhoefer JM, Johnson HJ, Hookway TA, McDevitt TC, Murphy WL. Functionalization of microparticles with mineral coatings enhances non-viral transfection of primary human cells. Scientific Reports, 7(1):14211, 2017.
Butts JC, McCreedy DA, Martinez JA, Mendoza-Camacho FN, Hookway TA, Gifford CA, Taneja P, Noble-Haeusslein L, McDevitt TC. Differentiation of V2a interneurons from human pluripotent stem cells. PNAS, 114(19):4969-4974, 2017.
Matthys OB, Hookway TA, McDevitt TC. Design principles for engineering of tissues from human pluripotent stem cells. Current Stem Cell Reports. 2(1):43-51, 2016.
Hookway TA, Butts JC, Lee E, Tang H, McDevitt TC. Aggregate formation and suspension culture of human pluripotent stem cells and their progeny. Methods. 101:11-20, 2016.
Nguyen D*, Hookway TA*, Wu Q, Jha R, Preininger MK, Chen X, Easley CA, Spearman P, Deshpande SR, Maher K, Wagner MB, McDevitt TC, Xu C. Microscale generation of cardiospheres promotes robust enrichment of cardiomyocytes derived from human pluripotent stem cells. Stem Cell Reports, 3(2):260-268, 2014. *co-first author
Kinney MA, Hookway TA, Wang Y, McDevitt TC. Engineering three-dimensional stem cell morphogenesis for the development of tissue models and scalable regenerative therapeutics. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 42(2):352-67, 2014.
Phillips-Cremins JE, Sauria MEG, Sanyal A, Gerasimova TI, Lajoie BR, Bell JSK, Ong C, Hookway TA, Guo C, Sun Y, Bland MJ, Wagstaff W, Dalton S, McDevitt TC, Sen R, Dekker J, Taylor J, Corces VG. Architectural protein subclasses shape 3-D organization of genomes during lineage commitment. Cell, 153(6):1281-95, 2013.
Adebayo O, Hookway TA, Hu JZ, Billiar KL, Rolle MW. Self-assembled smooth muscle cell tissue rings exhibit greater tensile strength than cell-seeded fibrin or collagen gel rings. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research A, 101(2):428-37, 2013.
Gwyther TA, Hu JZ, Billiar KL, Rolle MW. Directed cellular self-assembly to fabricate cell-derived tissue rings for biomechanical analysis and tissue engineering. Journal of Visualized Experiments (57):e3366, DOI: 10.3791/3366, 2011.
Gwyther TA*, Hu JZ*, Christakis AG, Skorinko JK, Shaw SM, Billiar KL, Rolle MW. Engineered vascular tissue fabricated from aggregated smooth muscle cells. Cells Tissue Organs, 194(1):13-24, 2011.
Education
- BS, Lehigh University
- PhD, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Postdoctoral, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Postdoctoral, Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease
Research Interests
- 3D tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
- Stem cell biology and tissue morphogensis
- Cardiovascular physiology
- Multicellular interactions