Chanelle Moise– NIH Trainee 2024-2025
Research Progress: I am a second-year Biomedical Engineering PhD student in Dr. Cathal Kearney’s lab. Over the past two years, I have conducted foundational research to address the differences in skin wound healing between rest and active phase wounds, as well as between rhythmic and non-rhythmic wounds. To evaluate these differences, my research is divided into three specific aims. In Aim 1, I plan to create in-vitro models to mimic circadian wound healing dynamics, using fibroblasts and keratinocytes in 2D scratch assays and a re-epithelialization model with functional human skin equivalents (HSE). Additionally, I will assess macrophage polarization dynamics in response to circadian stimuli to evaluate immune activation responses in-vitro. In Aim 2, I will use in-vivo mouse models to quantify the differences in wound healing and delineate the initial inflammatory response and its trajectory. In Aim 3, I will assess the therapeutic effects of a nanoparticle drug delivery system designed to modulate the initial inflammatory response.
Currently, I have demonstrated in-vitro differences between rest and active phase wound healing, as well as differences between rhythmic and non-rhythmic healing groups, which suggest that active phase and rhythmic wounds heal faster. I have also successfully created a human skin equivalent model consisting of fibroblasts in a collagen layer to mimic the dermis and a keratinocyte layer seeded on top to mimic the epidermis. Imaging confirms the successful construction of both layers and our ability to replicate wound re-epithelialization. Initial results indicate that HSEs heals faster when treated with circadian rhythm-inducing drugs, such as dexamethasone and forskolin. I am now initiating in-vitro macrophage polarization assays using flow cytometry and luminometry to quantify the role of circadian rhythms in M1 and M2 polarization.”