This sandwich placement will be a joint project between the Making Lab STP and James Briscoe’s Lab, with the student working across both areas under the supervision of Albane Imbert (STP Lead) and James Briscoe (Group Leader).

Project summary

Cell micropatterning is a powerful approach for controlling the spatial organisation of cells in vitro, enabling researchers to investigate how geometry, cell-cell interactions, and local microenvironments influence biological function. By defining where cells adhere and interact, micropatterning has improved the reproducibility of cell-based assays and supported advances in developmental biology, mechanobiology, stem cell research, and tissue engineering. However, most micropatterning technologies remain confined to two-dimensional substrates, limiting their ability to capture the structural complexity and physiological relevance of native tissues.

This creates a significant opportunity for innovation. While 3D cultures and organoids better mimic in-vivo biology, they often lack control over cellular organisation. In contrast, micropatterning provides robust spatial control but is largely restricted to 2D. Bridging these approaches could unlock new opportunities to study tissue morphogenesis, multicellular interactions, and disease progression within more physiologically relevant models.

Ongoing work is already laying the foundations for wider adoption of micropatterning technologies. A dedicated sandwich student is currently working to standardise patterning protocols, develop robust operating procedures, and make these approaches accessible to a broader research community. This initiative is helping transform micropatterning from a specialist technique into a shared capability that can support diverse biological applications across the Institute.

The vision of this proposed project is to build upon this momentum and extend micropatterning principles beyond two-dimensional culture and establish a framework for spatially controlled three-dimensional biological systems.

Building upon emerging high-throughput and automated patterning technologies, we will explore strategies to generate, maintain, and manipulate defined cellular architectures within three-dimensional matrices and microfluidic environments. By combining the precision of micropatterning with advances in tissue engineering, this work aims to create a scalable route towards increasingly complex and programmable tissue models for future developments in spatial biology and organ-on-chip systems.

Candidate background