Alex Hughes
University of Pennsylvania, PA·Biomedical Engineering
Many organs, including the kidney and lung, are built from sheets and tubes of tightly packed cells. They form by gradually branching, sculpting and connecting these structures, not by assembling all their parts at once.
- Fields
Biomedical Engineering
Engineering
Biology
- Topics
kidney organoids
nephrogenesis
nephron progenitors
- Grants
- 3 known grants, through Jul 2029
What they work on
- Map how tissue mechanics and cell-cell signaling jointly shape epithelial tissue in kidney and lung organoids, using independent optogenetic (light-controlled) handles to control organoid cell composition.
- Control the shape and lengthening of engineered epithelial tubules by programming directional cell forces through planar cell polarity pathways, and combine tubule building with microfluidics to set tubule polarity.
- Test whether mechanical compaction of kidney mesenchymal cells permits nephron formation, by measuring compaction and early nephron cell mechanics and using micropatterning to set nephron positions.
- Program fusion of nephrons with ureteric epithelium, the kidney's urine-draining tubes, using optogenetic control of WNT signaling in co-cultures and assemblies with ureteric spheroids.
- Map rhythmic cell-cell interactions in the mouse nephrogenic niche over space and time, building on spatial RNA sequencing that revealed alternating phases of progenitor renewal and differentiation.
- Engineer rhythmic, repeated nephron formation in human iPSC-derived kidney organoids using optogenetics and the cells' internal molecular clock.
More about the research
Lab-grown mini-organs called organoids, made from stem cells, now reproduce many cell types. However, they miss these building rules. As a result, they stay small, form in a single burst, or fail to connect properly. This lab studies the physical and signaling principles of organ development and turns them into engineering tools. A broad toolbox project spans kidney and lung, and two kidney projects aim to build larger, properly connected kidney tissue from human stem cells.
Why it matters
People with kidney failure depend on dialysis or scarce donor organs. Building larger, properly connected kidney tissue from a patient's own stem cells could one day offer a new form of kidney replacement. Understanding rhythmic nephron formation may also suggest ways to raise nephron numbers in newborns, since low nephron numbers are a risk factor for high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease. Engineered tissues could also serve as models for drug screening.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Quinton Smith
University of California-Irvine, CA·Biomedical Engineering
Test how paracrine signals and mechanical cues guide early cell fate decisions, using micropatterned induced gastrulation models of human induced pluripotent stem cells confined to defined geometries.
Rebecca Schulman
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Biomedical Engineering
Develop active biomaterial scaffolds with embedded molecular programs that deliver precisely timed, spatially localized signals to cells, mimicking the changing cues of natural development.
Samira Musah
Duke University, NC·Biomedical Engineering·Early-career
Use human stem cell-derived kidney models, including organoids and organ-on-chip systems, to identify tunable molecular targets that let specific cell types sense injury and trigger tissue repair.
The school
University of Pennsylvania: 90 labs on PI Pages, $2.2B a year on research, 750 research doctorates a year.
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