Researchers from Mayo Clinic, Florida State University, and FAMU-FSU College of Engineering are collaborating to develop innovative treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

Yang Li, a professor in the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, is leading research into this neurodegenerative disease. Her team includes several doctoral students and prominent Mayo Clinic experts. Lee holds joint appointments at FSU and Mayo University and brings more than 20 years of experience in pluripotent stem cell biology and extracellular vesicle therapy to this work.

“This shared project is important because of the resources and expertise provided by Mayo Clinic,” Lee said. “One of the key elements of this research is gaining access to patient-derived three-dimensional brain models. These cutting-edge tools will allow scientists to more effectively evaluate new treatments based on real human biological systems.”

In a study published in advanced healthcare materialsLi and colleagues have developed a more accurate cell model for studying brain diseases. This is a tool that could help scientists develop better treatments for patients.

The researchers created a model that more closely mimics the environment found in the human brain by combining brain organoids – lab-made cell structures that mimic the function of human organs – with immune cells similar to those found in the brain.

Unlike simple brain representations, these organoids contained microglia-like immune cells that resemble the brain’s natural purifying and defense cells. These allow brain organoids to mimic inflammatory and immune responses, both of which are important in neurodegenerative diseases.

The research team that developed the tool used it to test for Alzheimer’s disease by exposing organoids to small intercellular messengers (known as extracellular vesicles) from the brain cells of Alzheimer’s patients.

They found that samples containing healthy immune cells and their associated extracellular vesicles reduced harmful inflammation and lowered signals associated with some harmful proteins found in Alzheimer’s patients.

“This study paves the way for understanding the role of microglia and brain organoids in modeling neurodegeneration and developing extracellular vesicle-based cell-free therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Lee.

The results provide a new, more precise way to study neurological conditions associated with Alzheimer’s disease and suggest treatments that use extracellular vesicles instead of drugs or transplanted cells.

“Using cellular messengers as drugs is a promising avenue for new treatments that apply the brain’s unique purifying tools to fight disease,” said Dr. Lee. “By gaining insight into this communication, we hope to develop new treatments that can change the course of Alzheimer’s disease.”

A collaboration between FSU and Mayo Clinic provides biomedical engineering doctoral students with an opportunity not found in traditional engineering doctoral programs. Program: Direct immersion in a clinical research environment.

Several prominent researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Florida are contributing to this effort. Dr. Takahisa Kanekiyo, associate professor of neuroscience, and Dr. Alfredo Quinones Hinojosa, professor of neurosurgery, are leading the medical aspects of the effort. PhD research students Jennifer Berg Sen, Sailesti Joshi and Falak Seed are collaborating with Lee on the academic side.

Students work alongside physicians and physicians at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, observing first-hand patient-centered research and learning advanced testing techniques not typically available at universities. This experience gives engineering students a medical perspective on research and helps them understand how technical research translates into clinical applications.

“In the future, we hope to expand these types of faculty collaborations and student training opportunities to advance translational research that improves patient outcomes,” said Emily Pritchard, assistant vice chancellor for academic health innovation and strategic alliances and associate provost.

Witnessing the real-world medical challenges that their work can help solve is an inspiration to the doctoral students already visiting the clinic. This arrangement allows clinicians to access engineering expertise while providing students with a medical context rarely offered in traditional engineering programs.

“Working with Mayo Clinic has been a very exciting experience and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for this work,” said Berg-Sen.