Education & Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science, Northwestern University, Chemical Engineering (2023)
  • Bachelor of Arts, Northwestern University, Music Studies (2023)

Contact

  • Academic
    andregu@stanford.edu
    University - Student Department: Bioengineering Position: Graduate

Additional Info

Lab Affiliations

All Publications

  • Remodeling of lipid-foam prototissues by network-wide tension fluctuations induced by active particles NATURE COMMUNICATIONS Gu, A. A., Ucar, M., Tran, P., Prindle, A., Kamat, N. P., Steinkuehler, J. 2025; 16 (1): 2026

    Abstract

    Recent advances in the field of bottom-up synthetic biology have led to the development of synthetic cells that mimic some features of real cells, such as division, protein synthesis, or DNA replication. Larger assemblies of synthetic cells may be used to form prototissues. However, existing prototissues are limited by their relatively small lateral dimensions or their lack of remodeling ability. Here, we introduce a lipid-based tissue mimetic that can be easily prepared and functionalized, consisting of a millimeter-sized "lipid-foam" with individual micrometer-sized compartments bound by lipid bilayers. We characterize the structural and mechanical properties of the lipid-foam tissue mimetic, and we demonstrate self-healing capabilities enabled by the fluidity of the lipid bilayers. Upon inclusion of bacteria in the tissue compartments, we observe that the tissue mimetic exhibits network-wide tension fluctuations driven by membrane tension generation by the swimming bacteria. Active tension fluctuations facilitate the fluidization and reorganization of the prototissue, providing a versatile platform for understanding and mimicking biological tissues.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-57178-x

    View details for Web of Science ID 001435269000002

    View details for PubMedID 40016255

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11868539

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5565-988X