Researchers from Mayo Clinic Florida, Florida State University and the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering are collaborating to develop innovative treatments for Alzheimer's disease.
Yan Li, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, is leading research into this neurodegenerative disease. Her team includes several doctoral students and renowned experts from Mayo Clinic. Li, who holds a dual appointment at FSU and Mayo, brings over two decades of experience in pluripotent stem cell biology and extracellular vesicle therapeutics to the work.
"This shared project is significant because of the resources and expertise the Mayo Clinic offers," Li says. "One of the key components of this research is gaining access to patient-derived three-dimensional brain models. These cutting-edge tools will allow scientists to evaluate new treatments more effectively based on real human biological systems."
In research published in Advanced Healthcare Materials, Li and colleagues developed a more accurate cellular model for brain disease research, a tool that could help scientists create better treatments for patients.
By combining brain organoids - lab-grown cell structures that imitate the function of human organs - and immune cells like those found in the brain, the researchers created a model that more closely mimics the environment found within a human brain.
Unlike simpler representations of the brain, these organoids included microglia‑like immune cells, similar to the brain's natural cleanup and defense cells. Those allowed the brain organoids to imitate inflammation or immune responses, both of which are crucial in neurodegenerative diseases.
Having developed that tool, the research team used it to examine Alzheimer's disease by exposing the organoids to tiny cell‑to‑cell messengers - known as extracellular vesicles - from Alzheimer's patient brain cells.
They found that samples with healthy immune cells and their accompanying extracellular vesicles reduced harmful inflammation and lowered signals linked to several harmful proteins found in Alzheimer's patients.
"This study paves the way for understanding the role of microglia and brain organoids in modeling neural degeneration and the development of extracellular vesicle-based cell-free therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease treatment," Li said.
The results offer a new, more accurate way to study Alzheimer's disease and related neural conditions and point toward treatments that use extracellular vesicles for therapies instead of drugs or transplanted cells.
"Using cellular messengers as medicine is a promising avenue for new treatments that apply the brain's own clean-up tools toward fighting disease," Li said. "By gaining insight into this communication, we hope to develop new treatments that can alter the progression of Alzheimer's."
The collaboration between FSU and the Mayo Clinic offers doctoral students in biomedical engineering an opportunity uncommon in traditional engineering Ph.D. programs: direct immersion in a clinical research environment.
Several notable researchers from Mayo Clinic in Florida are contributing to the initiative. Dr. Takahisa Kanekiyo, an associate professor of neuroscience, and Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, a professor of neurosurgery, lead the medical side of the effort. Doctoral research students Jennifer Berg Sen, Sailesti Joshi and Falak Syed are working with Li on the academic side.
Students work alongside physicians and medical doctors at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, observe patient-centered research firsthand, and learn advanced laboratory techniques not typically available in university settings. The experience gives engineering students a medical perspective on their research, helping them understand how their technical work translates to clinical applications.
"It is my hope that in the future we can broaden these types of faculty collaborations and student training opportunities to advance translational research that improves patient outcomes for patients," said Emily Pritchard, assistant provost and assistant vice president for Academic Affairs Health Innovation and Strategic Alliances.
Witnessing real-world medical challenges that their work could help solve has been an inspiration to the doctoral students who have already visited the clinic. The arrangement provides clinicians with access to engineering expertise while giving students healthcare context that traditional engineering programs rarely offer.
"Working with the Mayo Clinic has been a highly inspiring experience, and I look forward to what the future holds for this work," Berg Sen said.
