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Randolph Ashton

Randolph Ashton

Associate Professor

In the Stem Cell Bioprocessing and Regenerative Biomaterials Laboratory, we endeavor to engineer novel materials and methodologies that optimally instruct lineage-specific differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) in a reproducible and scalable manner. Our goal is to understand, model, and recapitulate in vitro the instructive signals utilized by human embryos to pattern tissue-specific differentiation of embryonic stem cells, and apply this knowledge towards the rational design of tissue engineer scaffolds and other regenerative therapeutic strategies. Our research is highly interdisciplinary with topics ranging from novel biomaterials to stem cell biology, and we employs a range of techniques including microfabrication, molecular biology, recombinant protein engineering, synthetic chemistry, and automated live-cell imaging to 1) develop high-throughput screening methods for investigating the quantitative, temporal, and nano-scale qualitative characteristics of cellular microenvironmental factors that regulate stem cell fate and 2) incorporate this knowledge into rational design of scaffolds for generating high-order tissue structures in vitro using hPSCs or their differentiated progeny. We currently specialize in developing regenerative therapies for the central nervous systems; however, we are always seeking collaborations and looking to expand into other systems, especially vascular and muscular tissues.

Department

Biomedical Engineering

Contact

4168, Wi Inst For Discovery
333 N Randall Ave
Madison, WI

  • PhD 2007, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • BS 2002, Hampton University

  • Neural tissue engineering
  • Vascular tissue engineering
  • Regenerative therapies for the central nervous system
  • Stem cell bioprocessing
  • Nanoscale biomaterials engineering
  • Engineering the stem cell-biomaterial interface

  • 2023 American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) Fellowship
  • 2020 Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, 2020 Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Innovation Award
  • 2018 University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering, UW-Madison College of Engineering Equity & Diversity Award
  • 2017 National Science Foundation (NSF), National Science Foundation CAREER Award
  • 2016 Regenerative Medicine Workshop, 2016 Young Investigator Faculty Award, Regenerative Medicine Workshop at Hilton Head, SC
  • 2015 Chemical Communications, 2015 Emerging Investigator, Chemical Communications (RSC Journal, IF: 6.718)
  • 2014 Burroughs Wellcome, Burroughs Wellcome Fund Innovator in Regulatory Science
  • 2013 MES’s Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering SIG, Rising Star Award
  • 2012 Richmond Area Program for Minorities in Engineering, Alumnus of the Year

  • Boutom, S. M., Silva, T. P., Palecek, S. P., Shusta, E. V., Fernandes, T. G., & Ashton, R. (2024). Central nervous system vascularization in human embryos and neural organoids. Cell Reports, 43(12).
  • Stokar-Regenscheit, N., Bell, L., Berridge, B., Rudmann, D., Tagle, D., Hargrove-Grimes, P., Schaudien, D., Hahn, K., K"uhnlenz, Julia,, Ashton, R., & others, (2024). Complex In Vitro Model Characterization for Context of Use in Toxicologic Pathology: Use Cases by Collaborative Teams of Biologists, Bioengineers, and Pathologists. Toxicologic Pathology, 01926233241253811.
  • Lundin, B. F., Knight, G. T., Fedorchak, N. J., Krucki, K., Iyer, N., Maher, J. E., Izban, N. R., Roberts, A., Cicero, M. R., Robinson, J. F., & others, (2024). RosetteArray Platform for Quantitative High-Throughput Screening of Human Neurodevelopmental Risk. bioRxiv, 2024--04.
  • Lodewijk, G. A., Kozuki, S., Han, C., Topacio, B. R., Zargari, A., Lee, S., Knight, G., Ashton, R., Qi, L. S., & Shariati, S. A. (2024). Self-organization of embryonic stem cells into a reproducible embryo model through epigenome editing. bioRxiv.
  • Didier, C. M., Pollard, K. J., Bosak, A., Iyer, N., Ashton, R., Moore, M. J., & Rajaraman, S. (2023). Electrophysiological Characterizaton Of A Novel, Transwell-Transferred, Human Neural Nociceptive Microphysiological Circuit Atop Polymer/Steel 3d Microelectrode Arrays. In 2023 22nd International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems (Transducers) (pp. 1044–1047).
  • Didier, C. M., Fox, D., Pollard, K. J., Baksh, A., Iyer, N. R., Bosak, A., Li Sip, Y. Y., Orrico, J. F., Kundu, A., Ashton, R., & others, (2023). Fully Integrated 3D Microelectrode Arrays with Polydopamine-Mediated Silicon Dioxide Insulation for Electrophysiological Interrogation of a Novel 3D Human, Neural Microphysiological Construct. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 15(31), 37157--37173.
  • Birtele, M., Del Dosso, A., Xu, T., Nguyen, T., Wilkinson, B., Hosseini, N., Nguyen, S., Urenda, J., Knight, G., Rojas, C., & others, (2023). Non-synaptic function of the autism spectrum disorder-associated gene SYNGAP1 in cortical neurogenesis. Nature Neuroscience, 26(12), 2090--2103.
  • Didier, C., Fox, D., Baksh, A., Pollard, K., Iyer, N., Bosak, A., Orrico, J., Castro, J., Kundu, A., Zhai, L., & others, (2022). Stable, Electron-Beam Sublimated, Nanostructured Silicon Dioxide On Polycarbonate And Stainless-Steel As A Bioadherent Dielectric Towards Neural Microphysiological Systems. In Hilton Head 2022 MEMS Workshop.
  • Iyer, N. R., & Ashton, R. (2022). Bioengineering the human spinal cord. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 10, 942742.
  • Abrahamsson, D., Siddharth, A., Robinson, J. F., Soshilov, A., Elmore, S., Cogliano, V., Ng, C., Khan, E., Ashton, R., Chiu, W. A., & others, (2022). Modeling the transplacental transfer of small molecules using machine learning: A case study on per-and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS). Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology, 32(6), 808--819.

  • B M E 430 - Biological Interactions with Materials (Spring 2025)
  • B M E 890 - Pre-dissertation Research (Spring 2025)
  • PHM SCI 430 - Biological Interactions with Materials (Spring 2025)
  • B M E 200 - Biomedical Engineering Design (Fall 2024)
  • B M E 300 - Biomedical Engineering Design and Leadership (Fall 2024)
  • B M E 399 - Independent Study (Fall 2024)
  • B M E 890 - Pre-dissertation Research (Fall 2024)
  • B M E 890 - Pre-dissertation Research (Summer 2024)
  • B M E 399 - Independent Study (Spring 2024)
  • B M E 430 - Biological Interactions with Materials (Spring 2024)
  • B M E 890 - Pre-dissertation Research (Spring 2024)
  • B M E 990 - Research and Thesis (Spring 2024)
  • PHM SCI 430 - Biological Interactions with Materials (Spring 2024)
  • B M E 200 - Biomedical Engineering Design (Fall 2023)
  • B M E 300 - Biomedical Engineering Design and Leadership (Fall 2023)
  • B M E 399 - Independent Study (Fall 2023)
  • B M E 890 - Pre-dissertation Research (Fall 2023)
  • B M E 990 - Research and Thesis (Fall 2023)
  • B M E 890 - Pre-dissertation Research (Summer 2023)
  • B M E 990 - Research and Thesis (Summer 2023)