Biography |
Michelle is a postdoc who joined the Bimczok lab in 2020. In 2016, She earned her bachelor’s in biotechnology at the University of Centra Florida and remained there to complete her PhD in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences in 2020, studying the transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the female reproductive tract. Currently, in the Bimczok Lab, she is developing the Gastrointestinal Organoid Flow Chip (GOFlowChip). The GOFlowChip is a microphysiological system which integrates the gastrointestinal epithelium, in the form of human gastric organoids, and mononuclear phagocytes (MNPs), in order to understand MNP-mediated antigen sampling in the gastrointestinal tract. Additionally, in collaboration with Dr. Andrew Gentry at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, she is investigating the risk of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in the gastrointestinal tract of patients to hospital workers during routine endoscopy procedures.
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Research |
Microphysiological systems (MPSs) are microfluidic models of organs, organ systems, or disease models. Human MPSs have species-specific physiological environments lacking in animal models and operate with small volumes, making them potentially useful for human health research and drug development. The Bimczok Lab, in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of engineers (Jim Wilking, Ph.D. and Connie Chang, Ph.D.), immunologists (Mark Jutila Ph.D.,) and microbiome experts (Seth Walk Ph.D.), is developing a MPS modeling the human gastrointestinal (GI) mucosa, the Gastrointestinal Organoid Flow Chip (GOFlowChip).
The GOFlowChip integrates human tissue-derived gastric organoids, mononuclear phagocytes (MNPs), and bacteria, in order to investigate antigen sampling within the GI tract. Antigen sampling by MNPs is essential to maintaining GI homeostasis, in which tolerance is developed in response to commensal bacteria and food antigen while an appropriate immune response is mounted against pathogens. Disturbed GI homeostasis can lead to inflammatory disorders such as Helicobacter pylori-induced gastritis in the stomach or inflammatory bowel syndrome in the intestine. Considering its importance to health, the mechanism by which MNPs reach antigen in the lumen from below the GI epithelium is not fully understood. Using the GOFlowChip, we can elucidate interactions between MNPs and the GI epithelium with real-time imaging and sampling. |