Current Research

Human Umbilical Cord Perivascular Cells (HUCPVCs) are a novel source of mesenchymal progenitors that arise as an alternative to bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells. They exhibit an immunoprivileged phenotype, a high proportion of colony forming unit-fibroblast, low doubling time and are capable of differentiating into bone and other mesenchymal lineages. In addition, they are easy to obtain, are genetically modifiable and enhance bone healing in vivo. Our goal is to engineer an osteogenic cell population ready to be used in bone tissue engineering by inducing the overexpression of the osteoblastic transcription factor Runx2, which upregulates several osteoblast-specific genes and enhances matrix mineralization.

Background

Biomedical Engineering B.Sc

Awards and Scholarships

• 2006-2008 Connaught Scholarship
• 2005 Young Investigator COLCIENCIAS 2005. University of Antioquia .
• Honor mention for the work "Analysis of applicability of Calcium Sulphate in Tissue Engineering: evaluation of cytotoxity and fabrication of porous matrices." Catalina Estrada, Daniel Gallego, Felipe Garcia. II Colombian Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering Congress 2005 (IEEE- ABIOIN)

Publications

• Catalina Estrada, Ana cristina Paz, Luís Ernesto López.Bone Tissue Engineering. Revista EIA. No. 5, p. 93-100. June 2006.

Personal Interests

Music.