Our Crowdfunding Groups
Team Matrix is a group within the Gemstone Honors Program Class of 2018. The purpose of our research is to find a more optimal treatment for osteoarthritis using a targeted cell therapy approach. Currently, approximately 50% of Americans are expected to develop a symptom of OA within their lifetime. This rate is only expected to increase over time because of the increased prevalence of risk factors such as obesity and longer life expectations. Current treatments only alleviate symptoms and help patients manage their pain, but never fully eradicate the disease. Since mature articular cartilage does not organically regenerate, our project aims to find an optimal treatment to regenerate articular cartilage and reverse the effects of osteoarthritis. Extracellular vesicles are lipid structures that transfer molecules between cells. Manipulating the contents of these vesicles creates targeted therapies with increased absorption rates. Our research seeks to find the optimal combination of extracellular vesicle and loaded cargo to create a targeted therapy to regenerate cartilage.
Team Matrix is comprised of 11 members. The team was assembled in April 2015 and will continue research until April 2018. Each team member has a unique background, with majors ranging from Biology and Engineering to Finance and Government, but are all passionate about finding a cure for osteoarthritis. The team mentor is Dr. Steven Jay, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering. Aside from academic interests, each team member is also an active member of the University of Maryland community, such as Greek life, club sports, and various charity and outreach programs. Despite our various backgrounds, each team member plays a unique role in finding a cure for osteoarthritis.
We have presented our Thesis Proposal and are finally ready to begin our research, and we need your help to get started! We are aiming to raise $5,000 this month. That money will significantly further our research and allow us to purchase necessary materials such as stem cells, chondrocytes, assay kits, miRNA cargo, and cell culture media. All of these materials play an integral role in our research. With a total project budget of over $10,000, donations of any size are welcome and appreciated!
Visit our website: http://gemsteammatrix.weebly.com
Facebook: Team MATRIX - Gemstone Class of 2018
E-mail: teammatrixumd@gmail.com
Gifts in support of the University of Maryland are accepted and managed by the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, Inc., an affiliated 501(c)(3) organization authorized by the Board of Regents. Contributions to the University of Maryland are tax deductible as allowed by law. Please see your tax advisor for details.
A $10 donation will go towards purchasing lab materials such as pipettes and beakers which are crucial to our cell culturing procedure.
A $25 donation will help our team members attend conferences to learn more about osteoarthritis and extracellular vesicles and network with experts in the field.
A $50 donation will go towards purchasing media to culture our cells in. This is crucial in ensuring that our cells are healthy and controlled throughout the duration of our project.
Your donation of $100 will contribute towards purchasing various types of miRNA that will be used in our various engineered treatments.
A donation of $250 will allow us to purchase necessary materials such as assay kits to test the efficacy of our engineered treatment.
Various strains of live cells will be used throughout our project. A donation of $500 will contribute to purchasing those cells.