🎉 Exciting news — Joshua (Yu-Chung) Liu has officially passed his Qualifying Exam at the University of Michigan - congratulations!

His proposed research focuses on understanding and engineering the nascent extracellular matrix (nECM), a self-assembled layer that cells build in 3D hydrogels. Rather than viewing nECM as a passive byproduct, Joshua redefines it as an active player in cell fate decisions, with the goal of developing new strategies to engineer it.

This work aims to reshape how we model cell-matrix interactions in vitro and supports the development of next-generation tissue constructs for regenerative medicine and disease modeling.

Stay tuned as this story unfolds!