Building stem cell niches from the molecule up through engineered peptide materials

► Designing mimics of the neural stem cell niche through biomaterial engineering. ► Molecular design of peptides and proteins that mimic the extracellular matrix. ► Polypeptide hydrogels for three-dimensional neural stem cell culture. ► Engineered biopolymers suitable for delivery of transplanted stem cells. ► Pre-clinical and clinical trials of engineered polypeptide materials within the CNS.