Blood and lymphatic vasculatures are two important components of the tumor microenvironments. Blood vessels supply nutrients important for tumor growth and serve as a conduit for hematogenous tumor spread, while the lymphatic vessels are used by the cancer cells to interact with the immune system as well as for lymphatic tumor metastasis. Consequently, the growth of blood and lymphatic vasculatures surrounding the tumor have been associated with tumor metastases and poor patient prognosis.

With the ultimate goal to improve patient prognosis, our laboratory strives to make stem cell and molecular therapies as an effective method to model and treat diseases. In the context of cancer research, we aim to understand what governs the formation of blood and lymphatic vessels from stem cells, how these processes are affected by the tumor microenvironment, and how we can use these insights to develop novel therapies. Toward these goals, we integrate our core expertise in stem cell engineering, biomaterials synthesis, and micro/nano technologies.

Selected Publications:

1. Loan Bui, Shanique Edwards, Eva Hall, Laura Alderfer, Kellen Round, Madeline Owen, Pietro Sainaghi, Siyuan Zhang, Prakash Nallathamby, Laura S. Haneline, Donny Hanjaya-Putra, "Engineering Bioactive Nanoparticles to Rejuvenate Vascular Progenitor Cells," Communications Biology, 2022 June 29.
2. Donny Hanjaya-Putra, Carolyn Haller, Xiaowei Wang, Erbin Dai, Bock Lim, Liyung Liu, Patrick Jaminet, Joy Yao, Amy Searle, Thomas Bonnard, Christoph E. Hagemeyer, Karlheinz Peter, Elliot L. Chaikof, "Platelet-Targeted Dual Pathway Antithrombotic Inhibits Thrombosis with Preserved Hemostasis," JCI Insight, 2018 Aug 9; 3(15). 
3. Sravanti Kusuma, Yu-I Shen, Donny Hanjaya-Putra, Prashant Mali, Linzhao Cheng, Sharon Gerecht, “Self-Organized Vascular Networks from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells in a Synthetic Matrix,” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2013 Jul 30; 110(31): 12601-6.
4. Donny Hanjaya-Putra, Yu-I Shen, Abby Wilson, Sudhir Khetan, Karen Fox-Talbot, Charles Steenbergen, Jason A. Burdick, Sharon Gerecht, “Integration and Regression of Implanted Human Vascular Networks during Deep Wound Healing,” Stem Cell Translational Medicine, 2013 Apr; 2(4):297-306.
5. Donny Hanjaya-Putra, Kyle T. Wong, Kelsey Hirotsu, Sudhir Khetan, Jason A. Burdick, Sharon Gerecht, “Spatial Control of Cell-Mediated Degradation to Regulate Vasculogenesis and Angiogenesis in Hyaluronan Hydrogels,” Biomaterials, 2012, Sep; 33(26):6123-31.
6. Donny Hanjaya-Putra, Vivek Bose, Yu-I Shen, Jane Yee, Sudhir Khetan, Karen Fox-Talbot, Charles Steenbergen, Jason A. Burdick, Sharon Gerecht, “Controlled Activation of Morphogenesis to Generate a Functional Human Microvasculature in a Synthetic Matrix,” Blood, 2011, Jul 21; 118(3):804-15;
7. Donny Hanjaya-Putra, Jane Yee, Doug Ceci, Rachel Truitt, Derek Yee, Sharon Gerecht, “Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Substrate Mechanics Regulate in vitro Tubulogenesis of Endothelial Progenitor Cells.” Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, 2010 Oct; 14(10):2436-47.
8. Laura Alderfer, Alicia Wei, Donny Hanjaya-Putra, “Lymphatic Tissue Engineering and Regeneration.” Journal of Biological Engineering, 2018.