Moriah Katt, PhD

Research Interests

Dr. Katt's research focuses on understanding the human blood-brain barrier (BBB) in both health and disease. Using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cells in a 3D microfluidic device her lab hopes to shed insight into how the function of the cerebrovasculature changes and impacts disease progress. During her doctoral work she used iPSCs from patients with different neurodegenerative diseases to derive brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs), discovering dysfunctional transporter systems that were consistent across cells derived from multiple different neurodegenerative diseases. Continuing from these promising results, her lab will investigate how the BBB changes during stroke. In vitro BBB modeling expertise will be coupled with her experience identifying antibodies that target the BBB. The ultimate goal is to use the insight into the blood-brain barrier gained from microfluidic disease modeling to develop novel means of targeting therapeutics to the brain, and potentially uncovering new therapeutic targets.

Publications

Google Scholar

• Pamies D, Wiersma D, Katt ME, Zhao L, Burtscher J, Harris G, Smirnova L, Searson PC, Hartung T, Hogberg HT. Human IPSC 3D brain model as a tool to study chemical-induced dopaminergic neuronal toxicity. Neurobiol Dis. 2022 Jul;169:105719. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105719.
• Lajoie JM, Katt ME, Waters EA, Herrin BR, Shusta EV. Identification of lamprey variable lymphocyte receptors that target the brain vasculature. Sci Rep. 2022 Apr 11;12(1):6044. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-09962-8.
• Gastfriend BD, Foreman KL, Katt ME, Palecek SP, Shusta EV. Integrative analysis of the human brain mural cell transcriptome. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2021 Nov;41(11):3052-3068. doi: 10.1177/0271678X211013700.
• Katt ME, Shusta EV. In vitro Models of the Blood-Brain Barrier: Building in physiological complexity. Curr Opin Chem Eng. 2020 Dec;30:42-52. doi: 10.1016/j.coche.2020.07.002.
• Katt ME, Mayo LN, Ellis SE, Mahairaki V, Rothstein JD, Cheng L, Searson PC. The role of mutations associated with familial neurodegenerative disorders on blood-brain barrier function in an iPSC model. Fluids Barriers CNS. 2019 Jul 15;16(1):20. doi: 10.1186/s12987-019-0139-4.
• Wong AD, Russell LM, Katt ME, Searson PC. Chemotherapeutic Drug Delivery and Quantitative Analysis of Proliferation, Apoptosis, and Migration in a Tissue-Engineered Three-Dimensional Microvessel Model of the Tumor Microenvironment. ACS Biomater Sci Eng. 2019 Feb 11;5(2):633-643. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.8b00877.
• Katt ME, Linville RM, Mayo LN, Xu ZS, Searson PC. Functional brain-specific microvessels from iPSC-derived human brain microvascular endothelial cells: the role of matrix composition on monolayer formation. Fluids Barriers CNS. 2018 Feb 20;15(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s12987-018-0092-7. 
• Katt ME, Wong AD, Searson PC. Dissemination from a Solid Tumor: Examining the Multiple Parallel Pathways. Trends Cancer. 2018 Jan;4(1):20-37. doi: 10.1016/j.trecan.2017.12.002. 
• Katt ME, Xu ZS, Gerecht S, Searson PC. Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells Derived from the BC1 iPS Cell Line Exhibit a Blood-Brain Barrier Phenotype. PLoS One. 2016;11(4):e0152105. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152105. 
• Katt ME, Placone AL, Wong AD, Xu ZS, Searson PC. In Vitro Tumor Models: Advantages, Disadvantages, Variables, and Selecting the Right Platform. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2016;4:12. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2016.00012.