Academic Spotlight: Caroline Snyder Dives into Summer Research Experience at Brown

Caroline Snyder is a rising junior and Biomedical Engineering concentrator on the pre-med track at Brown. She recently presented her summer research project – Modulating the mechanics and structure of wet-spun collagen fibers for engineered cardiac tissues – at the Brown University School of Engineering.

Snyder was named a NFHCA Scholar of Distinction and earned a spot on the NFHCA National Academic Squad in 2021.

Brown Athletics met with Caroline to learn more about the summer research and how it fits into her academic pursuits as a student-athlete at Brown.

Can you provide a general background of the research you did this summer and how you got involved?
Starting at the beginning of my sophomore year, I began working in the Coulombe Lab for Heart Regeneration. During the semester I learned some of the protocols of the lab and this summer I did an independent research project. It was funded through Brown's SPRINT|UTRA program and the name of my project was Modulating the mechanics and structure of wet-spun collagen fibers for engineered cardiac tissues. The overall goal of the lab is to create an engineered cardiac tissue to regenerate the heart, so this is one small piece of that.

Can you build on the practical goals of your research as well as the research of the lab as a whole?
Basically, when you have a heart attack you lose a lot of functioning heart cells which impacts overall heart function. One emerging therapy for this is to create an engineered tissue that can be implanted on top of the heart after someone has a heart attack. This consists of heart cells and other elements that make it feasible to surgically implant. There are a few different areas you look at--vascularization (getting blood to the cells), maturation of the cells, and how strong the tissue is mechanically.

My project was looking at how we can make the tissues mechanically stronger. One way we can do this is with wet-spun collagen fibers, which essentially provide a scaffold for the cells and can affect the contractility of the tissue.

What were the major findings of your summer research? Did it match your expectations heading into the summer? Were there any surprises along the way?
I was building on the work of a PhD student who was in the lab before me, so we knew that the collagen fiber scaffolds were a feasible option to tune the mechanics of the engineered tissue. My project was about optimizing the scaffold – how we make the fibers, how strong the fibers are, fiber density, and other features.

I think it was informative for the final product that we want to get, but it's still definitely a work in progress. We need to make more actual tissues with the scaffolds and things like that, so it's ongoing work and I'll be working in the lab this year as well.

How did this research fit into your concentration in Brown and your pre-med track? Did it impact your future plans in any way?
I thought this was a really good opportunity to get practical experience within biomedical engineering. The first two years of engineering you do a lot of core classes so this was a chance to specialize more in biomedical engineering and get hands-on work in the lab, which I really liked.

The work fits well with my interests in cardiac engineering and cardiac tissue engineering. Those are the focuses of the lab, and it was cool to get actual experience and work with PhD students and Masters students and see what tracks they're on. It's definitely something to consider for the future.

What was it like interacting with some faculty and students outside the Brown undergraduate community?
I thought it was great. I had a PhD student who was my mentor and worked really closely with her on a daily basis. I also had regular meetings with Dr. Coulombe, the head of the lab.

I thought it was especially helpful to work with the graduate students because they have a lot of experience and they can give good advice. They've had more years working in the lab so there's a lot to learn from them, but they're also really approachable. Plus, it was perfect to do over the summer. I could concentrate on the lab and my strength and conditioning workouts for field hockey without also having the time and pressure of classes.

How has your experience as a student-athlete been at Brown?
My freshman year (2020-2021) was different because of COVID, but sophomore year was pretty normal and definitely super busy. It was manageable to do both academics and athletics, and I feel think especially when we're not in season I could put in real time in the lab. When we're in season, I can take advantage of the flexibility of the lab hours and go to lab when we don't have practice. Something that I really like about Brown is the ability to play a varsity sport without giving up the chance to do serious research.

Can you build on balancing a workload as a Division I athlete while taking on such rigorous academic pursuits?
I thought the summer would be a good opportunity to really focus on research. Obviously we have a lot of offseason training to get ready for preseason, but it is nice to use the summer to focus more on research. When I'm in season obviously lab hours will go down some, but to kind of cycle back-and-forth between focusing on field hockey in the fall and academics throughout the year gives me a good balance.

Are there any highlights or memories from your time at Brown, field hockey related or not?
I think my favorite memories of field hockey at Brown are the overall experience, just getting to be around the team in-season all the time, whether being at practice or games or on the bus. We had a big win at Columbia last season which was exciting and really memorable.

My favorite academic experience was when I made my first heart tissue and it started beating which was really exciting.

What is your favorite part of Rhode Island summers?
I think the best part is that the beaches are 20 minutes away so you can just go to the beach if you have a free afternoon. There's also so much fun stuff you can do spontaneously because it's so accessible. I don't usually have a ton of free time so it's great when I do. I can just go to the beach or go out, there are so many good restaurants nearby. Amy's is my favorite. But I've loved it that this summer I've had a chance to explore more and discover more places in Providence and the rest of Rhode Island. I'm really looking forward to the next couple of years at Brown.

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Academic Spotlight: Caroline Snyder Dives into Summer Research Experience at Brown

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