Randolph Ashton, PhD

Position title: Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering

PhD, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Contact Information

Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
330 N. Orchard St.
Room 4168
Madison, WI 53715
608.316.4312
rashton2@wisc.edu
Lab Website: The Ashton Group

Research Statement

Our goal is to understand, model, and recapitulate in vitro the instructive signals utilized by human embryos to pattern tissue-specific differentiation of pluripotent stem cells, and apply this knowledge towards bioengineering human stem cell-derived microphysiological system, organoids, and other regenerative therapeutic strategies. Currently, we primarily focus on generating cells, tissues, and organoid-based screening platforms of the central nervous system. Our research efforts have resulted in patented neural stem derivation protocols and the RosetteArray platform, which enables quantitative high-throughput screening of incipient forebrain and spinal neural organoids. This technology is being commercialized by Neurosetta LLC, and my laboratory is applying it to help model and discovery precision medicine therapeutics for several neurodevelopmental disorders.

Selected Publications

PubMed

Abrahamsson, D., Siddharth, A., Robinson, J. F., Soshilov, A., Elmore, S., Cogliano, V., Ng, C., Khan, E., Ashton, R., Chiu, W. A., Fung, J., Zeise, L., & Woodruff, T. J. (2022). Modeling the transplacental transfer of small molecules using machine learning: a case study on per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS). Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology, 32(6), 808–819. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-022-00481-2
Iyer, N. R., Shin, J., Cuskey, S., Tian, Y., Nicol, N. R., Doersch, T. E., Seipel, F., McCalla, S. G., Roy, S., & Ashton, R. S. (2022). Modular derivation of diverse, regionally discrete human posterior CNS neurons enables discovery of transcriptomic patterns. Science advances, 8(39), eabn7430. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abn7430
Iyer, N. R., & Ashton, R. S. (2022). Bioengineering the human spinal cord. Frontiers in cell and developmental biology, 10, 942742. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2022.942742
Aghayee, A., & Ashton, R. (2021). Methods for Controlled Induction of Singular Rosette Cytoarchitecture Within Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Multicellular Assemblies. Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 2258, 193–203. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1174-6_13
Fedorchak, N. J., Iyer, N., & Ashton, R. S. (2021). Bioengineering tissue morphogenesis and function in human neural organoids. Seminars in cell & developmental biology, 111, 52–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcdb.2020.05.025
Mahony, C., Ashton, R. S., Birk, B., Boobis, A. R., Cull, T., Daston, G. P., Ewart, L., Knudsen, T. B., Manou, I., Maurer-Stroh, S., Margiotta-Casaluci, L., Müller, B. P., Nordlund, P., Roberts, R. A., Steger-Hartmann, T., Vandenbossche, E., Viant, M. R., Vinken, M., Whelan, M., Zvonimir, Z., … Cronin, M. T. D. (2020). New ideas for non-animal approaches to predict repeated-dose systemic toxicity: Report from an EPAA Blue Sky Workshop. Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology : RTP, 114, 104668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2020.104668
Molugu, K., Harkness, T., Carlson-Stevermer, J., Prestil, R., Piscopo, N. J., Seymour, S. K., Knight, G. T., Ashton, R. S., & Saha, K. (2020). Tracking and Predicting Human Somatic Cell Reprogramming Using Nuclear Characteristics. Biophysical journal, 118(9), 2086–2102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2019.10.014
McNulty JD, Marti-Figueroa C, Seipel F, Plantz JZ, Ellingham T, Duddleston LJL, Goris S, Cox BL, Osswald TA, Turng LS, Ashton RS. (2019). Micro-injection molded, poly(vinyl alcohol)-calcium salt templates for precise customization of 3D hydrogel internal architecture. Acta Biomaterialia, 95:258-268. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2019.04.050.
Jiwlawat N, Lynch EM, Napiwocki BN, Stempien A, Ashton RS, Kamp TJ, Crone WC, Suzuki M. (2019). Micropatterned substrates with physiological stiffness promote cell maturation and Pompe disease phenotype in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived skeletal myocytes. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 116(9):2377-2392. doi: 10.1002/bit.27075.
Chasman D, Iyer N, Fotuhi Siahpirani A, Estevez Silva M, Lippmann E, McIntosh B, Probasco MD, Jiang P, Stewart R, Thomson JA, Ashton RS, Roy S. (2019). Inferring Regulatory Programs Governing Region Specificity of Neuroepithelial Stem Cells during Early Hindbrain and Spinal Cord Development. Cell Systems, 28;9(2):167-186.e12. doi: 10.1016/j.cels.2019.05.012.
Afshar Bakooshli M, Lippmann ES, Mulcahy B, Iyer N, Nguyen CT, Tung K, Stewart BA, van den Dorpel H, Fuehrmann T, Shoichet M, Bigot A, Pegoraro E, Ahn H, Ginsberg H, Zhen M, Ashton RS, Gilbert PM. (2019). A 3D culture model of innervated human skeletal muscle enables studies of the adult neuromuscular junction. Elife, 14;8. pii: e44530. doi: 10.7554/eLife.44530.
Knight GT, Lundin BF, Iyer N, Ashton LM, Sethares WA, Willett RM, Ashton RS. (2018). Engineering induction of singular neural rosette emergence within hPSC-derived tissues. Elife, 29;7. pii: e37549. doi: 10.7554/eLife.37549.
Estevez-Silva MC, Sreeram A, Cuskey S, Fedorchak N, Iyer N, Ashton RS. (2018). Single-injection ex ovo transplantation method for broad spinal cord engraftment of human pluripotent stem cell-derived motor neurons. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 15;298:16-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2018.01.006.
Lemke KA, Aghayee A, Ashton RS. (2017). Deriving, regenerating, and engineering CNS tissues using human pluripotent stem cells. Current Opinions in Biotechnology, 47:36-42. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2017.05.010.
Marti-Figueroa CR, Ashton RS. (2017). The case for applying tissue engineering methodologies to instruct human organoid morphogenesis. Acta Biomaterialia, 54:35-44. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2017.03.023.
Lippmann ES, Williams CE, Ruhl DA, Estevez-Silva MC, Chapman ER, Coon JJ, Ashton RS. (2015) Deterministic HOX patterning in human pluripotent stem cell-derived neuroectoderm. Stem Cell Reports. 14;4(4):632-44. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2015.02.018.
Harkness T, McNulty JD, Prestil R, Seymour SK, Klann T, Murrell M, Ashton RS, Saha K. (2015) High-content imaging with micropatterned multiwell plates reveals influence of cell geometry and cytoskeleton on chromatin dynamics. Biotechnology Journal. 10(10):1555-67. doi: 10.1002/biot.201400756.
Knight GT, Sha J, Ashton RS. (2015) Micropatterned, clickable culture substrates enable in situ spatiotemporal control of human PSC-derived neural tissue morphology. Chemical Communications. 28;51(25):5238-41. doi: 10.1039/c4cc08665a.
Lippmann ES, Estevez-Silva MC, Ashton RS. (2014) Defined human pluripotent stem cell culture enables highly efficient neuroepithelium derivation without small molecule inhibitors. Stem Cells. 32(4):1032-42. doi: 10.1002/stem.1622.
Vazin T, Ashton RS, Conway A, Rode NA, Lee SM, Bravo V, Healy KE, Kane RS, Schaffer DV. (2014) The effect of multivalent Sonic hedgehog on differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons. Biomaterials. 35(3):941-8. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2013.10.025.