Key words: mechanobiology, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, 3D printing, 3D biology, cytoskeleton

"Introducing height to mechanobiology; A tissue engineering perspective"

Cell behavior is relatively well studied in 2D petridishes, but not in a 3D environment. Increasing evidence shows a large difference in cell behavior in 3D vs 2D. This thesis is focussed on exploring the extent and consequences of these differences in tissue stiff engineering scaffolds. A large influence of the 3D environment on mechanobiological proteins was found and it was shown that these proteins have a different role in 3D than in 2D. On top of this, several novel scaffolds were developed that can help to advance 3D biological research.