Bringing collaborative science to the dream of precision medicine
Growing up in Madrid, Jose Ayuso’s parents, both bank clerks, often puzzled over how he acquired such a deep passion for all things science. But his thirst for science and mathematics was insatiable, transcending disciplinary lines.
At Spain’s Autonomous University of Madrid, he earned a biochemistry degree, and stayed to pursue a master’s in biophysics. Finally, Ayuso earned a doctorate in biomedical engineering at the University of Zaragoza.
“I like the predictive nature of math,” says Ayuso. “I wanted to work in a field where you could bring those equations to the table. That’s biophysics or biomedical engineering.”
It’s not surprising that, with that perspective, Ayuso wound up at the Morgridge Institute, a global leader in cross-cutting, collaborative research. As a promising Morgridge Postdoctoral Fellow and later as a scientist working with researchers David Beebe, Melissa Skala and Kari Wisinsksi, Ayuso spent more than five years at Morgridge. They worked to generate advanced microfluidic cell culture platforms to recreate the architecture of tumors.
“Melissa is an expert in biology and physics, Dave is an engineer, and Kari is an expert in clinical care,” Ayuso says. “That gave me a multidisciplinary foundation allowing me to tackle these projects using new tools to answer questions that help people in the clinic. You cannot easily achieve that without access to those experts.”
Although science is moving in more collaborative, less siloed, directions, Morgridge is a trailblazer. In 2022, Ayuso carried Morgridge’s collaborative ethic to his current post as assistant professor in UW–Madison’s Department of Dermatology.
I am working on a daily basis with physicians who are working with patients, and basic scientists who are all working to cross that gap between basic science and medicine.
Jose Ayuso
“The Morgridge experience helped me because today I am working on a daily basis with physicians who are working with patients, and basic scientists who are all working to cross that gap between basic science and medicine,” he says.
The Ayuso Lab uses advances in microfabrication, 3D printing, bioprinting and other tools to fabricate lab-grown skin tissue to tap the promise of precision medicine.
“Maybe we have a patient with skin cancer and need to identify the best therapy,” he says. “We don’t have the time or ability to test 100 drugs on that patient. So, we use that patient’s cells to build and reproduce a small fragment of the skin so we can test which therapies work.”
Ayuso, who has also taught molecular and environmental toxicology and a dermatology seminar, takes special pride in helping students with his shared hunger for science to succeed in the lab and the classroom.
Sometimes they return from the lab with sensational data, and often they learn to troubleshoot when their experiments fall flat, Ayuso says. No matter the outcome, Ayuso buoys them with his infectious positivity and unfailing energy.
“It’s so rewarding to see them growing from the day they walk in,” Ayuso says. “When they challenge your ideas and they are right, that’s exciting. When they reach that day, when they challenge you and know more than you do, that’s super cool.”
Rising Sparks: Early Career Stars
Rising Sparks is a monthly profile series exploring the personal inspirations and professional goals of early-career scientists at the Morgridge Institute.
Rising Sparks: Kayla Huemer, biomedical engineering alum
Morgridge alum Kayla Heumer helps accelerate healthcare access for underserved communities in Africa, powered by technology and the 'spirit of frugal innovation.’
Rising Sparks: Jose Ayuso, biomedical imaging alum
Morgridge alum Jose Ayuso is an assistant professor in UW–Madison’s Department of Dermatology, where his lab uses advanced biomedical engineering technologies to tap the promise of precision medicine.
Rising Sparks: Danielle Lohman, metabolism alum
Morgridge alum lands at the U.S. Department of State, shaping the intersection of science policy and foreign affairs.
Rising Sparks: Nick Arp, metabolism
Nick Arp is building a toolbox of knowledge in the research lab and in the medical clinic, searching for answers to scientific questions that can improve patient care.
Rising Sparks: Raison Dsouza, structural biology
Raison Dsouza is developing new computational methods to analyze cryo-electron microscopy images, trying to find specific particles in “noisy,” corrupted data.
Rising Sparks: Lexi Menendez, regenerative biology
Lexi Menendez credits Morgridge and the PREP program for jump-starting her research career and graduate school future.
Rising Sparks: Kasia Wiech, biomedical imaging
Kasia Wiech, a graduate student in biomedical engineering, is on a mission to bring science out of the lab and into public spaces to highlight the impact of science in our everyday lives.
Rising Sparks: Roma Broadberry, biomedical imaging
Roma Broadberry, a biophysics graduate researcher in the Tim Grant Lab, is helping to illuminate the intricacy of viral replication using cryo-EM.
Rising Sparks: Andrés Tibabuzo, regenerative biology
From 'Jurassic Park' to snake venom to parasitic flatworms, Andrés Tibabuzo is motivated by the science that fascinates him.
Rising Sparks: Marcela Tabima, regenerative biology
Marcela Tabima has focused her fascination with human biology on two major research efforts in the Discovery Building — engineering synthetic arteries for surgery and finding new ways to treat inherited retinal diseases.
Rising Sparks: Katherine Overmyer, metabolism
Katie Overmyer collaborates with metabolism researchers to push the boundaries of mass spectrometry technology and uncover answers to important biological questions.
Rising Sparks: Joe Li, biomedical imaging
"You can always learn more": An unquenchable thirst for discovery guides Joe Li’s pursuit of cutting-edge light-sheet microscopy.
Rising Sparks: Odette Herrand, regenerative biology
Odette Herrand is drawn to the inherent creativity involved in answering complex scientific questions, which they use to study fertility in the fruit fly.
Rising Sparks: Peter Ducos, structural biology
Peter Ducos leans on his military training to solve complex problems and collaborate with other scientists by exploring molecular structures in exquisite detail.
Rising Sparks: Kim Huggler, metabolism
Kim Huggler believes science is fundamentally about creativity, and leverages an innovative cell culture media to reveal biological processes that conventional techniques cannot.
Rising Sparks: Ed Evans, biomedical imaging
Ed Evans sees every challenge as an opportunity to grow, and uses his passion for problem-solving to develop new imaging tools that will help other scientists.