Figure 4 –

Employing cells as direct biochemical and mechanical actuators of the microenvironment. Borrowing tools from optogenetics, genetic engineering, and synthetic biology, an expanded toolbox exists to direct cell function within engineered materials. Opto- and thermogenetic cell patterning approaches provide a powerful route to directly modulate cell state within a material. Cells may also be used to guide macroscale tissue structure through controlled contraction.