Peripheral nerve injury is a frequent occurrence affecting a considerable percentage of trauma patients annually. Current methods are not able to bridge large nerve injury gaps in a way that restores both motor and sensory function comparable to the uninjured nerve. 3D bioprinting of natural ECM-based bioinks such as hyaluronic acid (HA) can be used to provide structural and architectural support to regenerating nerves. HA is attractive as a bioink because it plays a natural role in wound healing in the body and is FDA-approved for other medical applications. Tran’s research has been focused on fabrication and characterization of HA-based hydrogel scaffolds as a potential bioink for 3D bioprinting that has been mechanically matched to native peripheral nerve tissue. She will also 3D bio-print Schwann cells with the optimized HA-collagen hydrogel to mimic the microenvironment of native tissue and embed microarchitecture into the scaffolds to support axonal elongation and nerve regeneration.