This book highlights cutting-edge studies in the development of cell-inspired biomaterials and synthetic materials that manipulate cell functions and provide the next generation with contemporary tools for treating complex human diseases. It explores the convergence of synthetic materials with cell and molecular biology and surveys how functional materials, when patterned with spatial and temporal precision, can be used effectively to maintain cell proliferation and phenotype in vitro, to trigger specific cell functions, and to redirect cell-fate decisions. Human stem cells are a...