This book focuses on the most recent tools unveiling the role of glial cells in brain function and dysfunction, especially involving epilepsy, ischemia, and glioma. It introduces this emerging field, herein called Glial Engineering, dealing with the development and application of technologies targeting glial cells, with a special focus on astrocytes. The latest glial cell research with biomaterials, gene modification, bioelectronic devices, and computational methods is highlighted. This is an ideal book for undergraduate and research students in tissue engineering, biomedical engineering, neural engineering, chemistry, biomaterials science, and regenerative medicine as well as researchers in the field of biophysics, neurophysiology, and neuroscience.

Valentina Benfenati, PhD, is  Director of Research with the Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity, Department of Chemical Sciences and Materials Technologies, National Research Council, Bologna, Italy

Luca Maiolo, PhD, is Senior Researcher with the Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, Department of Physical Sciences and Technologies of Matter, National Research Council, Rome, Italy