Current engineering methods and their potential for use in cell-based research are reviewed. The basis of the suggested engineering methods is that real cellular responses can be assessed when the cells are under the same conditions as in vivo. Providing various conditions for this various engineering methodologies can be adopted. Three major factors should be considered when we apply bio-mimetic conditions to cells under in vitro culture conditions. They are the surface pattern and stiffness of the substrate, physical stimuli and neighboring cells. Various outcomes affected by those factors are introduced and reviewed. In particular, those outcomes from stem cell research have been reported. Even though some limitations of adopting those factors alone or combined still exist, the potential is now widely being recognized. The readers are kindly asked to consider those methodologies in relation to pharmaceutical research.