Hydrogels are versatile platforms that can replicate the mechanical and biochemical characteristics of in vivo tissue microenvironments, leading to its utility in acting as a cell culture platform to study aortic valve stenosis (AVS) progression. In this study, we use  a photo-mediated reaction to tether proteins to hydrogel backbones, replicating ECM protein build-up during AVS progression along with adding a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) degradable crosslinker to replicate in vivo matrix remodeling. Hydrogels were formulated  successfully and were able to tether in proteins, with a clear relationship of increased photoinitiator ratio to protein tethering efficiency. Testing was done and saw that the Young’s modulus of the hydrogel was within cytocompatible range, however it should be noted that the addition of proteins in the hydrogel did affect the stiffness most likely due to pre-testing deformities. Future work should retest the hydrogel formulation and encapsulate valvular interstitial cells to test its role as a cell culture platform as well as investigate sex-specific proteins to thiolate and tether to the hydrogel.