John P Fisher, PhD
Fischell Department of Bioengineering
University of Maryland
"3D Printing for Engineering Complex Tissues"
Abstract
The generation of complex tissues has been an increasing focus in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. With recent advances in bioprinting technology, our laboratory has focused on the development of platforms for the treatment and understanding of clinically relevant problems ranging from congenital heart disease to preeclampsia. We utilize stereolithography-based and extrusion-based additive manufacturing to generate patient-specific vascular grafts, prevascular networks for bone tissue engineering, dermal dressings, cell-laden models of preeclampsia, and bioreactors for expansion of stem cells. Furthermore, we have developed a range of UV crosslinkable materials to provide clinically relevant 3D printed biomaterials with tunable mechanical properties. Such developments demonstrate the ability to generate biocompatible materials and fabricated diverse structures from natural and synthetic biomaterials. In addition, one of the key challenges associated with the development of large tissues is providing adequate nutrient and waste exchange. By combining printing and dynamic culture strategies, we have developed new methods for generating macrovasculature that will provide adequate nutrient exchange in large engineered tissues. Finally, the use of stem cells in regenerative medicine is limited by the challenge in obtaining sufficient cell numbers while maintaining self-renewal capacity. Our efforts in developing 3D-printed bioreactors that mimic the bone marrow niche microenvironment have enabled successful expansion of mesenchymal stem cells by recapitulating the physiological surface shear stresses experienced by the cells. This presentation will cover the diverse range of materials and processes developed in our laboratory and their application to relevant, emerging problems in tissue engineering.
Biography
Dr. John P. Fisher is the Fischell Family Distinguished Professor and Department Chair in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland. Dr. Fisher is also the Director of the NIBIB / NIH Center for Engineering Complex Tissue (CECT) that aims to create a broad community focusing on 3D printing and bioprinting for regenerative medicine applications. Dr. Fisher completed a B.S. in biomedical and chemical engineering at The Johns Hopkins University (1995), M.S. in chemical engineering at the University of Cincinnati (1998), Ph.D. in bioengineering at Rice University (2003), and postdoctoral fellowship in cartilage biology and engineering at the University of California Davis (2003). As the Director of the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory, Dr. Fisher’s group investigates biomaterials, stem cells, bioprinting, and bioreactors for the regeneration of lost tissues, particularly bone, cartilage, and cardiovascular tissues. Dr. Fisher’s laboratory has published over 200 articles, book chapters, editorials, and proceedings (11,500+ citations / 60 hindex) as well as delivered over 340 invited and contributed presentations, while utilizing over $15M in financial support from NIH, NSF, FDA, NIST, DoD, and other institutions. Dr. Fisher has been elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2012), the Biomedical Engineering Society (2016), and the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (2020). Dr. Fisher has received the Clemson Award for Contributions to the Literature from the Society For Biomaterials (2020), the Senior Scientist Award from the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society - Americas (TERMIS-AM) Chapter (2017), a Fulbright Fellowship to study at the National University of Ireland, Galway (2015), the Next Power Professorship from Tsing Hua University in Taiwan (2015), the Engalitcheff Award from the Arthritis Foundation (2008), the Outstanding Graduate Alumnus Award from the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University (2007), the Arthritis Foundation’s Investigator Award (2006), and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2005). Dr. Fisher is currently the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Tissue Engineering, while also co-editing 6 texts in the field of tissue engineering. In 2014, Dr. Fisher was the Chair of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society - Americas (TERMIS-AM) Chapter Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Also in 2014, Dr. Fisher was elected Chair of TERMIS-AM, and in 2018 started his three year term as Chair of the Chapter after serving three years as Chair-Elect. In 2018, Dr. Fisher was the Co-Chair of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of BMES.
Paul J Campagnola, PhD
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Wisconsin
“High resolution imaging and modeling of collagen architecture alterations in ovarian cancer and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis”
Abstract
Many human diseases including all cancers, fibroses, cardiovascular disease and connective tissue disorders are characterized by alterations in the collagen organization relative to normal tissues. We have developed Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscope tools to selectively and specifically probe all levels of collagen architecture organization. First we present results for human ovarian cancer, which has a poor 5 year survival rate (~25%). Using a novel form of 3D machine learning, we successfully classified six types of ovarian tumors based on the observed collagen fiber morphology. We also developed polarization sensitive SHG methods to extract collagen macro/supramolecular structural aspects (α-chain pitch and chirality) and found significant differences between normal and malignant ovarian tissues. Collectively, this structural information provides insight into disease etiology and suggests future diagnostic approaches. We also used this set of SHG analyses to probe structural changes in idiopathic pulmonary fibroses (IPF). IPF is a devastating disease with poor prognosis and short expected lifespan following diagnosis and has limited effective treatment options. Similar to ovarian cancer, we found analogous changes in all levels of collagen architecture in IPF compared to normal lung tissues, providing the bases for new prognostic and diagnostic tools. Lastly, we have developed an SHG image-based fabrication approach to creating tissue engineered scaffolds of both ovarian cancer and IPF to study the effects of collagen remodeling on cell-matrix interactions including migration and cytoskeletal dynamics. Here, we utilize both normal and diseased cell lines on normal and diseased models of the ECM, which affords decoupling the roles of cell phenotype from matrix morphology on cell function. In all cases, we found the remodeled matrix drives the cell behavior to a larger extent than the initial cell phenotype. We have also developed a machine learning approach using generative adversarial networks (GANSs) to optimize the scaffold design.
Biography
Paul J. Campagnola obtained his PhD in Chemistry from Yale University in 1992 after which he was a postdoctoral associate at the University of Colorado from 1992-1995. He was on the faculty in the Department of Cell Biology, Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling at the University of Connecticut Health Center from 1995-2010, having adjunct appointments in the Physics Department and Biomedical Engineering Program. In 2010 became an Associate Professor in Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was promoted to Professor in 2013. He is currently the Tong Biomedical Engineering Department Chair and UW Kellett Faculty Fellow. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America and American Institute for Medical and Bioengineering and currently a Fellow in the Big 10 Alliance Academic Leadership Program.
His research is focused on studying structural and functional aspects of the extracellular matrix (ECM), where we have developed optical microscopy instrumental and analysis methods to study problems in basic science as well as those with translational potential. He has over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, several review articles and book chapters, co-edited a book “Second Harmonic Generation microscopy” and given over 100 invited talks. He serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Biomedical Optics and serves on numerous NIH and NSF review panels.
Chris Voigt, PhD
Daniel IC Wang Professor
Department of Biological Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Biography
Christopher Voigt, PhD is the Daniel I.C. Wang Professor of Advanced Biotechnology in the Biological Engineering Department at MIT and is Co-Director of the Synthetic Biology Center. He is the Editor-in-Chief of ACS Synthetic Biology. He received his BSE in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan (1998) and PhD in Biophysics from Caltech (2002). He is a founder of Pivot Bio (microbial agricultural products) and Asimov (human cell synthetic biology). He has served on the science advisory boards of DSM, Bolt Threads, SynLogic, Amyris Biotechnologies, Zymergen, Design Therapeutics, Empress Bio, Aanika, General probiotics, Deepbiome Therapautics, Senti Bio, Axcella, and Twist Bioscience. He is a partner at DCVC Bio, Bio-innovation, and Petri. He has been honored with a National Security Science & Engineering Faculty Fellowship (NSSEFF), Bush Fellows Research Study Team (BFRST), Sloan Fellow, Pew Fellow, Packard Fellow, NSF Career Award, Vaughan Lecturer, MIT TR35, and SynBiobeta Entrepreneurial Leadership Award.
Stanislav Emelianov, PhD
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Biomedical Engineering and Radiology
Georgia Institute of Technology
Emory University School of Medicine
“Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy using Nanoscale Theranostic Agents”
Abstract
Manipulation of matter on an atomic and molecular level to produce the desired nanometer scale structures has an enormous potential in the field of medicine including diagnostic imaging, drug delivery, image-guided therapy, and treatment monitoring. This presentation, via examples, will offer a few insights into how nanotechnology and imaging/therapeutic devices can impact fundamental medical science and change the clinical management of diseases. Specifically, high-resolution, high-sensitivity, depth-resolved dual-mode imaging technique based on a synergistic combination of what seems to be drastically different energy sources: light and sound, will be introduced. Augmented with targeted imaging contrast nanoagents, this technique is capable of simultaneous visualization of structural, functional and molecular/cellular properties of tissue. Several approaches and in vivo applications of this multi-scale non-ionizing light-and-sound hybrid imaging—ranging from cancer detection and diagnosis to cell tracking to image-guided molecular and mechano-thermal therapy—will be presented. The role of nanoconstructs in these applications will be highlighted, and the development of nanoconstructs with desired physicochemical properties will be discussed. Finally, current challenges and concerns associated with nanobiotechnology will be presented, and possible solutions will be discussed.
Biography
Dr. Stanislav Emelianov is a Joseph M. Pettit Endowed Chair, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, and Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also appointed at Emory University School of Medicine where he is affiliated with Winship Cancer Institute, Department of Radiology, and other clinical units. Furthermore, Dr. Emelianov is Director of the Ultrasound Imaging and Therapeutics Research Laboratory where projects are focused on the discovery, development and clinical translation of diagnostic imaging and therapeutic instrumentation, augmented with theranostic nanoagents. Projects in Dr. Emelianov's laboratory include cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment, immunotherapy, cell and particle tracking, the development of imaging and therapeutic nanoagents, guided drug delivery and controlled release, as well as cellular, molecular, functional, and multi-modal imaging, and image-guided therapy. In the course of his work, Dr. Emelianov has pioneered several ultrasound-based imaging techniques including shear wave elasticity imaging and molecular photoacoustic imaging. In recognition of his contributions, Dr. Emelianov was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and Acoustical Society of America (OSA).
Ron Weiss, PhD
Department of Biological Engineering
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“Mammalian Synthetic Biology: Foundation and Therapeutic Applications”
Abstract
Synthetic biology is revolutionizing how we conceptualize and approach the engineering of biological systems. Recent advances in the field are allowing us to expand beyond the construction and analysis of small gene networks towards the implementation of complex multicellular systems with a variety of applications. In this talk I will describe our integrated computational / experimental approach to engineering complex behavior in a variety of cells, with a focus on mammalian cells. In our research, we appropriate design principles from electrical engineering and other established fields. These principles include abstraction, standardization, modularity, and computer aided design. But we also spend considerable effort towards understanding what makes synthetic biology different from all other existing engineering disciplines and discovering new design and construction rules that are effective for this unique discipline. We will briefly describe the implementation of genetic circuits and modules with finely-tuned digital and analog behavior and the use of artificial cell-cell communication to coordinate the behavior of cell populations. The first system to be presented is a multi-input genetic circuit that can detect and destroy specific cancer cells based on the presence or absence of specific biomarkers in the cell. We will also discuss preliminary experimental results for obtaining precise spatiotemporal control over stem cell differentiation for tissue engineering applications. We present a novel approach for generating and then co-differentiating hiPSC-derived progenitors with a genetically engineered pulse of GATA-binding protein 6 (GATA6) expression. We initiate rapid emergence of all three germ layers as a combined function of GATA6 expression levels and tissue context. We ultimately obtain a complex tissue that recapitulates early developmental processes and exhibits a liver bud-like phenotype that includes haematopoietic and stromal cells, as well as a neuronal niche. This complex organoid can be used for drug development and potentially for tissue transplantation.
Biography
Ron Weiss is Professor in the Department of Biological Engineering and in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is the Director of the Synthetic Biology Center at MIT. Professor Weiss is one of the pioneers of synthetic biology. He has been engaged in synthetic biology research since 1996 when he was a graduate student at MIT and where he helped set up a wet-lab in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department. After completion of his PhD, Weiss joined the faculty at Princeton University, and then returned to MIT in 2009 to take on a faculty position in the Department of Biological Engineering and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The research pursued by Weiss since those early days has placed him in a position of leadership in the field, as evidenced both by publications from his lab as well as a variety of awards and other forms of recognition. He pursued several aspects of synthetic biology, including synthesis of gene networks engineered to perform in vivo analog and digital logic computation. The Weiss lab also published seminal papers in synthetic biology focused on programming cell aggregates to perform coordinated tasks using engineered cell-cell communication with chemical diffusion mechanisms such as quorum sensing. Several of these manuscripts were featured in a recent Nature special collection of a select number of synthetic biology papers reflecting on the first 10 years of synthetic biology. While work in the Weiss lab began mostly with prokaryotes, during the last 5 years a majority of the research in the lab shifted to mammalian synthetic biology. The lab focuses both on foundational research, e.g. creating general methods to improve our ability to engineering biological systems, as well as pursuing specific health related applications where synthetic biology provides unique capabilities.
Katharina Maisel, PhD
Assistant Professor
Fischell Department of Bioengineering
University of Maryland, College Park
“Nanoparticles to cross and probe biological barriers for immunotherapy”
Abstract
The Mucosal Associated Immune System Engineering and Lymphatics (MAISEL) Lab’s research integrates materials science, immunology, mucosal barrier physiology, and drug delivery to design nanoparticles to take advantage of and study the interface between biological barriers, particularly the lymphatics, interstitial tissue, and mucosal surfaces, and nanoparticles. Lymphatic vessels are critical for maintenance of tissue homeostasis and forming the adaptive immune response, as they are the natural conduit between peripheral tissues and the lymph nodes, where the immune response is shaped. Because particulates are primarily shuttled via lymphatic vessels, lymphatics have received considerable attention as targets for drug delivery, particularly for immune modulation. Interstitial tissue spaces, including extracellular matrix and mucus mesh, form significant transport barriers to cells, large molecules, particulates, and therapeutics, and transport across these spaces governs what enters lymphatic vessels. The Maisel Lab has made significant progress in understanding how nanoparticle material properties like surface chemistry, affect their transport across biological barriers and how this can be harnessed to study biological barriers and design therapeutics.
Biography
Dr. Maisel obtained her BSE in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. She completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Chicago in lymphatic and respiratory immunobiology prior to joining the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland as faculty in 2019. Her interdisciplinary training includes the fields of nanotechnology, materials science, mucosal immunology, lymphatic immunology, and immunoengineering. Dr. Maisel has won a number of awards, including NSF GRFP and NIH F32 fellowships as a trainee, the American Lung Association Dalsemer Award, LAM Foundation Career Development Award, NSF CAREER Award, and NIH NIGMS Maximizing Investigator Research Award. Her work has led to numerous high-impact publications, particularly in the field of drug delivery and mucosal and lymphatic immunoengineering, and several patents.
Konstantinos Konstantopoulos, PhD
William H. Schwarz Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Johns Hopkins University
“Cell Mechanosensing and Prognostic Applications in Cancer”
Abstract
Cell migration is a key step in the metastatic cascade of events, as it enables cancerous cells dissociating from a primary tumor to navigate through interstitial tissues and ultimately colonize distant organs. Metastasizing cells migrate by remodeling their surrounding three-dimensional (3D) extracellular matrix to open up migratory paths, by following cancer-associated stroma cells that generate such paths, or by moving through pre-existing, 3D longitudinal channel-like tracks created by various anatomical structures. This seminar will present a multidisciplinary approach, integrating engineering principles and tools with molecular and cell biology techniques to understand cancer cell locomotion in precisely engineered microenvironments, which recapitulate the 3D longitudinal channels encountered in vivo. The plasticity of cancer cell migration will be discussed, focusing on how cells sense, adapt, and respond to different physical cues. Moreover, this presentation will outline how our current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying cell motility has led to the development of a novel microchannel assay capable of distinguishing aggressive from non-aggressive cancer cells for accurate diagnosis, prognosis and precision care of cancer patients.
Heungsoo Shin, PhD
Professor
Department of Bioengineering
Hanyang University, Korea
“Biomaterials-based delivery of signaling molecules and cells for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine”
Abstract
Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have gained considerable interest in recent years due to the potential to treat patients with chronic or degenerative diseases. For example, bone fracture associated with increase in patients with osteoporosis and other injuries becomes one of the large clinical problems, which requires tissue engineering strategy because of limited supply of graft materials. Tissue healing is complex processes involving regulation of inflammatory response after injury, migration, tissue-specific induction of uncommitted mesenchymal stem cells, and remodeling of loosely formed pre-mature tissue. Therefore, it is of importance to consider engineering approaches to regulate multi-facet processes of these tissue healing events. Given that, we have been developing biomaterials as carriers of various cell-instructive signals or stem cells to actively guide tissue regeneration. For example, biomaterials with controlled substrate-mediated delivery of proteins, peptide, or small molecules have been developed to enhance osteogenesis of stem cells and suppression of inflammatory response. The combination of stem cells with these materials have been used to engineer multi-cellular composite 3D spheroids for the fabrication of structurally and functionally reliable in vitro artificial 3D tissues. In addition, strategies for encapsulation of spheroids within biocompatible hydrogels have been explored for recapitulation of cellular microenvironment of engineered tissue of the desired shape with enhanced specific biological functions. This presentation will summarize and discuss our endeavor to engineer biomaterials in regard to how we design them enabling delivery of stem cells and signaling molecules, in particular for regeneration of bone tissue.
Biography
Dr. Heungsoo Shin is currently Professor with tenure in the Department of Bioengineering. He received his B.S. and M.S. degree in the Department of Industrial Chemistry from Hanyang University, Korea, and his Ph.D. degree in the Department of Bioengineering from Rice University, USA (2004) from the guidance of Dr. Antonios G. Mikos. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA with Dr. Andres J. Garcia before joining the faculty in the Department of Bioengineering, Hanyang University, Korea in 2006 as assistant professor. His main research areas lie in (1) Development of biomimetic materials for delivery of bioactive molecules and stem cells, (2) Surface modification of biomaterials, (3) Spheroid-based 3D tissue engineering and biofabrication, (4) Cell-extracellular matrix interactions. His works particularly have led innovative approaches in regeneration of impaired bone, muscular, and vascular tissue. He has co-authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and 18 patents (filed or registered). As of July 1, 2022, total citation of his publication was >11000 with h-index of 53 according to Google Scholar.
He has been serving as co-editors-in-chief in Tissue Engineering Part B: Reviews, and editorial board member of Journal of Biomedical Materials Research A. He has been recognized by various awards including Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award from Society for Biomaterials (2002), Outstanding Rice University Bioengineering Alumnus Award (2012), Yonam Professor Award from LG Yonam Foundation (2013), MR-SPRINGER Award and Mid-career Researcher Academy Award from the Polymer Society of Korea (2013, 2019), HYU Outstanding Research Fellow Award (2016), MEDIPOST Outstanding Research Award, Korean Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society (2021),. He is an active member of professional societies including Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS), Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), Society for Biomaterials (SFB), The Korean Society for Biomaterials (KSBM), and Korean Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society (KTERMS). He has been currently serving as a Member of Council, TERMIS-AP from 2017. He also actively involved in international Conferences including service as organizer of International Conference on Tissue Engineering, Aegean Conferences (2022, 2017, and 2014) and a chair of scientific session of World Biomaterials Congress 2024.
Douglas Lauffenburger, PhD
Department of Biological Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“Cross-Species Translation of Biological Information via Computational Systems Modeling Frameworks”
Abstract
A vital challenge that the vast majority of biological research must address is how to translate observations from one physiological context to another—most commonly from experimental animals (e.g., rodents, primates) or technological constructs (e.g., organ-on-chip platforms) to human subjects. This is typically required for understanding human biology because of the strong constraints on measurements and perturbations in human in vivo contexts. Direct translation of observations from experimental animals to human subjects is generally unsatisfactory because of significant differences among organisms at all levels of molecular properties from genome to transcriptome to proteome and so forth. Accordingly, addressing inter-species translation requires an integrated experimental/computational approach for mapping comparable but not identical molecule-to-phenotype relationships. This presentation will describe methods we have developed for a variety of cross-species translation examples, demonstrated on applications in inflammatory and neurological pathologies.
Biography
Douglas Lauffenburger is Ford Professor of Bioengineering in the Departments of Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Biology at MIT. He was the founding Head of the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT, and served in that capacity 1998-2019. The Lauffenburger research program centers on systems biology approaches to cell-cell communication and cell signaling in pathophysiology, emphasizing translational application to therapeutics discovery and development in cancer, pathogen infection, and inflammatory disease. Lauffenburger has co-authored the monograph Receptors: Models for Binding, Trafficking & Signaling (Oxford Press, 1993) and co-edited the book Systems Biomedicine: Concepts and Perspectives (Elsevier Press, 2010). More than 130 doctoral students and postdoctoral associates have undertaken research education under his supervision. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and a fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science and the American Scientific Affiliation. Lauffenburger has served as President of the Biomedical Engineering Society, Chair of the College of Fellows of American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering, on the Advisory Council for the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and as a co-author of the 2009 National Research Council report A New Biology for the 21st Century. He was a co-awardee of the National Academy of Engineering Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering & Technology Education in 2021.
Moji Karimi, M.S.
CO-Founder and CEO
Cemvita Factory
“Synthetic Biology meets Energy Transition; a Nature-Inspired Future”
Abstract
Energy Transition is upon us and is bringing about a fundamental change in many industries. Some companies are reacting to the change, and some see it as an opportunity to reinvent who they are and create a brighter future (and as shocking as it is, some companies aren’t doing anything at all!). Energy transition has presented the CEOs with a classic innovator’s dilemma. In this talk Moji describes how engineered and scaled synthetic biology can be a solution to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors while creating new revenue streams in demand for lower-carbon products and realizing the promise of the bio-economy.
Ahmad (Mo) Khalil
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Associate Director of the Biological Design Center
Boston University
“Programming at the interface of synthetic and natural cellular networks”
Abstract
Constructing and introducing synthetic biological systems into living cells presents unique opportunities to examine design principles of biological networks and to harness this understanding for creating new therapeutic modalities. In this talk, I will describe two studies that examine and exploit the interface between artificial circuits and the natural pathways with which they interact. In the first study, I will describe how we are using synthetic circuits in yeast to understand how gene regulatory specificity can emerge in eukaryotic transcriptional networks. As we better understand the design rules of transcription circuits, we have also become interested in translating our insights into platforms for creating programmable cellular therapies. The second study focuses on cell signaling systems, where our goal is to design synthetic systems that deliberately interface with and gain the ability to precisely perturb GPCR signaling networks, with implications for basic discovery and new therapeutics.
Biography
Ahmad (Mo) Khalil is the Dorf-Ebner Distinguished Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and the Founding Associate Director of the Biological Design Center at Boston University. He is also a Visiting Scholar at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, and Co-Director of a NIH/NIGMS T32 PhD Training Program in synthetic biology. His research is broadly interested in learning the design principles underlying the function and evolution of biological networks, and in turn developing methods to predictively engineer them to program therapeutically-useful cellular functions. His lab is also developing methods to recreate and harness the process of evolution, specifically by developing novel technologies, such as the eVOLVER, that enable this process to occur rapidly, autonomously, and at scale in the laboratory. He is recipient of numerous awards, including a Schmidt Science Polymath Award, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), DoD Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship, NIH New Innovator Award, NSF CAREER Award, DARPA Young Faculty Award, and Hartwell Foundation Biomedical Research Award, and he has received numerous awards for teaching excellence at both the Department and College levels. Mo was an HHMI Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. James Collins at Boston University. He obtained his Ph.D. from MIT and his B.S. (Phi Beta Kappa) from Stanford University.
Brian Applegate, Ph.D.
Professor of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery and Biomedical Engineering
University of Southern California
“Functional and morphological imaging of the middle and inner ear with Optical Coherence Tomography and Vibrometry”
Abstract
Over the past decade we have been developing Optical Coherence Tomography and Vibrometry (OCTV) to measure the detailed morphology and vibratory response of the ear. With micron scale spatial resolution and subnanometer sensitivity to vibration it is well suited to measuring the spatially resolved vibratory response of both the inner and middle ear. In small animals, it is possible to image directly through the bone of the otic capsule for noninvasive spatially resolved vibrometry of the cochlear partition. In humans as well as small animals, it’s possible to image the tympanic membrane and ossicles through the ear canal to reveal the vibratory response of the middle ear. Nominally, this approach allows for the measure of vibratory response along the light path of the instrument, hence 1-D. In recent work we have developed a system that incorporates 3 separate sample arms in a single interferometer. This allows us to reconstruct the full 3-D vector of motion. We have also begun translating OCTV for use in humans with the development of hand-held devices which can be used in the clinic. The seminar will be split between these two projects, outlining the technical design and discussing recent results for each.
Biography
Dr. Applegate is a Professor of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. He received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from The Ohio State University. He won a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship grant to continue his training at Duke University in biomedical engineering. Upon completing his fellowship, he joined the faculty of Texas A&M University where he worked for 12 years advancing to the rank of Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering. He moved to the University of Southern California in 2019 where he joined his long time collaborator to continue their work on functional imaging of the ear. Throughout his career, his research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, including the NSF Career award, the Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health. He was elected a fellow of the Optical Society of America in 2016. He has served as an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging and Optics Letters. He is a standing member of the Imaging Guided Interventions and Surgery [IGIS] study section at the National Institutes of Health. His research interests are broadly to develop novel biophotonic technologies and apply them to the diagnosis and monitoring of human disease.
Dr. Applegate’s research interests are broadly to develop novel biophotonic technologies and apply them to the diagnosis and monitoring of human disease. Throughout his career, his research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, including the NSF Career award, the Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health. He is a fellow of the Optical Society of America and senior member of SPIE.
Dr. Applegate is a Professor of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. His research interests include the development of novel biophotonic technologies with applications in the diagnosis and monitoring of human disease. He has a particular interest in the development and translation of functional imaging technologies. He is a fellow of OSA and senior member of SPIE.
Dr. Applegate is a Professor of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. His research interests include the development of novel biophotonic technologies with applications in the diagnosis and monitoring of human disease. He has a particular interest in the development and translation of functional imaging technologies. Throughout his career, his research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, including the NSF Career award, the Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health.
Kristi Kiick, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair,
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
University of Delaware
“Engineering bioelastomers for applications in treating human disease”
Abstract
Among many types of biomaterials, micro- and nano-scale structures offer important approaches for mediating biological events, in large part because of their ability to effectively target specific tissues and cells. The Kiick group has employed a combination of biosynthetic tools, bioconjugation strategies, and biomimetic assembly to produce elastomeric hydrogels and thermoresponsive peptide nanostructures derived from naturally occurring elastomeric proteins. Because of their composition and assembly, these materials have shown promise for possible applications in treating pathologies of tissues and joints.
Biography
Kristi Kiick is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, at the University of Delaware. She also holds affiliated faculty appointments in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware and in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham, where Kiick has conducted research as a Leverhulme Visiting Professor and Fulbright Scholar. Her internationally recognized research focuses on the synthesis, characterization, and application of protein, peptide, and self-assembled materials for applications in tissue engineering, drug delivery, and bioengineering, with specific research in cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and wound healing approaches.
A Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and of the American Chemical Society, she has published more than 150 articles, book chapters, and patents, and has delivered over 200 invited and award lectures. Kiick’s honors have included several awards (Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation New Faculty, Beckman Young Investigator, NSF CAREER, DuPont Young Professor, and Delaware Biosciences Academic Research Award) as well as induction also as a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and of the American Chemical Society Division of Polymer Chemistry. She served as the Deputy Dean of the UD College of Engineering for 8 years, and also serves on the advisory and editorial boards for multiple international journals and research organizations. Kiick received her bachelor of science in chemistry from UD as a Eugene du Pont Memorial Distinguished Scholar, where she graduated summa cum laude, and a masters of science in chemistry as an NSF graduate fellow at the University of Georgia. She worked in industry (Kimberly Clark Corporation) as a research scientist prior to obtaining masters of science and doctoral degrees in polymer science and engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, completing her doctoral research at the California Institute of Technology as a recipient of a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship.
Cynthia A. Reinhart-King, PhD
University Distinguished Professor
Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor
Biomedical Engineering Senior Associate Dean for Research
School of Engineering
Vanderbilt University
“The intersection of mechanobiology and cellular metabolism in cancer”
Abstract
During solid tumor progression, cells undergo mechanical and metabolic changes that help to fuel metastasis. To move, cells must utilize ATP to fuel the the cellular contractility and forces that sustain migration, however very little is known about how the metabolic state of a cell affects its ability to migrate and vice versa. In this talk, I will describe my lab’s efforts to understand the forces driving cell movements in the tumor microenvironment and the energy required for movement. Combining tissue engineering approaches, mouse models, and patient samples, we create and validate in vitro systems to understand how cells navigate the tumor stroma environment with the goal of identifying novel targets of cancer metastasis. Microfabrication and native biomaterials are used to build mimics of the paths created and taken by cells during metastasis. Using these platforms, we have described a role for a balance between cellular energetics, cell and matrix stiffness, and confinement in determining migration behavior. Moreover, we have extended this work into investigating the intersection of the diabetes and the diabetic tissue microenvironment with tumor progression, showing that mechanical changes in the tissue due to diabetes can promote cancer. Overall, our work has demonstrated key mechanical drivers of metastasis within the tissue microenvironment.
Michael R. King, Ph.D.
J. Lawrence Wilson Professor and Department Chair of Biomedical Engineering
Vanderbilt University
“The shear force is all around us: Mechanotransduction of cancer and immune cells in fluid flow”
Abstract
Many types of cancer metastasize via the bloodstream, where circulating tumor cells (CTCs) originating from the primary tumor can travel through the circulation or lymphatic system and engraft in distant organs. Previously our laboratory found that cancer cells exposed to physiological levels of fluid shear stress (FSS) are dramatically more susceptible to undergoing apoptosis via TRAIL protein, inspiring a new therapeutic drug delivery approach to target metastatic cells in the circulation. The FSS response of CTCs and their neutralization by lipid nanoparticle conjugation to the surface of circulating immune cells has been demonstrated with in vitro cell line experiments, orthotopic mouse models of metastasis, and analysis of primary CTC aggregates isolated from metastatic cancer patients. We later learned that this shear stress is primarily mediated by Piezo1 activation, and is modulated by interacting with aggregated stromal cells such as cancer-associated fibroblasts. Interestingly, we recently found that FSS activation of Piezo1 also dramatically enhances the activation of T cells and dendritic cells, which may have important implications for various immunotherapy applications.