Happening @ Michigan https://events.umich.edu/list/rss RSS Feed for Happening @ Michigan Events at the University of Michigan. Heather Mayes: Simulating Protein-Carbohydrate Interactions to Bridge the Gap Between Human Chemical Intuition and Molecular Biophysics (February 20, 2018 2:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/50187 50187-11656168@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, February 20, 2018 2:00pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineering

In complex reacting systems, it can be exceedingly difficult, or even impossible, to tease out elementary reaction mechanisms from wet-lab data alone, due to data convolution resulting from the multiple reacting steps and competing reactions that simultaneously occur. The systems that the Mayes group studies (multiple types of protein-carbohydrate interactions) certainly fall into this category, with understanding further hindered by the conformational, stereochemical, and regiochemical degrees of freedom key to chemical reactions in these systems. Yet, understanding these elementary mechanisms would not only help answer fundamental questions in biology, but also improve our ability to harness these systems for applications from renewable energy to pharmaceutical interventions. I will discuss several systems that we are studying, and focus on our investigations of how enzymes break down plant biomass. I will share how our computational research rationalizes non-intuitive wet-lab observations by revealing mechanisms that do not conform to human intuition. In doing so, we gather lessons from how nature has evolved efficient enzymes that we can then apply to rational enzyme design.

Bio: Heather Mayes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Her research group uses multi-scale modeling to discover protein-sugar interactions and to harness them for renewable energy and improved health. The study of carbohydrate-protein interactions is an important step to create renewable fuels and chemicals from non-food biomass, and the results can be applied to several human diseases, including cancer and autoimmune disorders.

]]>
Workshop / Seminar Fri, 16 Feb 2018 14:15:49 -0500 2018-02-20T14:00:00-05:00 2018-02-20T15:00:00-05:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineering Workshop / Seminar
BME - Neural Engineering Seminar (February 27, 2018 3:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/50292 50292-11701599@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, February 27, 2018 3:00pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Biomedical Engineering

Marco Capogrosso, PhD (3:00-4:00 pm): A computational framework for the design of spinal neuroprostheses

Severe Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) alters the communication between supra-spinal centers and the sensorimotor networks coordinating limb movements, leading to motor paralysis. Epidural electrical stimulation of lumbar segments has shown the ability to enable descending motor control of the lower limbs in rodents and humans with severe spinal cord injury. Using a combination of computational models and in-vivo experiments, I’ve found that EES facilitates motor control through the recruitment of muscle spindle feedback circuits. I’ve then used these models to design stimulation protocols targeting these circuits that allowed selective modulation of synergistic muscle groups, both in rodents and primates. This framework supported the design of brain controlled stimulation strategies that restored voluntary locomotion in primates with incomplete spinal cord injury. I am now expanding these models to design new technologies for the restoration of functional arm movements in people with cervical spinal cord injury.

Elvira Pirondini, PhD (4:00-5:00 pm): Robust imaging biomarkers for therapy personalization in neural disorders

Personalized neuro-rehabilitation approaches, such as robot-assisted therapies, have been suggested as a pivotal step to improve the clinical outcome in neural disorders. Indeed, in the past years, robotic systems have become increasingly popular for the use in both upper and lower limb rehabilitation. Nevertheless, clinical studies have so far not been able to confirm the superior efficacy of robotic therapy over conventional methods. The possibility to autonomously and continuously adapt the rehabilitation protocol to the patient’s status based on meaningful measures could improve the clinical relevance of such solutions. However, the identification of such informative and robust biomarkers has remained rather elusive. Here I will briefly discuss how neurophysiological relevant kinematic parameters capable of tracking changes in motor improvement could be identified and used for the personalization of the therapy in real-time. However, while kinematic measurements provide precise behavioral scores, they are unfit to describe the complex neural reorganization processes in neuro-motor disorders. I will therefore present advanced imaging tools to analyze brain activity able to provide novel and rich biomarkers to delineate responses to treatment. These methods will allow improving our understanding of the recovery mechanisms and the design of innovative personalized rehabilitative strategies.

]]>
Lecture / Discussion Tue, 20 Feb 2018 16:14:06 -0500 2018-02-27T15:00:00-05:00 2018-02-27T17:00:00-05:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Biomedical Engineering Lecture / Discussion Event
Clinical Trials (March 12, 2018 12:30pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/50800 50800-11870497@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Monday, March 12, 2018 12:30pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: The Bioethics Discussion Group

A lunchtime discussion with Professors Cynthia Chestek and James Weiland, on the ethical implications of experimental medical trials, on the responsibilities of the caregivers to their patients (current and future), and how we actually know what we're doing is both true and useful. Sponsored by the Biointerfaces Research Group (BIRG).

Come for free food, profound thoughts, open discussion.

]]>
Lecture / Discussion Wed, 07 Mar 2018 11:48:58 -0500 2018-03-12T12:30:00-04:00 2018-03-12T13:30:00-04:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 The Bioethics Discussion Group Lecture / Discussion Clinical trials
Gaurav Arya (March 30, 2018 3:30pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/51502 51502-12123949@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, March 30, 2018 3:30pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Chemical Engineering

Abstract

Molecular-Scale Modeling of Polymer-Nanoparticle Composites
The incorporation of nanoparticles (NPs) into polymers constitutes a powerful strategy for enhancing their thermomechanical properties and for introducing new optical, electrical, and magnetic functionalities into the polymers. This talk reviews our ongoing efforts in modeling the mesoscale morphology, assembly mechanisms, and thermomechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites. I will begin by discussing Monte Carlo simulations of polymer-grafted shaped NPs to elucidate the role played by polymer grafts in dictating the free-energy landscape, assembly pathway, and relative orientation of the NPs in their higher-order aggregates. These results have led to the development of a novel self-assembly strategy for fabricating tunable plasmonic nanojunctions within a polymer thin film. Next, I will describe an approach involving highthroughput quantitative image analysis and lattice models for inferring dynamic parameters of NP assembly from spatially and temporally disjointed images of composites. Application to shaped, metallic NPs reveals a cluster-cluster aggregation mechanism of assembly, where the NPs and their clusters diffuse in a Stokes-Einstein manner and stick with a probability that depends on their size and geometry as well as molecular weight of the surrounding polymer. Finally, I will discuss the application of atomistic and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations in predicting thermomechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites, especially viscoelastic behavior in the context of shock-mitigation materials, and mechanical flexibility and stability in the context of flexible organic semiconductors.

]]>
Lecture / Discussion Thu, 29 Mar 2018 16:42:56 -0400 2018-03-30T15:30:00-04:00 2018-03-30T16:30:00-04:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Chemical Engineering Lecture / Discussion Arya Gaurav
Microfluidics Symposium 2018 (May 9, 2018 10:00am) https://events.umich.edu/event/51028 51028-11942018@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Wednesday, May 9, 2018 10:00am
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Biomedical Engineering

Register Here:
https://goo.gl/forms/baPeX6Mfk7PIfIuR2

Abstract Submission Deadline: March 27, 2018

]]>
Other Tue, 13 Mar 2018 16:03:24 -0400 2018-05-09T10:00:00-04:00 2018-05-09T16:00:00-04:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Biomedical Engineering Other event
Research Education and Activities for Classroom Teachers (June 22, 2018 9:30am) https://events.umich.edu/event/51957 51957-12327241@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, June 22, 2018 9:30am
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: American Chemical Society Polymer Division - Student Chapter

REACT is a one-day workshop for Michigan K-12 STEM teachers at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor campus). This event provides K-12 STEM teachers free exposure to the impactful research being done at the University of Michigan through focused student talks, lab tours, and hands-on demonstrations by student organizations.

This year's REACT workshop includes research from Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Mechanical Engineering and Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Human Genetics, and Physics.

]]>
Workshop / Seminar Mon, 16 Apr 2018 09:25:00 -0400 2018-06-22T09:30:00-04:00 2018-06-22T17:00:00-04:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 American Chemical Society Polymer Division - Student Chapter Workshop / Seminar
ChE Special Seminar: Dr. (William) Joshua Kennedy (July 20, 2018 1:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/53080 53080-13220160@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, July 20, 2018 1:00pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Chemical Engineering

"Optical Detection of Process Parameters in Structural Polymer Nanocomposites Using Gold Nanorods"

ABSTRACT:
The real-time measurement of thermophysical properties in structural polymers is crucial to the optimization of processing parameters for composites manufacturing. However, robust techniques for in-situ monitoring of key parameters such as temperature, stress, strain, viscosity, and degree of cure with high sensitivity and spatial resolution are lacking. Many optically active nanoparticles, including fluorescent quantum dots and plasmonic nanostructures, change their optical signatures in response to various environmental stimuli. These materials are good candidates for embedded sensing in polymers because of their high signal-to-noise and intrinsic non-contact sensing modality. However, because spectral shifts can arise through a variety of mechanisms, a thorough understanding of the fundamental relationships between environment and optical response is needed. I will show that the thermal shape transformation of gold nanorods in a polymer matrix is governed by multiple mechanisms, and these competing mechanisms lead to different behaviors at short and long time scales. This understanding can be exploited in order to use gold nanorods as a way to simultaneously measure temperature, dielectric constant, and modulus in a structural polymer resin.

BIO:
(William) Joshua Kennedy received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Utah in 2011. His graduate work and early postdoctoral work at the University of Texas - Dallas was focused on the study of the optoelectronic properties of carbon nanotubes and nanotube polymer nanocomposites. During a postdoctoral fellowship at Nasa Johnson Space Center, Dr. Kennedy studied the functional response of optically active polymer nanocomposites for space applications, and he developed a new piezoelectric composite for use on the International Space Station. Dr. Kennedy now works as a Research Physicist at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH. He is a member of the Polymer Matrix Composites Materials and Processes Research Team where he focuses on the development of multifunctional structural composite materials and embedded sensors for composite processing.

]]>
Workshop / Seminar Wed, 18 Jul 2018 14:23:20 -0400 2018-07-20T13:00:00-04:00 2018-07-20T14:00:00-04:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Chemical Engineering Workshop / Seminar
BME PhD Defense: Tuğba Topal (August 10, 2018 1:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/53267 53267-13330229@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, August 10, 2018 1:00pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Biomedical Engineering

The Effects of Mechanical Forces on Human Embryonic Stem Cell Behavior



The development of an organism from a zygote into a fully functional 3D individual is a process in which a strong coupling of morphogens and mechanical forces is coordinated with embryo shape. During development, cells communicate with each other through cell-cell junctions and with their microenvironment via mechanical cues to regulate cell fate, re-organize the extracellular matrix, and guide developmental process. Most studies on human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) focused on how external soluble factors including growth factors and small inhibitors, gene and protein expression, and signaling pathways to maintain stemness or initiate differentiation of these cells. A various array of environmental factors including the effect of geometry and mechanical properties of extracellular matrix on stem cells contributes to altering stem cell fate. Recently, increasing evidence has revealed the importance of mechanical factors in affecting migration, proliferation and stem cell differentiation in vitro.



In this dissertation, we focus on the development and application of novel bioengineering approaches to understand the effects of mechanical forces on hESC behaviors and the directed differentiation of hESCs. Specifically, by employing a microfluidic device to induce controlled and regulated forces that apply global mechanical forces to adherent hESCs, we find that uniaxial substrate stretching disrupts the pluripotency circuit and initiates the exit of transcription factors, Nanog and Oct4, from the nucleus into the cytoplasm via a nuclear export protein (CRM1) as early as 30 min after stretch application and for 2 hours on a flexible substrate coated with Matrigel, and is not reliant on exogenous soluble factors. In order to pinpoint to the receptors responsible for mechanical sensing, we employ a novel technique, acoustic tweezing cytometery (ATC), that utilizes ultrasound pulses to actuate functionalized microbubbles targeted to integrin in order to apply cyclic strain to hESCs. We find that ATC-mediated cyclic forces applied for 30 min induced immediate global responses in the colony, including increased contractile force, enhanced calcium activity, as well as decreased nuclear expression of pluripotency transcription factors Oct4 and Nanog, leading to rapid differentiation and characteristic epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) events that depend on focal adhesion kinase activation and cytoskeleton tension. These results reveal a unique, rapid mechanoresponsiveness and community behavior of hESCs to integrin-targeted cyclic forces. Furthermore, we demonstrate an integrative mechanotransduction that induced neural rosette formation of hESCs via the application of ATC and induction medium. We observe upregulation of Pax6 and Sox1 in as early as 6 hours, following by neural rosettes formation in 48 hours, which is much faster compared to the typical 10-15 days needed with conventional neural rosettes formation protocols.



Together, this dissertation presents novel findings and insights regarding the effects of external mechanical forces on hESCs. Such information may help elucidate the mechanobiology of hESCs, and thus advance our knowledge of human embryogenesis, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineering.

]]>
Presentation Tue, 31 Jul 2018 08:53:18 -0400 2018-08-10T13:00:00-04:00 2018-08-10T14:00:00-04:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Biomedical Engineering Presentation BME-EVENT Placeholder
ChE Special Seminar: Marie-Paule Pileni (August 16, 2018 1:30pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/52891 52891-13107800@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, August 16, 2018 1:30pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Chemical Engineering

Marie-Paule Pileni
Université Pierre et Marie Curie
Paris, France

"Nanocrystallinity, Supracrystals: Unexpected Behavior"

ABSTRACT: The nanocrystals with low size distribution self assemble in 3D superlattices called supracrystals. The crystalline structure of nanocrystals called nanocrystallinity plays a key role on these self-assemblies Heterogeneous and homogeneous growth processes of supracrystals take place inducing marked changes in their physical properties.

We describe some physical and chemical properties of nanomaterials differing by the crystalline structures called nanocrystallinity: It is demonstrated that nanocrystallinity plays a major role in the final structure when nanocrystals are subjected to oxidation processes (Kinkendall effect). Concerning the optical properties, some processes are markedly affected by the crystalline structure whereas others are negligeable.

“Clustered” and “eggs” structures are hydrophobic supracrystals are dispersed in aqueous solution with a very high stability (almost two years). Solubilization of hydrophobic supracrystal in aqueous solution is obtained with Co and Au supracrystals with appearance of tunable plasmonic metamaterials. With Au supracrystals, the optical properties revealed that the fingerprint of nanocrystal is preserved even for large crystalline aggregates demonstrating that the nanocrystal could be used as a probe for investigating the optical properties of such assemblies.

BIO: Marie-Paule Pileni is a distinguished professor at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC). She obtained an honors degree in physical chemistry (1970) and a Ph.D (1977) at the UPMC. She was director, between 1996 and 2000, of the Struc­ture and Reactivity of Interfaces Laboratory (SRI), a Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) joint unit. In 2000, she created the Laboratoire des Matéri­aux Mésoscopiques et Nanométriques (LM2N) (Mesoscopic and Nanometric Materials Laboratory). Her areas of specialization are nanomaterials self assemblies, colloids, and physical chemistry.

]]>
Lecture / Discussion Thu, 05 Jul 2018 15:50:50 -0400 2018-08-16T13:30:00-04:00 2018-08-16T14:30:00-04:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Chemical Engineering Lecture / Discussion
Maternal Infant Health Improvement Plan: Southeast Michigan Town Hall Satellite Meeting (August 16, 2018 6:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/53268 53268-13330234@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, August 16, 2018 6:00pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Michigan Medicine, OBGYN Department

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Maternal Infant Strategy Group (MISG) are hosting four regional town hall meetings to collect community input on the state's 2019--- 2022 Mother Infant Health Improvement Plan.

Objectives:
1. Introduce the logic model for the 2019-2022 Mother Infant Health Improvement Plan (MIHIP).

2. Collect feedback from the community to determine priorities and barriers to successful program implementation.

3. Bridge community partners to work together to improve the health of mothers and babies

AGENDA:
6:00 pm - Welcome and Introductions, Town Hall Overview
6:20 pm - Introduction of the Mother Infant Health Improvement Plan
6:40 pm - Small Group Discussion and Reports
7:20 pm - Looking Ahead

]]>
Other Tue, 31 Jul 2018 10:47:26 -0400 2018-08-16T18:00:00-04:00 2018-08-16T19:30:00-04:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Michigan Medicine, OBGYN Department Other Town Hall Flyer
ChE Seminar Series: K. Dane Wittrup (October 11, 2018 1:30pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/56532 56532-13939989@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, October 11, 2018 1:30pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Chemical Engineering

C.P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering and Biological Engineering
Associate Director, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

ABSTRACT

"Bioengineering of synergistic innate and adaptive immunotherapy of cancer"

Harnessing the immune system to attack cancer has started a revolution in oncology. The ability of the adaptive immune system to track such evolving pathologies has provided robust responses and cures in 10-25% of previously intractable cancers such as metastatic melanoma. The next frontier is to “raise the tail” of the survival curve in such cancers by finding synergistic combination therapies. Chemical and biological engineers have pioneered approaches that are well suited to such investigations, bringing quantitative problem-solving synthetic and analytical toolkits to bear. I’ll provide examples from my lab where cocktails of anti-tumor antibodies and cytokines have accomplished highly safe and efficacious therapies as tested in mouse models of cancer.

]]>
Lecture / Discussion Tue, 09 Oct 2018 10:37:14 -0400 2018-10-11T13:30:00-04:00 2018-10-11T14:30:00-04:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Chemical Engineering Lecture / Discussion
MilliporeSigma Lecture (October 16, 2018 10:00am) https://events.umich.edu/event/56447 56447-13905905@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, October 16, 2018 10:00am
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Macromolecular Science & Engineering

Molecular Understanding, Design and Development of Ultra-low Fouling Zwitterionic Materials

An important challenge in many applications, ranging from drug delivery carriers to medical devices, is the prevention of nonspecific protein adsorption on surfaces. To address this challenge, our goals are twofold. First, we strive to provide a fundamental understanding of nonfouling mechanisms at the molecular level. Second, we aim to develop biocompatible and environmentally benign ultra low fouling materials based on the molecular principles we have learned. Over the last 15 years, we have demonstrated that zwitterionic and mixed charge materials and surfaces are highly resistant to nonspecific protein adsorption, cell adhesion and bacteria adhesion/biofilm formation from complex media. Both simulation and experimental results indicate that the strong hydration of zwitterionic materials is responsible for their excellent nonfouling properties. Recent results show that zwitterionic materials do not induce immunological response in blood circulation and capsule formation upon implantation and are able to preserve protein and cell bioactivity. Zwitterionic materials have been shown to be superior to poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based materials for a number of biomedical and engineering applications such as drug delivery carriers, medical devices, cell preservation/expansion media, and marine coatings.

RSVP to MacroProgram@umich.edu or call 734-763-2316 by October 12th.

]]>
Lecture / Discussion Fri, 05 Oct 2018 13:17:00 -0400 2018-10-16T10:00:00-04:00 2018-10-16T11:00:00-04:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Macromolecular Science & Engineering Lecture / Discussion
ChE Seminar Series: Greg Thurber (October 16, 2018 1:30pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/56664 56664-13960666@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, October 16, 2018 1:30pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Chemical Engineering

Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Michigan

ABSTRACT

"Molecular Engineering of Advanced Imaging Agents and Therapeutics:
Using ChE principles to aid in design"


Traditionally, drug development has proceeded in a linear fashion from optimizing target affinity, validating in cell culture, testing in animal models, and moving to the clinic. For some drugs, such as small molecules, extensive data are available to define empirical ‘rules’ to help guide development of early screening hits to avoid attrition at later stages. However, for new, more advanced therapeutics, sufficient data are not available for empirical guidance. Because of their more complex structures, many of these agents have transport limitations within the body. These include the transient kinetics of an imaging agent reaching its target and washing out of the background or a macromolecular therapeutic trying to navigate its way through the tumor microenvironment and bind a receptor, either inside or outside the cell.


Our lab uses predictive computational transport simulations to guide the design of these agents without the need for a priori data. I will outline several examples where these transport limitations give rise to counter-intuitive results. These include i) the design of antibody-drug
conjugates, where lower potency can result in higher tumor killing, ii) directed evolution of stabilized alpha helical peptides where lower cellular efficacy can more efficiently hit currently ‘undruggable’ targets in the body, and iii) use of high charge density to improve oral
absorption and targeting of a ‘disease screening pill.’ By incorporating these predictive, multiscale simulations – from the molecular level to the whole organism scale – we can use molecular engineering to help design novel therapeutics and imaging agents rather than develop them through costly trial-and-error.

]]>
Lecture / Discussion Thu, 11 Oct 2018 15:02:24 -0400 2018-10-16T13:30:00-04:00 2018-10-16T14:30:00-04:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Chemical Engineering Lecture / Discussion Greg Thurber
ChE Seminar Series: Cecilia Leal (October 25, 2018 1:30pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/56806 56806-14006009@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, October 25, 2018 1:30pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Chemical Engineering

Department of Materials Science and Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

ABSTRACT
"Complexity in the chemistry and physics of lipid membranes as a handle to activate the delivery of cargo to cells"

Lipid materials having nanostructures that deviate from the conventional flat bilayer arrangement such as hexagonally packed lipid tubes and bicontinuous cubic phases are ubiquitous in nature. Their role remains elusive but over the years several pathologies and organelle functions have been coupled to lipid membrane structural complexity. In this talk we will discuss lipid membrane polymorphism and how it can be exploited to generate a new class of materials for the delivery of cargo to cells. We combine a number of techniques including X-ray scattering, cryo-EM, and cell culture to demonstrate that the structure of lipid nanoparticles is a powerful handle to boost the delivery of genes to cells. The simple argument that non-bilayer phases having intertwined nanoscale channels exist to increase surface-to-volume ratio might be insufficient to completely describe the experimental findings. We will show that synthetic lipid and lipid-polymer hybrid materials are able to capture many structural and dynamic properties seen in natural systems, when local heterogeneities and self-assembly out of equilibrium is taken into account.

BIO
Cecilia Leal is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and is affiliated with the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She received a M.S. in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Coimbra in Portugal and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Lund in Sweden. Cecilia was a Swedish Research Council postdoctoral fellow in Materials Science at the University of California in Santa Barbara before she started her appointment at UIUC in 2012. Her research interests lie at the intersection of materials science and physical chemistry with a focus on soft materials relevant in biology. Cecilia is the recipient of a 2018 UIUC College of Engineering Dean's Award for Excellence in Research, the 2016 NSF CAREER Award, and the 2016 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award.

]]>
Lecture / Discussion Tue, 16 Oct 2018 17:22:59 -0400 2018-10-25T13:30:00-04:00 2018-10-25T14:30:00-04:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Chemical Engineering Lecture / Discussion
Therapeutic benefit of scaffolds that capture metastatic tumor cells in vivo (December 11, 2018 10:00am) https://events.umich.edu/event/57815 57815-14314713@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 10:00am
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Biomedical Engineering

For most cancers, the formation of distant metastasis is the point at which clinical treatment shifts from curative intent to extending progression free survival. Physicians are currently unable to diagnose metastasis until disseminated tumor cells affect the function of a target organ as a secondary tumor. This dissertation describes a novel approach where implantable biomaterial scaffolds are used to recruit metastatic tumor cells for early detection prior to colonization of solid organs. This recruitment of tumor cells to a defined site can not only serve as a platform for detection, but can also have therapeutic effects and be used as a platform to study metastatic processes. This dissertation describes work in each of these three areas including using an implantable biomaterial scaffold for early detection, therapeutic benefit, and a platform to study metastasis. The therapeutic benefit of scaffolds was demonstrated by scaffold implantation significantly enhancing disease-free survival in a murine model of triple negative breast cancer. Myeloid derived suppressor cells were the key population of immune cells whose capture at the scaffold and reduction in the spleen and primary tumor lead to enhanced survival. In an effort to probe the contributions of various immune cell types to the formation and maintenance of the pre-metastatic and metastatic niche in vivo, a gene delivery approach was utilized to alter the immune microenvironment of the scaffold and investigate the recruitment of tumor cells, finding reduced immune and tumor cell recruitment with IL-10 delivery and developing a model of tumor cell recruitment that is dependent upon the proportion of each immune cell type in the niche. Additional efforts to use the scaffold to study metastasis included studying scaffold captured tumor cells relative to tumor cells derived from other locations. Scaffold captured tumor cells were a highly aggressive population of metastatic tumor cells similar to those found in a metastatic lung, underscoring the use of the scaffold as a sampling location for metastatic disease that is reflective of tumor cell phenotype in solid organs. Next, biomaterial scaffolds were also validated in transgenic models of both breast and pancreatic cancer to identify immune dysregulation as a function of tumor burden, recruit tumor cells, and to reduce tumor burden. Finally, non-invasive ultrasound imaging and subsequent spectral analysis techniques were applied to identify changes in the scaffold associated with tumor burden and tumor cell recruitment. Taken together, this body of work supports that the implantable biomaterial scaffold technology provides a robust and novel approach for the early detection of metastatic disease in both breast and pancreatic cancer, therapy to divert both pre-metastatic niche forming immune cells and tumor cells themselves to an ectopic site and away from solid organs, and as a platform to study mechanisms of the pre-metastatic niche and metastasis.

Chair: Dr. Lonnie Shea

]]>
Presentation Tue, 20 Nov 2018 16:10:40 -0500 2018-12-11T10:00:00-05:00 2018-12-11T11:00:00-05:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Biomedical Engineering Presentation Biomedical Engineering
ChE Seminar Series: Neel Joshi (December 11, 2018 1:30pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/57894 57894-14366723@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 1:30pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Chemical Engineering

Harvard University
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

ASTRACT

"Biologically fabricated materials composed of engineered biofilm matrix proteins"

The intersection between synthetic biology and materials science is an under explored area with great potential to positively affect our daily lives, with applications ranging from manufacturing to medicine. My group is interested in harnessing the biosynthetic potential of microbes, not only as factories for the production of raw materials, but as fabrication plants that can orchestrate the assembly of complex functional materials. We call this approach “biologically fabricated materials”, a process whose goal is to genetically program microbes to assemble materials from protein-based building blocks without the need for time consuming and expensive purification protocols or specialized equipment. Accordingly, we have developed Biofilm Integrated Nanofiber Display (BIND), which relies on the biologically directed assembly of biofilm matrix proteins of the curli system in E. coli. We demonstrate that bacterial cells can be programmed to synthesize a range of functional materials with straightforward genetic engineering techniques. The resulting materials are highly customizable and easy to fabricate, and we are investigating their use for practical uses ranging from bioremediation to engineered therapeutic probiotics.

BIO
Neel Joshi is an Associate Professor of Biological Engineering at the Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and also a Core Faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. He completed his PhD at UC Berkeley in the lab of Matt Francis and a postdoc at Boston University in the lab of Mark Grinstaff before starting a position at Harvard. He is broadly interested in topics related to biologically inspired materials, protein engineering, self-assembly, and biointerfaces. His group works at the intersection of biomaterials science and synthetic biology. Recent projects in the group have focused on repurposing bacterial biofilms and their matrix proteins for biotechnological and biomedical applications.

]]>
Lecture / Discussion Mon, 26 Nov 2018 15:08:25 -0500 2018-12-11T13:30:00-05:00 2018-12-11T14:30:00-05:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Chemical Engineering Lecture / Discussion
A Bioethical Lunch on Harry Potter (December 13, 2018 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/54450 54450-13585501@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, December 13, 2018 12:00pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: The Bioethics Discussion Group

A lunchtime discussion on the boy who lived and what that means.

Please RSVP Here
https://goo.gl/forms/oiPBMyqZZ6IEJKtr2

]]>
Lecture / Discussion Wed, 05 Dec 2018 09:34:54 -0500 2018-12-13T12:00:00-05:00 2018-12-13T13:30:00-05:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 The Bioethics Discussion Group Lecture / Discussion Harry Potter
Postponed Due to Weather - A Bioethical Lunch on Publishing and Peer Review (January 31, 2019 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/54451 54451-13585502@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, January 31, 2019 12:00pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: The Bioethics Discussion Group

[CANCELED DUE TO THE UNIVERSITY SHUTDOWN. Our apologies.]

A lunchtime discussion on the ethics of publishing in science and the peer-review system, with special guest Nick Kotov.

Please note the location of the event is now at NCRC B10 G065. Sorry about any confusion.

Please RSVP here: https://goo.gl/forms/pTU6Py3FAZn1iSLm1

]]>
Lecture / Discussion Thu, 31 Jan 2019 10:42:45 -0500 2019-01-31T12:00:00-05:00 2019-01-31T13:30:00-05:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 The Bioethics Discussion Group Lecture / Discussion Race and gender
David Nordsletten (February 8, 2019 3:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/60342 60342-14864286@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, February 8, 2019 3:00pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineering

Dr. Nordsletten joined the University of Michigan in January 2019 as an Associate Professor, is a Reader in cardiovascular biomechanics at King’s College London, and is the recipient of the EPSRC HTCA leadership fellowship. His research focuses on the novel application of biomechanics integrated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the advancement of human cardiovascular health. This broad focus encompasses a range of projects spanning from numerical methods development through to direct analysis of medical imaging data for diagnostics in cardiovascular disease.

]]>
Workshop / Seminar Wed, 06 Feb 2019 12:59:35 -0500 2019-02-08T15:00:00-05:00 2019-02-08T16:00:00-05:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineering Workshop / Seminar Nordsletten
A Bioethical Lunch on Neural Interfaces (February 14, 2019 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/54452 54452-13585503@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, February 14, 2019 12:00pm
Location: North Campus Research Complex Building 10
Organized By: The Bioethics Discussion Group

A lunchtime discussion right on the surface of what we think. Special guest, Dr. Parag Patil will regale us with a tale or two.

Please note the location of the event is now at NCRC B10 G065. Sorry about any confusion.

RSVP here: https://goo.gl/forms/JS1HIhzL79diKn1H2

]]>
Lecture / Discussion Thu, 24 Jan 2019 15:16:45 -0500 2019-02-14T12:00:00-05:00 2019-02-14T13:30:00-05:00 North Campus Research Complex Building 10 The Bioethics Discussion Group Lecture / Discussion Neural interfaces