1. Immunomodulatory Biomaterials for Limb Salvage / 2. Local Drug Delivery for Spinal Cord Repair
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
4:00 PM-5:30 PM
BIOMED Dual Seminar
Title Seminar #1:
Immunomodulatory Biomaterials for Limb Salvage
Speaker:
Kara L. Spiller, PhD
Associate Professor
Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Drexel University
Details:
Diabetes and peripheral arterial disease affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Patients with these conditions frequently develop chronic wounds on the lower limbs that lead to amputation, with a 5-year mortality rate as high as 77%. Macrophages, the primary cell of the innate immune system, are critical regulators of angiogenesis and wound healing. Their dysfunction is strongly implicated in arterial dysfunction, limb ischemia, and poorly healing chronic wounds. The goal of the Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at Drexel University is to understand the mechanisms by which macrophages orchestrate successful angiogenesis and tissue regeneration and to develop novel biomaterial strategies that apply these principles to pathological situations, in order to ultimately prevent limb amputation.
This talk will focus on the effects of temporal changes in macrophage phenotype on angiogenesis, the design of biomaterials and drug delivery systems to modulate macrophage phenotype for enhanced angiogenesis, and the development of macrophage phenotype-related biomarkers to assist in clinical decision making for a personalized medicine approach to wound care.
Biosketch:
Kara Spiller, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Drexel University's School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems. Dr. Spiller's research interests include the role of immune cells in tissue regeneration, the design of immunomodulatory biomaterials, and international engineering education. Her research is funded by the NIH, the NSF, and private foundations. Her awards include a Fulbright fellowship, the NSF CAREER award, and the United States nomination for the ASPIRE prize.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Title Seminar #2:
Local Drug Delivery for Spinal Cord Repair
Speaker:
Yinghui Zhong, PhD
Associate Professor
Therapeutic Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Drexel University
Details:
Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) causes partial or complete functional loss below the injury site. Patients with SCI suffer lifelong disability and require continuous physical and medical care. Following the initial trauma, the lesion site expands over time due to a wave of secondary degeneration caused by inflammatory processes and progressive cell death. As a result, the lesion site frequently develops into a cavity surrounded by scar tissue. Secondary injury is usually many times bigger than the initial lesion and may extend several segments above and below the site of injury, which often causes deleterious functional loss. In addition, axonal regeneration is tremendously refractory after SCI. The failure of axon growth is attributed to both intrinsic and extrinsic inhibitory factors.
The goal of the Therapeutic Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory at Drexel University is to develop novel biomaterials, drug delivery, and stem cell strategies to reduce secondary injury, inhibit scar tissue formation, and promote regeneration and repair after SCI. This talk will focus on our research in these applications.
Biosketch:
Yinghui Zhong, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Drexel University's School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems. Dr. Zhong's research interests include (1) developing therapies to promote regeneration and scarless wound healing after spinal cord injury, using drug delivery, hydrogel scaffold, and stem cell strategies, (2) promoting neuroprotection and immunomodulation after spinal cord injury; and (3) developing multifunctional therapeutic nanoparticles for treating cardiovascular diseases.
Contact Information
Lisa Williams
ltw22@drexel.edu