[UCI-Calit2] RSVP for 3/4/15 Presentation: Engineering Immunomodulatory Biomaterials

[Sharon Henry]

Samueli School of Engineering Distinguished Lecture Presentation

Title: Engineering Immunomodulatory Biomaterials

Presenter: Wendy Liu, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering and 2013-14 Samueli School Early-Career Excellence in Research Award

Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Time: 4 pm - Presentation; 5 pm - Reception
Location: UCI's Calit2 Building Auditorium/Atrium

Abstract: The body's response to biomaterials remains a critical challenge for implanted medical devices. Understanding this response and developing better biomaterials requires a multidisciplinary approach. Our lab combines microscale technologies with techniques in cell and molecular biology to control the physical and chemical properties of biomaterials. We are interested in developing a better fundamental understanding of how material properties regulate immune cell function, and utilize this knowledge to create improved materials for medical devices. In this talk, I will describe two primary areas in which we are currently focused. First, we are examining how physical features of the biomaterial surface influence immune cell function, and how these features might be leveraged to encourage immune-mediated wound healing. Second, we are utilizing biomolecules expressed by host tissue to mask the biomaterial surface, and thus promote immune tolerance. Using these approaches, our ultimate goal is to create biomaterials that control local immune cells and thus mitigate the host response to implanted devices.

Biography: After earning her bachelor's degree in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT in 2000, Wendy Liu attended Johns Hopkins University where she obtained her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 2007 as a National Science Fellow. Her doctoral work was completed in the lab of Dr. Christopher Chen. Following her Ph.D., Liu completed postdoctoral positions at Arsenal Medical Inc., a biomedical start-up company developing cardiovascular devices, and at MIT, where she worked in the lab of Dr. Robert Langer. Liu joined UCI's BME department in 2010.

Please RSVP to: engineering at uci.edu<mailto:engineering at uci.edu>



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