Title: Rigidity & rheology in sickle cell disease: a fertile connection
Abstract: Sickle cell disease is characterized by red cells that rigidify in the absence of oxygen, as a consequence of the polymerization of the hemoglobin that fills the cells. We will show how the polymerization mechanism is intimately related to measured mesoscopic rheological properties. This allows a refined understanding of the disease as well as providing novel ways to diagnose its presence.
Title: Nano-based probes of neuroinflammation: implications for therapeutic intervention in the brain
Abstract:
Currently, the means to gather real-time molcular information from the diseased human brain is limited, and high-throughput platforms that can assay neurological disease severity representative of the in vivo environment are still lacking. In addition, for the treatment of brain diseases, penetration, movement, and cellular interaction of a therapeutic within the brain is critical to the success of the therapeutic....
Many people (outside Harvard) think a medical robot is a set of very large arms for performing laparoscopic surgery. How 20th century! Real medical robots are much more diverse and come in shapes and sizes determined by both the underlying technology and clinical application. In this talk, I will describe three technologies and their clinical applications: (1) robotic catheters comprised of pre-curved elastic tubes, (2) tetherless robots powered, controlled and imaged using an MRI...
Title: Polymeric Nanomaterials for Therapeutic Delivery and Regenerative Engineering
Abstract:
New materials with tailored structural and functional characteristics can advance the ways medical treatments are delivered in combating diseases and repairing damaged tissues. This seminar discusses two examples that focus on (1) uncovering nanoparticle assembly approaches for exquisite control of biophysical properties of DNA nanoparticles that closely mimic that of natural viruses, and (2) engineering nanofiber matrices to regulate cell...
Recent studies have demonstrated that biophysical factors have a long-term effect on cell phenotypic changes. I will discuss how biophysical cues such as microtopography, substrate stiffness and fluid shear stress can modulate the cell reprogramming process, through either epigenetic modifications or transcriptional regulation.
Title: Impact of Molecular Crowding on Physical Properties and Biological Functions of Cells
Abstract:
The interior of a living cell is a crowded environment, with lots of proteins and organelles in it. In this talk, I will show that the degree of molecular crowding inside living cells changes as cell volume changes through water efflux, responding to the extracellular properties such as substrate stiffness, adhesiveness, and osmotic pressure. This change in molecular crowding directly impact the mechanical property of cells such as bulk...