Events RSS Feed : Wyss Institute

Fifth Annual Judah Folkman, MD Lecture: Mechanobiology and Developmental Control

Speaker:

Donald E. Ingber, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology, Harvard Medical School & Vascular Biology Program, Boston Children's Hospital
Professor of Bioengineering, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

In the Fifth Annual Judah Folkman, MD Lecture, Wyss Institute Founding Director Donald E. Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. will discuss how changes in cell or tissue mechanics affect development.

Bio: Donald E. Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. is the Founding Director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University; the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School; and Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Ingber is a leader in the emerging field of biologically inspired engineering, and at the Wyss Institute, he oversees a multifaceted effort to identify the mechanisms that living systems use to build, control and manufacture, and to apply these design principles to develop advanced materials and devices. He also leads the Biomimetic Microsystems platform in which microfabrication techniques from the computer industry are used to build tiny, complex, three-dimensional models of living human organs. These "organs on chips", which mimic complicated human functions, are being designed to replace traditional animal-based methods for testing of drugs and toxins. Ingber has made major contributions to mechanobiology, tissue engineering, tumor angiogenesis, systems biology, and nanobiotechnology. He was the first to recognize that tensegrity architecture (in which a system stabilizes itself mechanically by balancing local compression with continuous tension) is a fundamental principle that governs how living cells are structured at the nanometer scale. Ingber has authored more than 325 publications and 70 patents and has received numerous honors including the Holst Medal, Pritzker Award from the Biomedical Engineering Society, Rous-Whipple Award from the American Society for Investigative Pathology, Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of In Vitro Biology, and the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Innovator Award. He is also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

Boston Children's Hospital: Innovators' Forum
SLIPS: Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces, ICU Applications

Speaker:

Ann Hansen, M.D., MPH
NICU Medical Director, Newborn Medicine
Boston Children's Hospital

Speaker:

Mike Super, Ph.D., M.Sc.
Senior Staff Scientist
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University

What can be done with a surface slippery enough that neither blood nor pathogens can stick to it?
Learn how collaborators at the Wyss Institute and Boston Children's Hospital are bringing bioengineering breakthroughs to the hospital setting.

The Forum will also be available via ConnectPro.

CIMIT Lecture Series: Profiles in Innovation
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University:
The Next Technology Wave in Healthcare

Speaker:

Donald E. Ingber, M.D., Ph.D.
Founding Director, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology, Harvard Medical School & Vascular Biology Program, Boston Children's Hospital
Professor of Bioengineering, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University was founded in 2009 to harness biological design principles to develop new engineering innovations. Also key to the Institute’s mission is to translate these new technologies into breakthrough products that produce near-term impact. Over the past 4 years, the Institute has pioneered a new model for innovation, collaboration and technology translation, in addition to developing an exciting pipeline of new technologies, including two that will soon enter human clinical trials. A few examples of bioinspired technologies under development include autonomous medical devices that restore balance in the elderly; therapeutic cancer vaccines that function as artificial lymph nodes; nanotherapeutics that target to vascular occlusion sites like artificial platelets; human organs on microchips that could replace animal testing for drug development; self-assembling DNA-base nanorobots that can be programmed to kill unique types of tumor cells; and a biospleen that cleanses blood of pathogens and toxins in septic patients. This new technology wave represents a major paradigm shift in medicine, and the novel organization structure of the Institute opens an entirely new approach to technology development and translation in the academic setting.

DNA Architectures for Programmable Self Assembly

Speaker:

Hao Yan
Milton D. Glick Distinguished Professor in Chemistry and Biochemistry
Principle Investigator, Center for Single Molecule Biophysics, The Biodesign Institute
Arizona State University

Abstract: The central task of nanotechnology is to control motions and organize matter with nanometer precision. To achieve this, scientists have investigated a large variety of materials including inorganic materials, organic molecules, and biological polymers as well as different methods that can be sorted into so-called “bottom-up” and “top-down” approaches. Among all of the remarkable achievements made, the success of DNA self-assembly in building programmable nanopatterns has attracted broad attention. The fabrication of DNA nanostructures begins with the designed assembly of single stranded DNA into small building-block materials called tiles. DNA tiles can then be further self-assembled into larger arrays with distinct topological and geometric features using non-overlapping sticky-end cohesion. DNA nanostructures assembled in this fashion can be modified in a number of ways to contain functional materials with useful biological and electronic properties. This ‘bottom-up’ type of approach has enormous value in the development of “molecular printboards” with resolution far exceeding current nanolithographic methods. This talk will discuss some of our recent progress in using DNA as an information-coding polymer for nanotechnology applications.

Host:

Peng Yin
Core Faculty member, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
at Harvard University
Assistant Professor, Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School

Bioinspired Approaches to Functional Materials and Studies of the Abiotic-Biotic Interface

Speaker:

Carole C. Perry
Professor of Bioinorganic and Materials Chemistry
Nottingham Trent University

Abstract: Biological organisms are a constant source of inspiration for the development of new materials. For the research presented in this talk, spiders, mussels, sponges and plants have been Carole Perry's inspiration for the generation of new materials or new routes to materials. Starting from a consideration of the structure and form of minerals produced by living creatures she will show how her study of silica bio-minerals has led to the development of novel, low temperature routes to functional materials with potential application in cell culture, bone regeneration and optics. Using plants as a source of inspiration she will discuss how she has developed several approaches to fabricate superhydrophobic materials using biology as her muse. Spiders have been her starting point for the development of strong multifunctional materials- an example of materials that support bone growth will be described. For all the experimental systems she studies, the interface between the bio-component and the abiotic material is a very important factor in determining the properties of the composite materials formed. A brief overview of her approach to exploring these interactions will be given.

Bio: Carole C. Perry is a professor of bioinorganic and materials chemistry at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom. Her research interests lie where biology, chemistry, and physics intersect, and are directed in particular toward understanding how biomolecules and inorganic materials interact in aqueous media. She received her BA and DPhil degrees from the University of Oxford where her DPhil. studies on 'chemical and biochemical studies of biosilicification' was conducted under the supervision of Professor R.J.P. Williams, F.R.S. Prior to starting her academic career at Brunel University, UK she held an E.P.A. Brereton Junior Research Fellowship at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She has been a visiting research fellow at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Weizmann Institute of Science, IL and guest professor at the Universität Karlsuhe, DE and the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, FR. During her time as an academic she has served as an elected trustee and council member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and chaired Heads of Chemistry UK. She is currently the Edward, Frances and Shirley B. Daniells Fellow and Wyss Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, a visiting professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT and a research professor in the Institute for lasers, photonics and biophotonics at the University of Buffalo, New York. In January 2013 she was awarded a Royal Society Wolfson Research merit award for her research at the biomolecule-mineral interface.

Host:

Joanna Aizenberg
Founding Platform Leader and Core Faculty Member, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at
Harvard University
Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science and Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Co-Director, Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology

Mammalian Synthetic Biology Workshop

The aim of this workshop is to bring together practitioners of mammalian synthetic biology together with experts from other relevant fields. The general goals of the workshop are to nucleate the nascent mammalian synthetic biology community, reach out to experts from other fields that can benefit from and contribute to this field, and define the important challenges and future directions. The workshop format will provide a forum for exposition of the latest developments in the field and discussions of how experts from other fields can benefit from and contribute to mammalian synthetic biology. The workshop will also include breakout sessions that will identify the main challenges and opportunities. Findings from the breakout sessions will be assembled into a written report that will be distributed to all workshop participants and to relevant government and funding agencies.

Registration is now closed.

Learn more...

Spotlight (in alphabetical order):

The following Wyss Institute Core Faculty members are speakers at this workshop.

Speaker:

George Church
Core Faculty member, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
at Harvard University
Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School

Speaker:

Jim Collins
Core Faculty member, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
at Harvard University
Professor Biomedical Engineering, William F. Warren Distinguished Professor, and University Professor, Boston University
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Speaker:

Pam Silver*
Core Faculty member, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
at Harvard University
Professor, Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School
*Workshop Co-Chair

Microengineered Hydrogels for Stem Cell Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration

Speaker:

Ali Khademhosseini
Associate Faculty member, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
at Harvard University
Associate Professor, Harvard-MIT's Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST), Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School

Abstract: Micro- and nanoscale technologies are emerging as powerful tools for controlling the interaction between cells and their surroundings for biological studies, tissue engineering, and cell-based screening. In addition, hydrogel biomaterials have been increasingly used in various tissue engineering applications since they provide cells with a hydrated 3D microenvironment that mimics the native extracellular matrix. In his lab Ali Khademhosseini has developed various approaches to merge microscale techniques with hydrogel biomaterials for directing stem cell differentiation and generating complex 3D tissues. In this talk, he will outline his work in controlling the cell-microenvironment interactions by using patterned hydrogels to direct the differentiation of stem cells. In addition, he will describe the fabrication and the use of microscale hydrogels for tissue engineering by using a ‘bottom-up’ and a ‘top-down’ approach. Top-down approaches for fabricating complex engineered tissues involve the use of miniaturization techniques to control cell-cell interactions or to recreate biomimetic microvascular networks within mesoscale hydrogels. His group has also pioneered bottom-up approaches to generate tissues by the assembly of shape-controlled cell-laden microgels (i.e. tissue building blocks), that resemble functional tissue units. In this approach, microgels were fabricated and seeded with different cell types and induced to self assemble to generate 3D tissue structures with controlled microarchitecture and cell-cell interactions.

Host:

Don Ingber
Director, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology, Harvard Medical School & Vascular Biology Program, Boston Children's Hospital
Professor of Bioengineering, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Applications of Rare Earth Nanocrystals

Speaker:

Howard Bell
President
Intelligent Materials Solutions, Inc.

Abstract: Organic and inorganic wave shifting materials convert energy from x-ray to radio waves, up and down within the electromagnetic spectrum. The know-how to fine tune the size, morphology, absorption, emission, rise time, decay time, storage time, power density and other properties produces materials with an infinite amount of unique signatures. Wide array of applications include security, bio-medical, solar, optical computing, lighting, display, etc.

Bio: Josh Collins and Howard Bell are partners in Intelligent Material Solutions Inc. (IMS) Howard has been working with phosphors for over 25 years. He has designed materials for the US Treasury and Fortune 500 companies. IMS materials are incorporated into something you are wearing or carrying. Josh is the crystallographer growing the materials. Josh is the Chief Technical Officer at IMS and runs the San Diego branch. Josh is a guest researcher at NIH and has been published in PNAS, Nature and other peer review journals.

Host:

Lily Kim
Associate Director for Platform Development
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

Printing Biomaterials

Speaker:

Jennifer A. Lewis
Core Faculty member, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
at Harvard University
Hansjorg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard School of
Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)

Abstract: The ability to pattern soft functional materials in planar and three-dimensional forms is of critical importance for several applications, including self-healing materials, 3D cell culture, and tissue engineering. Direct-write assembly enables one to rapidly design and fabricate soft materials in arbitrary patterns without the need for expensive tooling, dies, or lithographic masks. In this talk, the design of novel inks with tailored rheological properties will be described. Next, recent advances in microscale printing of 3D polymer architectures and hydrogel scaffolding with embedded biomimetic microvasculature will be discussed. Finally, ongoing efforts to implement these structures in several targeted applications will be highlighted.

Click here to sign up to speak with Jennifer Lewis during lunch following the talk.

Host:

Harvard SEAS, Topics in Bioengineering

3rd Annual IDEAS Symposium on Surgical Robotics: Building Bridges and Breaking Barriers

Sponsored by the Department of Surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) this all-day symposium focuses on advances in surgical robotics. It features presentations by surgeons and engineers from the National Institutes of Health, Harvard University, MIT, Vanderbilt University, University of Pittsburgh, other US universities, as well as thought leaders from Europe.

Learn more...

Events RSS Feed : Wyss Institute

Fifth Annual Judah Folkman, MD Lecture: Mechanobiology and Developmental Control

Speaker:

Boston Children's Hospital: Innovators' Forum SLIPS: Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces, ICU Applications

Speaker:

Speaker:

CIMIT Lecture Series: Profiles in Innovation Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University: The Next Technology Wave in Healthcare

Speaker:

DNA Architectures for Programmable Self Assembly

Speaker:

Host:

Bioinspired Approaches to Functional Materials and Studies of the Abiotic-Biotic Interface

Speaker:

Host:

Mammalian Synthetic Biology Workshop

Spotlight (in alphabetical order):

Speaker:

Speaker:

Speaker:

Microengineered Hydrogels for Stem Cell Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration

Speaker:

Host:

Applications of Rare Earth Nanocrystals

Speaker:

Host:

Printing Biomaterials

Speaker:

Host:

3rd Annual IDEAS Symposium on Surgical Robotics: Building Bridges and Breaking Barriers

Boston Children's Hospital: Innovators' Forum
SLIPS: Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces, ICU Applications

CIMIT Lecture Series: Profiles in Innovation
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University:
The Next Technology Wave in Healthcare