Events

October 13th, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Regulatory Mechanisms in Load-Induced Bone Formation

Alesha Castillo, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering,

New York University

ABSTRACT: Bone adapts to its mechanical environment by optimizing its size and shape to meet mechanical demands. Accordingly, mechanical loading (e.g., walking, running, weight lifting) has long been a strategy to maintain bone mass and mechanical integrity of the skeleton throughout life, though its effectiveness decreases with aging and disease leading to osteoporosis and increased fracture risk. Our work is focused on identifying key targetable signaling mechanisms regulating load-induced bone formation. We previously demonstrated that mechanical loading led to a significant upregulation of C-X-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 12 (CXCL12) in osteocytes, the master regulators of bone metabolism, and we have extended this work to determine its role in load-induced osteogenesis. Here we show that CXCL12 deletion in osteocytes, driven by the DMP-1 promoter, and in late-stage osteoblasts, driven by the Col1a1 promoter, significantly attenuates load-induced osteogenesis. We further demonstrate that exogenous CXCL12 treatment can rescue the bone loading phenotype and appears to exert its effect via crosstalk with the Wnt signaling axis. In related studies, single-cell RNA-Seq analyses suggest that mechanical loading may directly regulate differentiation of CXCL12+ osteoprogenitors by modulating activation of the Wnt signaling axis. Ongoing work will further characterize load-induced changes in specific skeletal cell populations with the long-term goal of developing novel pharmacologics for the treatment of osteoporosis and fracture nonunion.

October 6th, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Polymer-based Microfabricated Implants

Ellis Meng, Ph.D.

 Professor, Department of Biomedical and Electrical Engineering,

Biomedical Microsystems Laboratory, University of Southern California

ABSTRACT: The Biomedical Microsystems Laboratory at the University of Southern California focuses on developing novel translational microtechnologies and microdevices for biomedical applications, in particular medical implants.  Often the last line of defense for combating a wide range of challenging medical conditions, implants help extend and improve the quality of life for many.  This industry continues to be fueled by the growing number of elderly and increased prevalence of chronic diseases.  The application of microelectromechanical systems technology and medical polymer micromachining will enable the next generation of advanced medical implants that are needed to address urgent unmet clinical needs.  This talk will present an overview of current research topics in the laboratory starting with invasive polymer interfaces to nervous tissue and then transition to electrochemical sensor systems for treating hydrocephalus

BIO: Ellis Meng is the Shelly and Ofer Nemirovsky Chair of Convergent Biosciences and Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California where she has been since 2004.  She is also the Vice Dean of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship.  She was previously Dwight C. and Hildagarde E. Baum Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering from 2015-2018 and an inaugural holder of a Gabilan Distinguished Professorship in Science and Engineering from 2016-2019.  She received the B.S. degree in engineering and applied science and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1997, 1998, and 2003, respectively.  Her research interests include biomedical microelectromechanical systems (bioMEMS), implantable biomedical microdevices, microfluidics, integrated microsystems, microsensors and actuators, biocompatible polymer microfabrication, and packaging.  Her honors include the NSF CAREER award, Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Early Career Award, 2009 TR35 Young Innovator Under 35, Viterbi Early Career Chair, ASEE Curtis W. McGraw Research Award, 2018 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Technical Achievement Award, and 2019 IEEE Sensors Council Technical Achievement Award.   She is a fellow of NAI, IEEE, ASME, BMES, and AIMBE.  She serves as the North American representative on the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society AdCom. She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering and Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering, Micro- and Nano-mechanical Systems.  She was co-chair of the 2017 IEEE MEMS conference.  She is also an inventor, co-founder of two companies based on her research, and author of a textbook on bioMEMS.

September 29th, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Synthetic Designer Matrices for Skeletal Muscle Stem Cell and Therapeutics Delivery

Woojin Han, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopedics,

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

ABSTRACT: Function and regenerative potential of skeletal muscle decline with trauma, aging, and diseases, where the loss of muscle quality is attributed to reduced muscle stem (satellite) cell number and function.Inadequate regeneration of muscle in these conditions leads to debilitating consequences, including long-term disabilities and reduced quality of life. Although transplantation of muscle satellite cells is emerging as a promising strategy to enhance muscle regeneration, direct intramuscular injection of cells is limited by sub-optimal survival, retention, and engraftment. In some contexts, cell delivery by intramuscular injection is also not feasible. In this seminar, I will discuss approaches to systematically engineer a synthetic cell-instructive matrix that promotes primary muscle stem cell function, including survival, proliferation, migration, and differentiation, as well as strategies to efficiently delivery muscle stem cells and therapeutic proteins for treating traumatically injured limb muscles and dystrophic diaphragms.

September 22nd, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Insights in skeletal mechanobiology

Bettina Willie, PhD

Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatric Surgery, McGill University, Canada

ABSTRACT: Bone adapts to the functional demands placed on it to prevent fracture through the actions of bone cells (osteocytes, osteoblasts and osteoclasts). Osteocytes are the most populous bone cells and are embedded in the mineralized bone tissue. They form an extensive lacuno-canalicular network and are thought to be the mechano-strain sensors in bone, orchestrating bone (re)modeling. I will discuss how my research seeks to better understand the various phases of the process of mechanotransduction and mechanoadaptation: 1) sensing mechanical forces, 2) transmission of mechano-biochemical signal, and 3) effector cell response.

BIO: Bettina Willie, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatric Surgery at McGill University and an investigator at Shriners Hospitals for Children-Canada. She is an Associate Member of McGill's Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Surgery. Dr. Willie earned a doctoral degree in Bioengineering from the University of Utah and performed postdoctoral training at the University of Ulm and the Hospital for Special Surgery. She led a research group at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin for eight years prior to her appointment at McGill in 2015. Her research focuses on how the mechanical environment influences bone adaptation and regeneration during chronological and premature aging. Her research involves preclinical and clinical studies using advanced imaging techniques to correlate cellular function with tissue-level changes.

May 5th, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Microbial Tryptophan Metabolites and Gut Health

 Arul Jayaraman, PhD

Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

ABSTRACT: The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract is colonized by approximately 10¹⁴ bacterial cells that co-exists with the host. The GI tract microenvironment contains a broad range of range molecules, including quorum sensing signals and metabolites produced by the resident microbiota, as well as hormones like norepinephrine and dopamine that are synthesized locally in the GI tract by the enteric nervous system. The close proximity of bacteria and the host cells, as well as the abundance of the signals they secrete, has led to the emergence of a new paradigm in which molecules produced by the host are recognized by the bacteria and vice-versa. The microbiota and the host not only recognize non-canonical molecules but can also further modify them to generate small molecules with a broad range of structural and functional diversity. Our central hypothesis is that inter-domain signaling between bacteria and host cells is a key determinant of homeostasis and disease in the GI tract. Specifically, we are investigating the role of these interactions in the sensing and migration of pathogens during infections, in the spatial organization and localization of bacterial communities, and in the modulation of host inflammatory signaling. In this talk, I will discuss our recent work on elucidating the role of microbiota-derived small molecules on modulating inflammatory signaling in the liver and metabolomics approaches for discovery of bioactive microbiota-derived molecules in the GI tract.

BIO: Dr. Arul Jayaraman is the Ray B. Nesbitt Endowed Chair and Department Head of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology & Sciences, Pilani (India) and obtained a Masters from Tufts University, where he worked with Prof. Edward Goldberg on folding of Phage T4 tail fibers. He completed his doctoral work at the University of California at Irvine with Prof. Thomas Wood and worked on engineering biofilms for excluding sulfate-reducing bacteria. He joined Prof. Martin Yarmush’s group at Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School as a postdoctoral fellow in 1998 to work on modulation of the acute phase response in the liver. He was promoted to Instructor in Bioengineering at Harvard Medical School in 2000 and developed a new thrust in living cell microarrays. Dr. Jayaraman joined Texas A&M in 2004, was tenured in 2010, and promoted to Professor in 2013. His lab works on investigating the interaction between the intestinal microbiota and immune cells in the intestinal tract. He has won numerous awards including the Association of Former Students Distinguished Teaching award and the Engineering Genesis award at Texas A&M. He is an elected fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and was recently named as a Texas A&M University Presidential Impact Fellow. Dr. Jayaraman’s research is funded by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).

April 28tht, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Bioengineering of Human Tissues Using “Biomaterialess” Strategies

 João F. Mano

CICECO — Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Portugal

ABSTRACT: Tissue Engineering (TE) has been integrating principles of materials science and engineering, chemistry, biology and health sciences in order to develop regenerative-based therapeutic strategies combining stem cells and biomaterials. Biomaterials have been widely used in many TE solutions, as a structural support for adherent cells and as a vehicle to provide relevant biochemical and biophysical signals to control cell behavior. In bottom-up TE, cells and biomaterials are combined at a lower length scale, being then integrated into larger structures that could lead to more complex tissues controlled in time and space. In our group we are proposing possibilities of using less relative amount of biomaterials in the hybrid constructs in order to: (i) increase cell density and to minimize any harmful effect of degradation products or (ii) maintain a low cell density in liquified compartments to increase cell mobility and self-assembly capability. We proposed some conceptual possibilities to engineering or assembling cells in different dimensions using low quantities of biomaterials but where the biomaterials component is highly relevant, including partial coating of individual cells, fibres (fiberoids), membranes (cell-sheets) and liquified compartments. Examples are given on how such bioengineered constructs could be obtained and applied, mainly focusing on bone tissue regeneration.

BIO: João F. Mano is a full professor at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Aveiro (Portugal). He is the director of both Master and Doctoral Degrees in Biotechnology at the Univ. of Aveiro. He belongs to the associate laboratory CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials where he is directing the COMPASS Research Group. His current research interests include the use of biomaterials and cells towards the development of transdisciplinary concepts especially aimed at being used in regenerative and personalised medicine. João F. Mano is author of 670+ papers in international journals. He filed 8 patents as senior inventor. He is the co-founder and chairman of METATISSUE, a company developing human-derived hydrogels for 3D cells culture. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Materials Today Bio (Elsevier), and belongs to the editorial board of about 10 in other international journals. He has been coordinating many national and European research projects, including two advanced grants from the European Research Council. He was invited to present more than 100 invited talks in international conferences. João F. Mano has received different honours and awards, including an honoris causa doctorate from Univ. of Lorraine (2019) and was elected (2020) fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (FEurASc) and Biomaterials Science & Engineering (FBSE).

April 21st, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Engineering applications for research and treatment of craniosynostosis

Alessandro Borghi, PhD

Senior Research Associate, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital

ABSTRACT:  Craniosynostosis is characterised by the premature fusion of skull sutures. This early fusion prevents the skull from growing normally and affects the shape of the head and face. Craniosynostosis affects 1 in 2,000 births. Children with craniosynostosis are likely to need a series of operations to help improve both the medical and cosmetic aspects of their condition: the Craniofacial Unit at Great Ormond Street Hospital specialises in the treatment of children born with skull, mid-face and mandibular deformities using advanced surgical techniques and innovative medical devices. Dr Alessandro Borghi’s research focuses on the analysis and engineering of the devices used in craniofacial surgery: he has applied numerical modelling to understand and predict the outcome of procedures such as spring cranioplasty and fronto-facial distraction, and is currently investigating the use of novel materials, such as shape memory alloys and biodegradable metals, for the design and prototyping of novel devices for distraction osteogenesis.

BIO: Dr. Alessandro Borghi was awarded a Master degree from Politecnico di Milano and a PhD degree from Imperial College London. His PhD project focused on numerical modeling of fluid-solid interaction in pathological arteries. Dr. Borghi then worked as R&D engineer in a medical device company on a project for the design of novel cardiovascular devices for the treatment of heart failure.  In 2009 he returned to academia as a Research Fellow of Wellcome Trust at Imperial College London to investigate the mechanical optimization of the delivery of a novel pressure sensor for wireless pressure monitoring. While at Imperial College, he also collaborated with the Heart Science Centre - working on mechanical testing of heart valves to understand the effect of extracellular matrix components on their tensile and viscoelastic properties. 
In 2013 Dr. Borghi joined the Institute of Child Health as Senior Research Associate on the project FACEVALUE. Here he develops numerical modeling of craniofacial surgical procedures and designs novel distractors for the treatment of congenital craniofacial abnormalities. Dr. Borghi's computational models are used for preoperative planning of craniosynostosis procedures. He is currently funded by the National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre and the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity.

April 14th, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Assessment of Multifactorial and Multiscale Causes of Atypical Femoral Fracture Using Fracture Mechanics-Based Finite Element Modeling

Ani Ural, PhD

Associate Professor and Assistant Chair Department of Mechanical Engineering Villanova University

Abstract: Atypical femoral fracture (AFF) is a potential rare side effect of long-term osteoporosis drug treatments. Despite its rare occurrence, AFF has had a disproportionately adverse impact on society because of its high morbidity and mortality outcomes. In addition, osteoporotic patients decline treatment due to fear of this potential side effect perpetuating the problem and increasing osteoporotic fracture rates across the population. There is a lack of understanding of mechanisms of AFF that can lead to prediction and prevention of its occurrence. This talk will present new computational approaches to assess the multifactorial causes of AFF that has the capability to isolate the individual and combined effects of multiscale factors that experiments or population-based studies alone cannot achieve. Specifically, the novel microscale computational models of human bone that assess the influence of tissue material heterogeneity and cortical bone microstructure on fracture resistance will be presented. In addition, coupled macro-to-microscale models of femur will be presented that evaluate the interaction of microscale tissue level modifications and macroscale geometrical properties of femur on AFF risk.

Bio: Ani Ural is an Associate Professor and the Assistant Chair in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Villanova University. She obtained her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University. She also held a postdoctoral research associate position at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Biomedical Engineering before she joined Villanova University in 2007. Her research interests include computational biomechanics, fracture mechanics, and solid mechanics. Her research is funded by National Science Foundation.

March 17th, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Bone quality at the nanoscale: a contribution from synchrotron quantitative scanning-SAXS imaging

Aurélien Gourrier

Research Fellow at the French National Center for Scientific Research

ABSTRACT: Bone quality has been actively investigated since over two decades, with the idea that this rather elusive term may account for a large part of unexplained clinical observations of bone malfunctions. Bone tissue ultrastructure, the organization of collagen microfibrils and mineral nanocrystals, in particular, received considerable attention. This represents an important bioimaging challenge since nanoscale resolution is required over full biopsies for statistical significance. We will present an emerging alternative to traditional methods based on synchrotron X-ray scattering microimaging which has the potential to meet these requirements. This tool already prooved useful to identify the structural determinants of micromechanical properties at the lamellar level of osteonal bone and was shown to allow discrimination of pathological ultrastructure in a limited set of conditions. More importantly, we were recently able to determine a baseline for nanoscale mineral dimensions and organization against which pathological cases can be compared to, thus paving the way for more systematic nanoscale anatomopathological examination of bone biopsies. In this presentation, we will review a number of important results obtained with this method in the light of recent electron microscopy findings and discuss the significance of the fundamental nanocrystals structure and organization beyond biomechanics.

BIOGRAPHY: Aurélien Gourrier is a research fellow from the french National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and is currently leading the Optics and Imaging team and Bone Structural Bioimaging group of the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Physics (LIPhy) of the Grenoble Alpes University. Material scientist by training with a specialization in structural biology, he took his PhD at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, where he implemented new instruments for in situ studies of local deformation mechanisms by X-ray microbeam scattering and diffraction methods. He then joined the group of Oskar Paris and Peter Fratzl for postdoctoral studies at the Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces where he continued developing quantitative synchrotron X-ray scattering imaging of bone and biominerals. Since then, he has actively continued to explore new methods in X-ray, electron microscopy and optics for ultrastructural and multiscale studies of biomineralized tissues .

March 10th, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

ATTL in Japan and Carribean: One Virus, Two Diseases

Ye Bihui Hilda

Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York

ABSTRACT: Adult T cell leukemia lymphoma (ATLL) is a rare and aggressive T-cell neoplasm caused by a retrovirus, human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1). Due to the endemic pattern of HTLV-1, ATLL is often diagnosed in Japan, the Caribbean region and Latin America. Most ATLL patients diagnosed in North America (NA-ATLL) are of Caribbean descent, characterized by high rates of chemo-refractory disease and worse prognosis compared to the Japanese patients (J-ATLL). Recent studies conducted by the Einstein/Montefiore ATLL research group have provided some of the earliest insights into the mutational landscape, altered molecular pathways, and chemoresistance mechanism in this disease. In particular, we found that mutations in epigenetic regulators are prognostic and occur much more frequently among the NA-ATLL patients relative to their J-ATLL counterparts. Our ongoing work focuses on the histone acetyl transferase p300, as the majority of our patient samples show reduced expression of this protein either due to inactivating mutations or post-transcriptional regulation. The impact of reduced p300 activity on its downstream effector pathways such as p53 (chemo-sensitivity) and BCL6 (lymphoid development) will be discussed in this seminar. We have developed unique preclinical models for this disease including patient derived cell lines and PDX models. Our ultimate goals are to uncover key pathogenic mechanisms in this disease and develop mechanism-based, targeted therapies for the NA-ATLL patients.

PERSONAL STATEMENT: The long term goal of research in my laboratory is to understand how transcription regulation and signal transduction events govern lymphocytes differentiation and development of B/T cell lymphomas. I have a long-standing interest in this research field, dating from my Postdoctoral work at Columbia P&S where I cloned the proto-oncogene BCL6 based on lymphoma-associated chromosomal translocations. Over the past 20 years, my laboratory has made a number of important discoveries that improved our understanding of molecular pathogenesis of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL). We revealed novel mechanisms that govern the expression and activity of BCL6, demonstrated the importance of functional interactions between BCL6 and several cell signaling pathways including RhoA, NF-B, and Jak/STAT3, and took our basic science findings into the translational arena. In more recent years, our DLBCL work focused on the IL-6/Jak/STAT3 signaling pathway. With the help of our collaborators, we characterized expression regulation of STAT3, the cause and consequences of its aberrant activity in DLBCL pathogenesis and the role of STAT3 in DLBCL therapeutic response and normal plasma cell development.

The current proposal focuses on the characterization of EP300 mutations and a previously unrecognized role of BCL6 in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). The genetic landscape of ATLL prominently features somatic mutations that target the antigen receptor (TCR) signaling pathway and immune surveillance, two cardinal features of ABC-DLBCL. Thus, the genetic and cell signaling characteristics of ATL have strong resemblance to ABC-DLBCL. In addition, this project will capitalize on our previous research expertise studying BCL6 in B-cell lymphomas while taking the functional assays into exciting new directions (DNA replication and repair, PARPi-based therapies). We have worked on molecular pathogenesis of ATLL for the past 4 years, and have since developed a number of patient derived cell lines and PDX models in my laboratory. This unique resource combined with our experience in molecular and pathway analysis of lymphomas will provide strong laboratory support to the proposed project. Access to clinical samples and disease treatment expertise will be provided by Drs. Amit Verma and Murali Janakiram, the other two investigators in the Einstein-Montefiore ATLL Translational Program. Additional scientific support will be provided by Dr. Advaitha Madireddy (Co-investigator, Rutgers Cancer Institute), and Drs Winfried Edelmann and Matthew Gamble, both faculty members in my department.

March 3rd, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Engineering Fluorescent Carbon Nanotubes For The Biomedical Field

Daniel Roxbury, PhD

Assistant Professor, University of Rhode Island
Department of Chemical Engineering

ABSTRACT: A challenge of particular interest in the fields of in vivo biosensing and bioimaging is the acquisition of real-time readouts of localized bioanalyte concentration through live tissue in a minimally-invasive fashion. The intrinsic fluorescence of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), which exhibits exceptional photostability, near-infrared (NIR) tissue-penetrating emission, and microenvironmental sensitivity, makes them ideal candidates for a variety of biomedical imaging and sensing applications. By functionalizing SWCNTs with appropriate biopolymers, we can simultaneously impart biocompatibility and sensitivity for certain biomolecules of interest. Using novel spectroscopy and microscopy approaches, this talk features our recent advances in the characterization and biomedical implementation of such engineered nanomaterials. In particular, we probe the solution-phase and intracellular stability of DNA-functionalized SWCNTs in addition to the creation of microfiber-encapsulated SWCNTs for the real-time optical detection of oxidative stress in a wearable device.

BIOGRAPHY: Prof. Daniel Roxbury is currently an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Rhode Island where he leads the URI NanoBio Engineering Laboratory. Prior to joining URI, Prof. Roxbury received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA) and subsequently conducted postdoctoral work at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY), where he was externally funded through an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 2019, Prof. Roxbury earned the NSF CAREER Award for his work in the hyperspectral imaging of fluorescent nanomaterials.  

February 24th, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Wearable technology: from menstrual cycles to electrodermal activity

Dr. Belen Lafon, Staff Researcher Algorithms Scientist at Fitbit

ABSTRACT: Wearable devices are becoming more accessible every day, offering the capability of measuring biometrics 24/7 with minimal effort at an affordable price. Doing research with wearable technologies opens a window of opportunities and challenges that go from developing new sensors to analyzing data from millions of users and extracting information from it. In this talk, I will share the process of creating an experience featuring an electrodermal activity sensor and developing a menstrual health tracking app. 

BIOGRAPHY: As a staff research scientist Belén leads research teams in the development of new features and algorithms. She works closely with the product teams to shape how Fitbit devices can continue to empower consumers to take control of their health. Belén has a master’s in physics from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina followed by a Biomedical engineering Ph.D. at The City College of New York. Her research was focused on understanding the underlying mechanisms of electrical brain stimulation. Belén is passionate about dancing and advancing technology that empowers people who menstruate.

February 17th, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Illuminating the Relation between Fibrillar Structure and Biomechanical Function in Bone and Cartilage using Synchrotron X-ray Scattering and in situ Nanomechanics

Dr. Himadri S. Gupta, Reader in Bioengineering and Biophysics

School of Engineering and Materials Science and Institute of Bioengineering, Queen Mary University of London

ABSTRACT: The rising incidence of noncommunicable disorders linked to musculoskeletal degeneration (e.g., osteoarthritis and osteoporosis) brings with it a need to understand how disease-related changes at the molecular- and supramolecular length scales in the extracellular matrix (ECM) contribute to loss of biomechanical function. For example, understanding the fibrillar-level deformation mechanisms in articular cartilage would help understand how the key age-related changes in ECM structure involved in osteoarthritis. Similarly, identifying structural changes in the mineralized collagen matrix in osteoporosis could help determine key metrics of bone quality changes increasing fracture risk. Experimental analysis at this scale, however, is significantly challenging to carry out in situ due to the hierarchical nature of such tissues. In this seminar I will review recent work by our group [1-4] on applying high brilliance synchrotron X-ray scattering combined with in situ mechanics to address these questions. Starting with an overview of how small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) can measure fibrillar strain, degree of alignment, and intrafibrillar structure in bone and cartilage, I will then describe three recent case studies: a) identification of fibril pre-strain/order gradients in bovine cartilage and their disruption under load or enzymatic degradation [1-2] b) alteration of the inter- and intrafibrillar mineralized collagen fibril structure and mechanics in a murine model of Cushing’s syndrome (linked to steroid-induced osteoporosis) [3] and c) time-dependence of fibrillar-level nanomechanics in bone as a function of strain-rate [4]. Finally, I will highlight current opportunities in application of such techniques to musculoskeletal degeneration and bioengineering challenges more broadly.

References: [1] S.R. Inamdar et al, ACS Nano 2017, 11:9728 [2] S.R. Inamdar et al, Acta Biomater. 2019, 97:437 [3] L. Xi et al, Acta Biomater. 2018, 76:295 [4] L. Xi et al, Bone 2020, 131:115111

BIOSKETCH: Himadri S. Gupta is Reader in Bioengineering and Biophysics at the Institute of Bioengineering (IoB), Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), whose lab investigates ultrastructure/mechanical function relations in biological materials. He has pioneered in situ synchrotron X-ray nanomechanical methods for connective tissues, with papers on nanoscale mechanics in bone, tendon, cartilage, invertebrate collagens, and novel 3D X-ray diffraction reconstruction methods for ultrastructural tissue biophysics. He is deputy-PI of ImagingBioPro, a UKRI network bringing together biomedical scientists, engineers/physical scientists, and synchrotron experts to develop new multiscale imaging techniques for hierarchical biological tissues and organs.

February 10th, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Biomechanics of Twisted Blood Vessels

Hai-Chao Han, University of Texas at San Antonio

ABSTRACT:Twisted arteries are commonly seen in images of vasculature and are associated with aging, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and degenerative diseases, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Though blood vessels are commonly considered to be stable under internal pressure, our studies have showed that arteries and veins can buckle under increased lumen pressure and/or reduced axial tension. This talk will summarize our recent work on the buckling of arteries and veins under various loads, including both the theoretical models and experimental results. We propose that mechanical buckling could be a mechanism for the initiation and development of tortuous blood vessels.

BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Han is the Zachry Endowed Chair Professor and Department Chair of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). He received his Ph.D. in Solid Mechanics/Biomechanics from Xi’an Jiaotong University in China with joint training from the University of California at San Diego under the tutelage of Professor YC Fung. Dr. Han was an Associate Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University and a Research Engineer II at Georgia Institute of Technology before joining UTSA in 2003. Dr. Han’s research interests are in the area of cardiovascular biomechanics with focus on arterial wall stress and instability, cardiac mechanics, and tissue remodeling. He has published over 120 peer-reviewed journal papers. He received a CAREER award from NSF in 2007. He is a Fellow of American Heart Association (AHA), College of Fellows of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

February 3rd, 2021

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

A Nano-Bioengineering Frontier for Next-Generation Optical Devices

Ardemis A. Boghossian

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015-Lausanne, Switzerland

ABSTRACT:The vast expansion of available synthetic biology tools has led to explosive developments in the field of materials science. No longer confined to engineering just synthetic materials, the increased accessibility of these tools has pushed the frontier of materials science into the field of engineering biological and even living materials. By coupling the tunability of nanomaterials with the prospect of re-programming living devices, one can re-purpose biology to fulfill needs that are otherwise intractable using traditional engineering approaches. Optical technologies in particular could benefit from capitalizing on untapped potential in coupling the optical properties of nanomaterials with the specificity and scalability of biological materials. This presentation highlights specific applications in optical biomedical sensing as well as light-harvesting energy technologies that exploit the synergistic coupling of nano-bio-hybrid materials. We discuss the development of bio-conjugated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) for near-infrared fluorescence sensing and the application of these nano-bioptic sensors for continuous measurements in living cells and organisms. We further explore the development living photovoltaics based on bioengineered, photosynthetic organisms with augmented capabilities.

BIOGRAPHY: Ardemis Boghossian was a Carls Scholar at the University of Michigan, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) in Chemical Engineering. She graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as an NDSEG Fellow with a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in Chemical Engineering under the supervision of Michael S. Strano. Her graduate work focused on applied nanotechnology, where she engineered nanoparticles for optical biosensing and light-harvesting energy applications. She pursued her research career as an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Frances H. Arnold. Working as a protein engineer, she applied methods of directed evolution to engineer cells that can electronically interface with electrodes. Ardemis Boghossian has been appointed Tenure-Track Assistant Professor at the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC) of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in 2015. At EPFL, Professor Boghossian implements a highly interdisciplinary approach to addressing fundamental challenges and developing novel technologies that exploit the synergy between nanotechnology and synthetic biology. Through her focal points in the fields of optoelectronics and protein engineering, she contributes new biological and biochemical methods for the production of durable hybrid nanomaterials for energy and biosensing applications. She has since received several young investigator awards for her research, including the Roger Taylor Award, the Assistant Professor (AP) Energy Grant, and NanoResearch Young Investigator in NanoEnergy Award. She was also named a Rising Star in Frontiers of Chemistry and is most recently the recipient of an ERC Starting Grant.

December 9th, 2020 

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Massively Parallel Simulations of Hemodynamics in the Human Vasculature

Amanda Randles, PhD

Alfred Winborne Mordecai and Victoria Stover Mordecai Assistant Professor of Biomedical Science, 

Duke University

ABSTRACT: The recognition of the role hemodynamic forces have in the localization and development of disease has motivated large-scale efforts to enable patient-specific simulations. When combined with computational approaches that can extend the models to include physiologically accurate hematocrit levels in large regions of the circulatory system, these image-based models yield insight into the underlying mechanisms driving disease progression and inform surgical planning or the design of next generation drug delivery systems. Building a detailed, realistic model of human blood flow, however, is a formidable mathematical and computational challenge. The models must incorporate the motion of fluid, intricate geometry of the blood vessels, continual pulse-driven changes in flow and pressure, and the behavior of suspended bodies such as red blood cells. In this talk, I will discuss the development of HARVEY, a parallel fluid dynamics application designed to model hemodynamics in patient-specific geometries. I will cover the methods introduced to reduce the overall time-to-solution and enable near-linear strong scaling on up to 1,572,864 cores of the IBM Blue Gene/Q supercomputer. Finally, I will present the expansion of the scope of projects to address not only vascular diseases, but also treatment planning and the movement of circulating tumor cells in the bloodstream

December 2nd, 2020 

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Metabolic Abnormalities and Mutualism in Tumors

Deepak Nagrath, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering,

University of Michigan

ABSTRACT: Our lab is focused on answering two major questions. (1) What are the critical metabolic regulators of cancer growth and metastasis? and (2) What is the role of tumor microenvironment in modulating cancer cell metabolism? We have developed several metabolic isotope tracing and 13C-based metabolic flux analysis developed in our lab and their usage has been shown in recent articles in Nature Metabolism, eLife, Cell Metabolism and Nature. Reactive stromal cells are an integral part of tumor microenvironment (TME) and interact with cancer cells to regulate their growth. Although targeting stromal cells could be a viable therapy to regulate the communication between TME and cancer cells, identification of stromal targets that make cancer cells vulnerable has remained challenging and elusive. We have identified a previously unrecognized mechanism whereby metabolism of reactive stromal cells is reprogrammed by cancer cells, thereby helping cancer cell growth. This dysfunctional stromal metabolism confers atypical metabolic flexibility and adaptive mechanisms in stromal cells, allowing them to harness carbon and nitrogen from noncanonical sources to synthesize nutrients in nutrient-deprived conditions existing in TME. I will present a synthetic lethal approach to target tumor stroma and cancer cells simultaneously for desirable therapeutic outcomes.

November 18th, 2020 

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Neuroimaging in Human Drug Addiction: an Eye Towards Intervention Development

Rita Z. Goldstein, PhD

Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Department of Neuroscience

Chief, Neuropsychoimaging of Addiction and Related Conditions (NARC) Research Program Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

ABSTARCT: Drug addiction is a chronically relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug use despite catastrophic personal consequences (e.g., loss of family, job) and even when the substance is no longer perceived as pleasurable. In this talk, I will present results of human neuroimaging studies, utilizing a multimodal approach (neuropsychology, functional magnetic resonance imaging, event-related potentials recordings), to explore the neurobiology underlying the core psychological impairments in drug addiction (impulsivity, drive/motivation, insight/awareness) as associated with its clinical symptomatology (intoxication, craving, bingeing, withdrawal). The focus of this talk is on understanding the role of the dopaminergic mesocorticolimbic circuit, and especially the prefrontal cortex, in higherorder executive dysfunction (e.g., disadvantageous decision-making such as trading a car for a couple of cocaine hits) in drug addicted individuals. The theoretical model that guides the presented research is called iRISA (Impaired Response Inhibition and Salience Attribution), postulating that abnormalities in the orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, as related to dopaminergic dysfunction, contribute to the core clinical symptoms in drug addiction. Specifically, our multi-modality program of research is guided by the underlying working hypothesis that drug addicted individuals disproportionately attribute reward value to their drug of choice at the expense of other potentially but no-longer-rewarding stimuli, with a concomitant decrease in the ability to inhibit maladaptive drug use. In this talk I will also explore whether treatment (as usual) and 6-month abstinence enhance recovery in these brain-behavior compromises in treatment seeking cocaine addicted individuals. Promising neuroimaging studies, which combine pharmacological (i.e., oral methylphenidate, or RitalinTM) and salient cognitive tasks or functional connectivity during resting-state, will be discussed as examples for using neuroimaging in the empirical guidance for the development of effective neurorehabilitation strategies (including cognitive reappraisal and transcranial direct current stimulation) in drug addiction.

November 11th, 2020 

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Machine Learning in Radiology

Maciej A. Mazurowski, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Biostatistics and Bioinformatics,

Duke University

The terms artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, or computer vision are mentioned increasingly often in the radiology community. In this talk, Dr. Mazurowski will talk about how these methods can be used in radiological clinical practiceas well as how they can advance science by improving our understanding of cancer. The talk will be concluded with general thoughts on the future of the radiology profession in the advent of human-level artificial intelligence. If you would like to connect, please follow on Twitter @MazurowskiPhD.

October 28th, 2020

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

Biomechanical Measurement and Modeling of Blast Wave Transmission through the Ear

Rong Z. Gan, Ph.D.

Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma

ABSTRACT: Blast overpressure (BOP) is a high intensity disturbance in the ambient air pressure. When exposed to blast, the human auditory system is vulnerable to both peripheral and central damage from the BOP. Blast-induced ear injuries include the tympanic membrane (TM) rupture, ossicular chain disruption, and inner ear damage. To understand how blast waves are transmitted from the ear canal to the TM, middle ear, and cochlea and result in hearing impairment, we have conducted a series of experiments in human cadaver ears or temporal bones and the animals to measure the blast overpressure transmission through the ear, the injuries of the middle ear tissues and cochlear hail cells, and the hearing function damage in our lab. The 3D finite element (FE) model of the human ear, consisting of the ear canal, TM, middle ear, and cochlea, has been expanded to simulate the BOP wave transduction through the ear and the damage in the peripheral auditory system. Using the experimental data, the FE model of the human ear was validated and used as a tool for auditory blast injury prediction and protective function evaluation for hearing protection devices. This talk will cover both biomechanical measurement and modeling studies on blast-induced auditory injuries and hearing protection mechanisms.   

BIO:               Position Title: Presidential Research Professor

Charles E. Foster Chair

Professor of Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering

School of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering

University of Oklahoma

Education:       Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, 1992, University of Memphis, USA

                        M.S., Applied Mathematics, 1988, University of Alberta, Canada

            M.S., Biomechanics, 1981, Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST), China

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, 1968, HUST, China

Honors:           Fellow of AIMBE (American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering)

                        Co-Chair for the 8^th International Symposium on Middle Ear Mechanics in Research and Otology (MEMRO)

                        Member of Scientific Committee of the 5^th-9^th MEMRO (2009 – 2022)

Research Summary:

Dr. Gan’s experience in hearing research began in 1995 as the Director of Biomedical Engineering at Hough Ear Institute in Oklahoma City. She led the research team to complete the design and functional tests of a middle ear implantable hearing device (Soundtec^®) for FDA approval. Since joining the University of Oklahoma (OU) in 1999, she has developed a truly transformational, well-funded research program in Biomechanics for Protection and Restoration of Hearing.

As PI for all the research projects funded by NIH, DOD, NSF, Whitaker Foundation, and State of Oklahoma ($9.1M), she has developed multiple research directions through the integration of experimental measurements of sound transmission in human and animals, biomechanical tests of ear tissues, 3D reconstruction and computational modeling of the ear or auditory system, measurement and modeling of blast-induced hearing damage, and the design and evaluation of implantable hearing devices. Two patents have been granted: the totally implantable hearing devices and the 3D computational modeling of the human ear.

      Dr. Gan’s research supported by the Department of Defense (DOD) in recent years has extended into new areas of biomechanical modeling and experimental measurement of blast injury and hearing protection mechanisms for the US military priority research on hearing protection and restoration for Service members and Veterans.

October 7th, 2020

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

CORRELATIVE ELECTRON AND ION MICROSCOPY TO PROBE OSSEOINTEGRATION AND BIOMINERALIZATION

Kathryn Grandfield, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Material Science and Engineering and School of Biomedical Engineering,

McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

ABSTRACT: Uncovering the mechanisms of biomaterial-tissue interactions is complicated by the complex and 3D hierarchical structure of bone. Our work explores the structure, formation, and attachment of bone to biomaterials with advanced microscopy approaches. This talk will introduce a range of correlative, 3D, and real-time high resolution approaches to probe both biomineralization and osseointegration by electron tomography, focused ion beam microscopy, in situ liquid TEM, or atom probe tomography. These correlative microscopies provide a foundation for understanding the structure and chemical nature of inorganic and organic hierarchical materials, including shedding light on the titanium-bone interface, collagen-mineral arrangement, and new approaches for visualizing osteocyte networks in bone.

BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Kathryn Grandfield is an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering and School of Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University where her research interests include development of biomaterials and correlative multi-scale microscopies for biointerfaces and mineralized tissues. Before joining McMaster in 2013, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Preventative and Restorative Dental Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. She received her PhD in Engineering Sciences from Uppsala University, Sweden, and her Bachelors of Engineering and Masters of Applied Science from McMaster University. She is the recipient of the 2017 Petro Canada Young Innovator Award, a 2018 Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Research Fund, and the 2019 McMaster Faculty of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award. She has served on the board of the Canadian Biomaterials Society and as inaugural Director of User Operations for the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy. She is currently Vice-President of the Microscopical Society of Canada.

September 30th, 2020

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at 3:00 PM ET

EVOLUTION OF STENT BIOMATERIALS: A LEARNING CURVE

Donghui (Don) Zhu, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the BME Department at SUNY

Abstract: Cardiovascular stents are life-saving devices and one of the top 10 medical breakthroughs of the 21st century. Decades of research and clinical trials have taught us about the effects of material (metal or polymer), design (geometry, strut thickness, and the number of connectors), and drug-elution on vasculature mechanics, hemocompatibility, biocompatibility, and patient health. Recently developed novel bioresorbable stents are intended to overcome common issues of chronic inflammation, in-stent restenosis, and stent thrombosis associated with permanent stents, but there is still much to learn. In fact, some bioresorbable magnesium (Mg)-based stents have obtained regulatory approval or under trials with mixed clinical outcomes. Some major issues with Mg include the too rapid degradation rate and late restenosis. To mitigate these problems, bioresorbable zinc (Zn)-based stent materials are being developed lately with the more suitable degradation rate and better biocompatibility. The past decades have witnessed the unprecedented evolution of metallic stent materials from first generation represented by stainless steel (SS), to second generation represented by Mg, and to third generation represented by Zn. To further elucidate their pros and cons as metallic stent materials, we systematically evaluated their performances in vitro and in vivo through direct side-by-side comparisons. Our results demonstrated that tailored Zn-based material with proper configurations could be a promising candidate for a better stent material in the future.

Biography: Donghui (Don) Zhu is the SUNY Empire Innovation Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Institute for Engineering-Driven Medicine, and Neuroscience Graduate Program at SUNY - Stony Brook University.  Dr. Zhu earned his Bachelor degree at East China University of Technology and Science, and Doctorate in Bioengineering at University of Missouri-Columbia.  His Ph.D. work focused on neuro-engineering for treatment of neurovascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.  Following his Ph.D., Dr. Zhu was trained at University of Rochester medical center on regenerative medicine for vascular applications.  He then became an Assistant Professor in 2010 where his research focused on novel biodegradable metallic materials for tissue engineering and regeneration.  Dr. Zhu moved to Texas in 2016 as an Associate Professor to continue his research in innovative biomaterials and regenerative medicine. In fall 2019, he was recruited to Stony Brook, and currently he has a research interest in biomaterials, cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, as well as neuroscience. He has secured over $6 million total federal research funding in the past several years, co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.  He is an elected Fellow of American Heart Association (AHA). Dr. Zhu also serves as editor or on editorial boards of several scientific journals and numerous grant review panels including NIH, NSF, FDA, and NASA.

September 16th, 2020

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at  3:00 PM ET

ANIMAL MODELS TO SHED LIGHT ON THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA BONE FRAGILITY

Antonella Forlino Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biochemistry,

Department of Molecular Medicine, BIochemistry Unit, University of Pavia, Italy

ABSTRACT: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a juvenile form of heritable osteoporosis ranging from mild to perinatal lethal forms. Classical OI is a dominant disease affecting the genes encoding for collagen type I, the most abundant protein of the bone extracellular matrix (ECM). In the last decade new causative genes associated to dominant, recessive and X-linked transmission of the disease and encoding for proteins involved in type I collagen biosynthesis, processing and secretion as well as in osteoblasts differentiation and activity have been described. How mutations in these genes cause the bone fragility phenotype still require further investigation, but already shed new light on bone biology. The molecular basis of OI was historically attributed to the presence of abnormal collagen in the ECM. Nevertheless, mutant collagen is partially retained in the ER and its misfolding and intracellular accumulation had been observed in OI patients’ cells and animal models of classical and new OI forms. A deep understanding of the matrix and intracellular molecular mechanism of the disease as well as the development of new therapeutic approaches for OI and other bone fragility disorders benefit of the use of appropriated animal models. A review of the knowledge acquired in the understanding of the molecular basis of skeletal diseases and in the developing novel therapies using murine and zebrafish animal models will be provided, focusing on the more recent findings. The role of intracellular homeostasis in modulating the diseases outcome will be discussed.

 BIO: Dr. Antonella Forlino is Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Molecular Medicine, Unit of Biochemistry, University of Pavia. She has a PhD in Biochemistry and the Specialty in Genetics. She spent 5 years of post-doc training in NIH, Bethesda, USA. Her research activity has been focused on the molecular, biochemical and functional study of genetic diseases of the connective tissue in particular Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), using in vitro and in vivo models (mice and Zebrafish). She is combining basic science with translational approaches. She is particularly interested in the intracellular effects of retained aberrant collagen type I in modulating the bone phenotype in both dominant and recessive OI.

September 9th, 2020

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at  3:00 PM ET

NANOMATERIALS FOR GENETIC ENGINEERING

Dr. Markita Landry, Associate Professor at University of California-Berkeley,

Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

ABSTACT: Genetic engineering of plants is at the core of sustainability efforts, natural product synthesis, and agricultural crop engineering. The plant cell wall is a barrier that limits the ease and throughput with which exogenous biomolecules can be delivered to plants. Current delivery methods either suffer from host range limitations, low transformation efficiencies, tissue regenerability, tissue damage, or unavoidable DNA integration into the host genome. Here, we demonstrate efficient diffusion-based biomolecule delivery into tissues and organs of intact plants of several species with a suite of pristine and chemically-functionalized high aspect ratio nanomaterials [1]. Efficient DNA delivery and strong protein expression without transgene integration is accomplished in mature Nicotiana benthamiana, Eruca sativa (arugula), Triticum aestivum (wheat) and Gossypium hirsutum (cotton) leaves and arugula protoplasts [2]. Notably, we demonstrate that transgene expression is transient and devoid of transgene integration into the plant host genome, of potential utility for easing regulatory oversight of transformed crops as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) [3]. We demonstrate that our platform can be applied for CRISPR-based genome editing for transient expression of Cas9 and gRNAs. We also demonstrate a second nanoparticle-based strategy in which small interfering RNA (siRNA) is delivered to mature Nicotiana benthamiana leaves and effectively silence a gene with 95% efficiency. We find that nanomaterials both facilitate biomolecule transport into plant cells, while also protecting polynucleotides such as RNA from nuclease degradation. DNA origami and nanostructures further enable siRNA delivery to plants at programmable nanostructure loci [4], which we use to elucidate force-independent transport phenomena of nanoparticles across the plant cell wall. Our work provides a tool for species independent, targeted, and passive delivery of genetic material, without transgene integration, into plant cells for diverse plant biotechnology applications.

BIO: Markita Landry is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. She received a B.S. in Chemistry, and a B.A. in Physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics and a Certificate in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and completed an NSF postdoctoral fellowship in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her current research centers on the development of synthetic nanoparticle-polymer conjugates for imaging neuromodulation in the brain, and for the delivery of genetic materials into plants for plant biotechnology applications. The Landry lab exploits the highly tunable chemical and physical properties of nanomaterials for the creation of biomimetic structures, molecular imaging, and plant genome editing. She is also on the scientific advisory board of Terramera, Inc, and on the scientific advisory board of Chi-Botanic. She is a recent recipient of 18 early career awards, including awards from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, the DARPA Young Investigator program, the Beckman Young Investigator Program, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is a Sloan Research Fellow, an FFAR New Innovator, and is a Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator.

September 2nd, 2020

Biomedical Engineering ZOOM Seminar at  3:00 PM ET

DYNAMIC MODELING, DECODING, AND CONTROL OF MULTISCALE BRAIN NETWORKS

Maryam M. Shanechi, Assistant Professor and Viterbi Early Career Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering,

Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California (USC)

ABSTACT: This work will discuss modeling, decoding, and controlling multisite human brain dynamics underlying mood states. I present a multiscale dynamical modeling framework that allows us to decode mood variations for the first time and identify brain sites that are most predictive of mood. I then develop a system identification approach that can predict multiregional brain network dynamics (output) in response to electrical stimulation (input) toward enabling closed-loop control of brain network activity. Further, I demonstrate that our framework can uncover multiscale behaviorally relevant neural dynamics from hybrid spike-field recordings in monkeys performing naturalistic movements. Finally, the framework can combine information from multiple scales of activity and model their different time-scales and statistics. These dynamical models, decoders, and controllers can advance our understanding of neural mechanisms and facilitate future closed-loop therapies for neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.

BIO: Maryam M. Shanechi is Assistant Professor and Viterbi Early Career Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California (USC). She is also a faculty member in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at USC. She received her B.A.Sc. degree in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto in 2004 and her S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 2006 and 2011, respectively. She held postdoctoral positions at Harvard Medical School and at UC Berkeley from 2011-2013. She directs the Neural Systems Engineering Lab at USC. Her research is focused on developing closed-loop neurotechnologies and studying the brain through decoding and control of brain network dynamics. She is the recipient of various awards including the NSF CAREER Award, ONR Young investigator award, MIT Technology Review’s top 35 innovators under the age of 35 (TR35), Popular Science Brilliant 10, Science News 10 scientists to watch, and an ARO multidisciplinary university research initiative (MURI) award.

February 18th, 2020

Biomedical Engineering Seminar on 19 Feb 2020 / 3:00 PM / Steinman Hall 402

Computational Tools for the Evaluation of Biomechanically Based Treatments of Knee Osteoarthritis

Rajshree Hillstrom Ph.D., MBA, Industry Professor of Biomedical Engineering at New York University,

Visiting Scientist at Hospital for Special Surgery, Visiting Professor at Columbia University

ABSTRACT: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the number one cause of disability in the world, costing $486.4 billion/year in the USA alone. Dr. Hillstrom will introduce her holistic approach to investigating OA from the epidemiological, in vivo, in vitro and in silico approaches.  Then she will focus on the development and validation of her finite element knee model.  Finally, she will show how the model was used to investigate the effectiveness of different surgical treatment methods including high tibial osteotomy, partial meniscectomy and internally unloading the medial knee compartment.  

 BIO: Dr. Hillstrom (PhD, MBA) is an Industry Professor of Biomedical Engineering at New York University (NYU), Visiting Scientist at the Hospital for Special Surgery and Visiting Professor at Columbia University. Prior to joining NYU, Dr. Hillstrom was Associate Professor of Medical Engineering at Anglia Ruskin University (UK) and directed the Medical Engineering Research Group, where she developed the BEng Medical Engineering and MSc Engineering Management programs, and designed and led the development of a state-of-the-art movement analysis laboratory (for in vivo research), a biomechanics/ biomaterials laboratory (for in vitro research) and a computational simulation suite (for in silico research) to advance research in osteoarthritis.  
Dr. Hillstrom’s extramural research collaborations with investigators from the Hospital for Special Surgery, Mid-Essex Hospitals Trust, Harvard University, Boston University, and Columbia University has led to a number of international awards and funded grants. Dr. Hillstrom has been the Principal Investigator on 20 OA-related grants, including a three-year study from Versus Arthritis to investigate a less invasive approach towards treating knee OA.  She was the primary supervisor for 10 PhD students and 10 research fellows/ associates. Dr. Hillstrom’s research has focused upon computational modeling of human joints by finite element methods to predict the effects of surgical reconstructions on joint stress in the knee, hip, tooth and big toe. 

February 3rd, 2020

Biomedical Engineering Seminar on 5 Feb 2020 / 3:00 PM / Steinman Hall 402

 Computational Models of Transcranial Electrical Stimulation: Methodology, Optimization and Validations

Yu (Andy) Huang Ph.D. Research Fellow, Radiology Department, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Research Associate CCNY-MSK AI Partnership

ABSTRACT: Transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) has been shown as a promising neurological therapy for a number of diseases. Nowadays, design of electrode montages and interpretation of experimental results for TES heavily rely on computational models, which predict the current-flow distribution inside the head. In this talk I will show you methodological details in building individualized TES models from structural magnetic resonance images of human heads, including image segmentation, electrode placement, finite element modeling, and numerical optimization for targeted stimulation. Model validations using intracranial in vivo recordings will also be discussed. I will also briefly talk about translational efforts that converts TES models into neuromodulation software, either open-source or proprietary, that are used for clinical research on stroke recovery.
BIO: Dr. Huang received his B.S. in 2007 and M.S. in 2010 from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, both in Biomedical Engineering. He received his Ph.D from The City College of New York (CCNY) in 2017 with research focusing on computational modeling for transcranial electrical stimulation. After that he was working as a joint post-doc in Soterix Medical Inc. and Parra Lab at CCNY. He recently joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for his 2nd post-doc working on cancer detection from medical images using deep neural networks.

December 5th, 2019

The 2019-20 NYC Bone Seminar Series will honor Adele Boskey and her contributions to mineralized tissue research. Before next week’s seminar, there will be socializing at the Heartland Brewery on the SW corner of Fifth Ave. and 34th St. starting at ~5:45pm – look for the “bone group” DOWNSTAIRS (and if you're interested in food and/or drink you can open a tab at the bar). 

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Wednesday, December 11 @ 7pm

CUNY Graduate Center, Room C205 (C-level)

NE corner of Fifth Ave. and 34th St.

Multiscale Mechanical and Compositional Characterization of Bone Tissue in Postmenopausal Women with Typical and Atypical Fragility Fractures

Eve Donnelly, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University

Antiresorptive treatment is generally effective in reducing fracture incidence in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis. However, identification of a rare atypical subtrochanteric fracture pattern specifically associated with bisphosphonate treatment suggests that long-term bisphosphonate use may degrade bone quality in a subset of patients. To assess the effects of bisphosphonate treatment on bone tissue properties, we spectroscopically characterized subtrochanteric bone tissue from postmenopausal women with both typical and (for the first time) atypical fractures. Analysis of bone tissue using Fourier transform infrared imaging revealed alterations in the composition and fracture properties of bone tissue of patients treated with long-term bisphosphonates. Notably, bisphosphonate treatment increased tissue mineral content and hardness and degraded the fracture-resistance toughening mechanisms inherent to healthy bone.  Our observations lend insight into the etiology of atypical subtrochanteric fractures and may inform clinical approaches to management of patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

September 5th, 2019

18 Sep 2019 / 3:00 PM / Steinman Hall 402

Multiscale Mechanical and Compositional Characterization of Bone Tissue in Postmenopausal Women with Typical and Atypical Fragility Fractures

Eve Donnelly, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University