Bioresponsive Drug Delivery
Event details
| Date | 19.07.2019 |
| Hour | 16:00 › 17:00 |
| Speaker | Prof. Zhen Gu, University of California, Los Angeles, CA (USA) |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
BIOENGINEERING SEMINAR
Abstract:
Spurred by recent advances in materials chemistry, molecular pharmaceutics and nanobiotechnology, stimuli-responsive “smart” systems offer opportunities for precisely delivering drugs in dose-, spatial- and temporal-controlled manners. In this talk, I will discuss our ongoing efforts in developing physiological signal-triggered bioinspired drug delivery systems. I will first present the glucose-responsive synthetic systems for biomimetic delivery of insulin for diabetes treatment. Bioresponsive microneedle patches and vesicle fusion-mediated synthetic beta cells will be emphasized. I will further discuss the local and targeted delivery of immunomodulatory therapeutics for enhanced cancer therapy. Our latest study utilizing platelets, cell conjugates and gels for delivery of immune checkpoint inhibitors will be specifically introduced.
Bio:
Dr. Zhen Gu is a Full Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Director of the NIH Biotechnology Training in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Gu received his B.S. degree in Chemistry and M.S. degree in Polymer Chemistry and Physics from Nanjing University. In 2010, he obtained Ph.D. at UCLA, under the guidance of Dr. Yi Tang in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He was a Postdoctoral Associate working with Dr. Robert Langer at MIT and Harvard Medical School during 2010 to 2012. Before he moved to UCLA in 2018, he had been appointed as a Jackson Family Distinguished Professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. Dr. Gu’s group studies controlled drug delivery, bio-inspired materials and nanobiotechnology, especially for cancer and diabetes treatment. He has published over 170 research papers and applied over 60 patents. He is a co-founder of five start-up companies. He serves as an Associate Editor for Nano Research and Science Advances. He is also an Inaugural Chair of the Bioinspired and Biomimetic Delivery (BBD) Focus Group in the Controlled Release Society (CRS). Dr. Gu is the recipient of the Sloan Research Fellowship (2016), Biomaterials Science Lectureship Award (2018), Young Investigator Award of CRS (2017), Alcoa Foundation Research Achievement Award (2017), Pathway Award of the American Diabetes Association (ADA, 2015) and Young Innovator Award in Cellular and Molecular Engineering of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES, 2015). MIT Technology Review listed him in 2015 as one of the global top innovators under the age of 35 (TR35). He was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2019.
Abstract:
Spurred by recent advances in materials chemistry, molecular pharmaceutics and nanobiotechnology, stimuli-responsive “smart” systems offer opportunities for precisely delivering drugs in dose-, spatial- and temporal-controlled manners. In this talk, I will discuss our ongoing efforts in developing physiological signal-triggered bioinspired drug delivery systems. I will first present the glucose-responsive synthetic systems for biomimetic delivery of insulin for diabetes treatment. Bioresponsive microneedle patches and vesicle fusion-mediated synthetic beta cells will be emphasized. I will further discuss the local and targeted delivery of immunomodulatory therapeutics for enhanced cancer therapy. Our latest study utilizing platelets, cell conjugates and gels for delivery of immune checkpoint inhibitors will be specifically introduced.
Bio:
Dr. Zhen Gu is a Full Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Director of the NIH Biotechnology Training in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Gu received his B.S. degree in Chemistry and M.S. degree in Polymer Chemistry and Physics from Nanjing University. In 2010, he obtained Ph.D. at UCLA, under the guidance of Dr. Yi Tang in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He was a Postdoctoral Associate working with Dr. Robert Langer at MIT and Harvard Medical School during 2010 to 2012. Before he moved to UCLA in 2018, he had been appointed as a Jackson Family Distinguished Professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. Dr. Gu’s group studies controlled drug delivery, bio-inspired materials and nanobiotechnology, especially for cancer and diabetes treatment. He has published over 170 research papers and applied over 60 patents. He is a co-founder of five start-up companies. He serves as an Associate Editor for Nano Research and Science Advances. He is also an Inaugural Chair of the Bioinspired and Biomimetic Delivery (BBD) Focus Group in the Controlled Release Society (CRS). Dr. Gu is the recipient of the Sloan Research Fellowship (2016), Biomaterials Science Lectureship Award (2018), Young Investigator Award of CRS (2017), Alcoa Foundation Research Achievement Award (2017), Pathway Award of the American Diabetes Association (ADA, 2015) and Young Innovator Award in Cellular and Molecular Engineering of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES, 2015). MIT Technology Review listed him in 2015 as one of the global top innovators under the age of 35 (TR35). He was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2019.
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
- Prof. Li Tang, EPFL
Contact
- Prof. Li Tang, EPFL