BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Memento EPFL// BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Inaugural lecture: Making Materials That Speak the Cellular Langua ge DTSTART:20250905T171500 DTEND:20250905T181500 DTSTAMP:20260415T082915Z UID:0d1ba45af248d69d26489a28bd855745a58bb5af20f0071cc688b5d0 CATEGORIES:Inaugural lectures - Honorary Lecture DESCRIPTION:Prof. Maartje Bastings\, Programmable Biomaterials Laboratory\ nBiomaterials are materials designed to interact with the body\, to suppor t healing\, deliver medicines\, or detect disease. Over the past century\, biomaterials have transformed modern medicine. Thanks to advances in nano technology\, we can now build materials at a scale small enough to interac t with individual cells. At this nanoscale\, materials no longer engage ti ssues broadly\; they touch only tiny regions of a cell’s surface. This m akes biological communication far more precise and far more complex. Quest ions like where binding happens\, when\, how many molecular contacts are i nvolved\, and how strong the interaction is become critical. These paramet ers determine whether a material will be ignored\, accepted\, or actively trigger a biological response.\n\nIn the Programmable Biomaterials Laborat ory\, we explore how to control these interactions through multivalency: t he principle that many weak molecular interactions\, when working together \, can achieve strong and selective binding. Using DNA as a programmable m aterial\, we can not only present multiple molecular signals but also prec isely control their number\, spacing\, and geometry. Our “multivalent en gineering” approach lets us test how different nanoscale patterns influe nce how cells respond to materials.\n\nOne key concept we developed is Int erface Flexibility. We discovered that at the nanoscale\, the mechanical s tructure of a material’s surface plays a central role in how it communic ates with cells. Rigid interfaces promote selectivity\, enabling precise a ctivation of immune cells\, while flexible interfaces blur the effect. We also introduced the theory of Multivalent Pattern Recognition: the ability of materials to recognize targets based on the spatial arrangement of mul tiple binding sites. By constraining these sites into defined geometric pa tterns\, we could achieve super-selectivity: materials that bind only when all cues match a target cell’s molecular “signature.” We applied th is concept not only to immune cell targeting\, but also to identify new bi nders for pathogens including the virus responsible for COVID-19\, by mimi cking and exploiting the multivalent geometry of the viral spike protein.\ n\nLooking ahead\, our goal is to build materials that don’t just work i n the body\, but communicate with it fluently\, selectively\, and intellig ently. This opens the door to highly targeted therapies\, diagnostics capa ble of detecting disease at its earliest onset\, and materials that can di stinguish and engage with many different cell types and tissues. By learni ng the language of cells and designing materials that speak it\, we are cr eating powerful new tools for the future of personalized and predictive me dicine.\n\nBio: Prof. Maartje Bastings is a biomaterials engineer whose re search lies at the intersection of supramolecular materials science\, biop hysics\, and cell biology. She leads the Programmable Biomaterials Laborat ory (PBL)\, where her team pioneers the use of DNA as an engineering mater ial to create dynamic\, uniform nanostructures capable of precise\, select ive interactions with living systems. Central to her work is the concept o f dynamic reciprocity\, a two-way\, responsive communication between soft materials and cells. Prof. Bastings' approach emphasizes multivalent engin eering\, using DNA to control the number\, spacing\, and geometry of molec ular interactions. Her group has introduced key principles such as Interfa ce Flexibility\, demonstrating that nanoscale mechanical properties influe nce cellular selectivity\, and Multivalent Pattern Recognition\, enabling super-selective targeting of immune cells and viral pathogens by mimicking spatial patterns at the biointerface.\nOver the past decade\, she has eme rged as a leader in bridging molecular self-assembly with functional cellu lar responses. By combining nanoscale material design with quantitative bi ophysical characterization\, Prof. Bastings' research reveals how pattern and geometry govern biological recognition. Her work opens new directions for the development of next-generation vaccines\, immune-modulating therap ies\, and diagnostics capable of detecting disease at its earliest onset. At its core\, her research envisions materials that do more than interact with biology: they speak its language\, enabling life-like communication a nd integration with cellular function.\n\n  LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717 https://epfl.zoom.u s/j/68486771782 STATUS:CONFIRMED END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR