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SUMMARY:From Zip Lining to Lego Building: Novel Hydrogels for Stem Cell-ba
 sed Tissue Regeneration and Disease Modeling
DTSTART:20200214T151500
DTSTAMP:20260916T055302Z
UID:e4494360119e0f0403a464a6b80f5b77785b3407d0ec014f56b31dcd
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Fan Yang\, Stanford University\, Stanford\, CA (USA)\nBI
 OENGINEERING SEMINAR\n\nAbstract:\nHydrogels are attractive choices of bio
 materials for serving as artificial 3D cell niche given their injectabilit
 y\, ease for minimally invasive delivery\, as well as tunable chemical and
  physical properties. In this talk\, I will share three examples of our re
 cent work on developing novel hydrogels with unique properties to either e
 nhance stem cell differentiation and tissue regeneration\, or for engineer
 ing 3D in vitro cancer models to bridge the gaps of existing cancer models
  and facilitate discovery of new therapies. Using physically-crosslinked a
 lginate hydrogels\, it has been reported that molecular mobility combined 
 with viscoelasticity modulates stem cell differentiation. However\, one ke
 y limitation of the existing hydrogel tools is the inability to decouple c
 hanges in viscoelasticity from molecular mobility. As such\, how tuning mo
 lecular mobility alone modulate stem cell fates in 3D remains unknown. In 
 the first example\, I will share our work on developing novel sliding hydr
 ogels that allows crosslinks and biochemical ligands to slide along the hy
 drogel backbone\, enabling encapsulating cells to “zipline” crosslinks
  and ligands in 3D with independently tunable molecular mobility. Our resu
 lts validate molecular mobility as a novel parameter in biomaterials desig
 n to accelerate stem cell differentiation towards multiple lineages\, with
  improved tissue structures and functions. In the second example\, I will 
 share a “lego-like”\, microribbon (μRB)-based hydrogels platform rece
 ntly invented by our group. Unlike conventional hydrogels\, these μRB-bas
 ed hydrogels combines macroporosity with injectability\, and exhibit carti
 lage mimicking shock-absorbing properties upon cyclic compression. Compare
 d to conventional hydrogels\, μRB-based hydrogels substantially accelerat
 e MSC-based tissue regeneration towards cartilage and bone with much faste
 r restoration of tissue load-bearing functions. In the third example\, I w
 ill discuss harnessing tissue engineering strategies to customize design 3
 D models to model primary and metastatic bone cancers. These disease model
 s bridge the technological gaps of existing 2D culture models and animal m
 odels\, enabling mechanistic studies with decoupled niche cues\, and have 
 great potential for high-throughput drug screening with substantially redu
 ced cost and time.\n\nBio:\nFan Yang is an Associate Professor with tenure
  at Stanford University with joint appointments in the Departments of Bioe
 ngineering and Orthopaedic Surgery\, and Director of Stanford Stem Cells a
 nd Biomaterials Engineering Laboratory. Her research seeks to develop nove
 l biomaterials with unique physical and chemical properties to modulate ce
 ll-niche interactions in 3D\, to enhance stem cell differentiation and tis
 sue regeneration\, with a particular focus on developing therapies for tre
 ating musculoskeletal and cardiovascular diseases. Her lab also harnesses 
 biomaterials to create 3D diseases models such as brain cancer and bone ca
 ncer. Prior to joining Stanford\, Dr. Yang received her Ph.D. in Biomedica
 l Engineering from Johns Hopkins University\, and then completed a postdoc
 toral fellowship at MIT under Prof. Robert Langer. In recognition of her i
 nnovation\, she has been recognized by numerous awards including MIT TR35 
 Global list honorees\, National Science Foundation CAREER award\, Young In
 vestigator Award from Society for Biomaterials\, Biomaterials Science Lect
 ureship Award\, Young Investigator award from Alliance for Cancer and Gene
  Therapy\, Ellen Weaver Award by the Association for Women in Science\, Ba
 xter Faculty Scholar Award\, the McCormick Faculty Award\, Stanford Asian 
 American Faculty Award\, and the Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research
  Award etc.\n 
LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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