Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for January
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Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series
Fri, Jan 17, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Ellen Sletten, Ph.D., , Professor of Chemistry University of California Los Angeles
Talk Title: Next generation optical diagnostics and responsive therapeutics facilitated by poly(2-oxazoline).
Abstract: New approaches are necessary to solve major challenges in healthcare, which currently falls short on early detection of disease, effective therapeutics that minimize off-target effects, and robust methods for personalized medicine, among others. The Sletten Group tackles these challenges by harnessing bioorthogonality– not in the covalent chemistry sense that it was first introduced, but more broadly by capitalizing on abiotic non-covalent interactions and/or low energy wavelengths of light that are minimally produced by biology. This talk will highlight two stories: 1) the development of biocompatible contrast agents for the shortwave infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum and 2) our discovery of macromolecular crowding as a new responsive stimulus for nanocarriers. In both these stories, poly(2-oxazoline)s (POx)– a hydrophilic, biocompatible, poly(ethylene glycol)-replacement polymer– play critical roles in our technologies. The modular synthesis of POx enables highly functional polymers to be prepared with minimal post-polymerization steps, which offer means to solubilize and stabilize fluorophores as well as control the assembly of nanoemulsions.
Biography: Prof. Ellen Sletten received her BS in Chemistry from Stonehill College in 2006. Ellen pursued her PhD in Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley with Prof. Carolyn Bertozzi. Her thesis work involved the optimization and development of bioorthogonal chemistries and their subsequent applications in labeling living systems. Upon graduation in 2011, Ellen joined the laboratory of Prof. Tim Swager at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow where she worked with soft fluorous materials for use in fluorescent sensors. Ellen joined the faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA as an Assistant Professor and John McTague Career Development Chair in 2015 and promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2021 and Full Professor in 2023.
Host: Maral Mousavi
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Carla Stanard
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series
Fri, Jan 24, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Wyatt Shields, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering University of Colorado Boulder
Talk Title: Programmable Microrobots for Biomedicine
Abstract: Colloidal particles are often used as building blocks for generating hierarchical structures with useful capabilities at small scales. However, the capabilities of such structures often depend on the physical properties of the particles. My research group is interested in broadening the complexity of microparticle designs, giving rise to distinctive behaviors outside of equilibrium. Inspired by microorganisms, we fabricate and synthesize microparticles that are highly dissipative, bestowing the fascinating and occasionally useful capability of harvesting energy from their environment and locally dissipating it to perform specific functions, such as self-propel or reconfigure (e.g., latch, crawl, contort). In my seminar, I will highlight our efforts to engender symmetry-breaking principles into microparticles for directed motion using energy from external acoustic, electric, and magnetic fields. I will describe how particle systems can be intelligently designed to actuate in prescribed ways. Building on basic principles, I will share how these dissipative systems can be used in functional assays for biomedicine. I will discuss how active particles can in some cases enhance the transport of drugs through biological barriers, facilitate the sensitive detection of biomolecules for disease identification, and cooperate with immune cells to enhance the performance of cell-based immunotherapies. Overall, I hope to convey how active and responsive microparticles show promise as a powerful and potentially disruptive tool for next-generation biomedicine.
Biography: Wyatt Shields joins us an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. He received his B.S. from the University of Virginia in 2011 and Ph.D. from Duke University in 2016. He performed a brief postdoc at NC State on active matter and a second postdoc at Harvard University on cell-based immunotherapies. He started his research group at CU Boulder in 2020 and has gained national recognition for his work with awards such as the Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering, the NSF CAREER award, the ONR young investigator award, the Pew Biomedical Scholars award, the NIH MIRA, and most recently the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. His group focuses on developing field-responsive and active particles as vehicles for next-generation biosensing, drug delivery, and immunoengineering.
Host: Eunji Chung
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Carla Stanard
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series
Fri, Jan 31, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Ana Claudia Arias, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California Berkeley
Talk Title: Towards Wireless Flexible Printed Electronics
Abstract: Flexible electronics enable large area, lightweight, thin functional devices that are conformal to the human body. These electronic devices are important in Internet of Things applications as they enable interfacing electronics with complex physical objects. Flexible sensors are being developed in industries including automotive, packaging, and structural health monitoring. Wearable medical technology has seen considerable advancement in recent years in both consumer health monitoring products such as smart watches and research of clinical grade sensors. Sensors including temperature, heart rate, blood oxygenation, and various metabolites present in sweat have been demonstrated. In all cases, to be truly "wearable" a device should be comfortable: conformal, lightweight, thin, and cable-less. A functional wearable device must include not only a sensor, but also a power source and communication capability. The power and communication systems should meet the same comfort criteria as the sensors. While printed electronic components have the advantages of being flexible, lightweight, thin, and large area, conventional rigid silicon electronics are capable of fast, efficient computation, data processing and storage in a small footprint at low power. Flexible hybrid electronic (FHE) systems take advantage of these complementary strengths by integrating conventional components and printed components together. In this talk, I will cover the fundamental building blocks for an FHE system - including printed sensors and circuits, printed antennas for wireless power and communication, printed energy harvesting and storage. I will discuss recent progress, fabrication, applications and opportunities in flexible hybrid electronics.
Biography: Ana Claudia Arias's research focuses on the use of electronic materials processed from solution in flexible electronic systems. Insights from such investigations have enabled the development of printing techniques that fabricate flexible large-area electronic devices and sensors. To this end, Dr. Arias directs the Flexible Electronic Devices and Systems Laboratory, which develops such systems for energy-related and medical applications. Prior to arriving at Berkeley, Arias managed the Printed Electronic Devices area and served as a member of the research staff at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), a Xerox Company. Arias is the recipient of multiple awards acknowledging her achievements in the field of electronic materials including receiving the NAE Gilbreth Lectureship, the FLEXI R&D Achievements Award, and being selected Bakar Fellow. She has a PhD in Physics from Cambridge University.
Host: Maral Mousavi
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Carla Stanard
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.
