Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for February
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Fred Grodins Distinguished Keynote Seminar
Fri, Feb 07, 2025 @ 03:00 AM - 04:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Shana O. Kelley, Professor of Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, and Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Talk Title: Continuous monitoring of protein biomarkers using implantable sensors
Abstract: To put disease-related biomarkers to work for continuous monitoring of health and disease, new high-performance technologies are needed to enable rapid and sensitive analysis of proteins and other biomarkers. Electrochemical methods providing sensitive and direct biomarker readout have attracted a great deal of attention for this application. Recently we developed reagentless sensors that are powerful detectors for in vivo protein sensing (Nature Chemistry, 2021, J. am. Chem. Soc. 2023, Angew. Chem. Intl. Ed. 2023) as well as implantable sensors for continuous monitoring (Science 2024, Nature Biomedical Engineering 2025). This talk will summarize the development of these sensors, their application to a variety of clinical problems, and the development of a range of implatable sensors for in vivo monitoring.
Biography: Dr. Shana Kelley is the President of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago and the Neena B. Schwartz Professor at Northwestern in the Departments of Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, and Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics. The Kelley research group has pioneered new methods for tracking molecular and cellular analytes with unprecedented sensitivity. Dr. Kelley’s work has been recognized with the ACS Inorganic Nanoscience Award, the Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award, the Steacie Prize, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar award, a NSF CAREER Award, a Dreyfus New Faculty Award, and she was also named a “Top 100 Innovator” by MIT’s Technology Review. Kelley is also a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the American Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors. Her work is extensively cited and she has over 80 papers cited more than 80 times. Kelley is an inventor on over 50 patents issued worldwide. She is a founder of four life sciences companies, GeneOhm Sciences (acquired by Becton Dickinson in 2005), Xagenic Inc. (acquired by General Atomics in 2017), CTRL Therapeutics (founded in 2019) and Arma Biosciences (founded in 2021).
Host: Maral Mousavi/ Peter Wang
Location: Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience (MCB) - 102
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, Feb 07, 2025 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Shana O. Kelley, Ph.D. Professor of Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, and Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Talk Title: Continuous monitoring of protein biomarkers using implantable sensors
Abstract: To put disease-related biomarkers to work for continuous monitoring of health and disease, new high-performance technologies are needed to enable rapid and sensitive analysis of proteins and other biomarkers. Electrochemical methods providing sensitive and direct biomarker readout have attracted a great deal of attention for this application. Recently we developed reagentless sensors that are powerful detectors for in vivo protein sensing (Nature Chemistry, 2021, J. am. Chem. Soc. 2023, Angew. Chem. Intl. Ed. 2023) as well as implantable sensors for continuous monitoring (Science 2024, Nature Biomedical Engineering 2025). This talk will summarize the development of these sensors, their application to a variety of clinical problems, and the development of a range of implatable sensors for in vivo monitoring.
Biography: Dr. Shana Kelley is the President of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago and the Neena B. Schwartz Professor at Northwestern in the Departments of Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, and Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics. The Kelley research group has pioneered new methods for tracking molecular and cellular analytes with unprecedented sensitivity. Dr. Kelley’s work has been recognized with the ACS Inorganic Nanoscience Award, the Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award, the Steacie Prize, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar award, a NSF CAREER Award, a Dreyfus New Faculty Award, and she was also named a “Top 100 Innovator” by MIT’s Technology Review. Kelley is also a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the American Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors. Her work is extensively cited and she has over 80 papers cited more than 80 times. Kelley is an inventor on over 50 patents issued worldwide. She is a founder of four life sciences companies, GeneOhm Sciences (acquired by Becton Dickinson in 2005), Xagenic Inc. (acquired by General Atomics in 2017), CTRL Therapeutics (founded in 2019) and Arma Biosciences (founded in 2021).
Host: Maral Mousavi/Peter Wang /WISE
Location: Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience (MCB) - 101
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, Feb 14, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Michael S. Bienkowski , Assistant Professor of Physiology and Neuroscience Director, USC Center for Integrative Connectomics USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute Keck School of Medicine of USC
Talk Title: Hippocampal cell types in health and disease: toward targeted treatment strategies
Abstract: Neurodegeneration of the hippocampus is a key hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cognitive impairment. Previously, Dr. Bienkowski developed the mouse Hippocampus Gene Expression Atlas (HGEA), a foundational roadmap for understanding hippocampal cell types by integrating gene expression and connectivity data within the multiscale hierarchical hippocampal network. Using the HGEA as a guide, we have been investigating how hippocampal cell types change across the course of Alzheimer's disease both in humans and AD mouse models. Our data suggest that specific hippocampal cell types are more susceptible to AD and their neurodegenerative morphology changes across the disease timeline. As neuronal morphology is sensitive to electric fields and deep brain stimulation has been explored as an effective treatment for AD cognitive impairment, we are investigating how electrical stimulation treatment affects the dendritic morphology of vulnerable hippocampal cell types.
Biography: Dr. Bienkowski is Assistant Professor of Physiology and Neuroscience and the director of the USC Center for Integrative Connectomics within the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute. Dr. Bienkowski's multi-disciplinary translational research program at USC investigates neuronal cell type susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease and retinal diseases with a focus on 3D neuronal morphology, connectomics, and spatial transcriptomics. The research team's collaborations with clinicians, engineers, and computer scientists explore how we can reliably identify vulnerable cell types within the changing diseased brain and develop targeted electrical stimulation treatment strategies to effectively slow, prevent, or reverse the neurodegenerative process.
Host: Qifa Zhou
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, Feb 21, 2025 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Corina Amor Vegas, Assistant Professor, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Talk Title: "Deconstructing aging with senolytic CAR T cells"
Abstract: Senescent cells accumulate in organisms over their lifespan and play a key role in age-related tissue decline and the development of chronic aging pathologies. Thus, effective strategies to eliminate senescent cells (senolytics) could have broad therapeutic implications. In a departure from conventional chemical approaches we developed the first cell-based senolytic therapy based on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting uPAR, a cell-surface protein upregulated on senescent cells. Our initial proof of concept showed their efficiency in young animal models of liver fibrosis and cancer. We now show that uPAR-positive senescent cells accumulate during physiological aging and characterize their cell types and expression profiles. Importantly, we find that they can be safely targeted with senolytic CAR T cells in aged animals where they result in significant improvements in both tissue regeneration and metabolic function. Of note, we find that the beneficial effects of senolytic CAR T cells are long lasting; single administration of a low dose is sufficient to safely achieve long-term therapeutic and preventive effects in healthspan.
Biography: Corina received an M.D. from Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain and a PhD from the Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NY. Following graduation she established her own research group at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory as an Independent Fellow in January 2022 and was rapidly promoted to assistant professor in January 2024. She is also the Co-chair of the department of cellular communication at the CSHL Cancer Center. The Amor laboratory studies aging biology with a focus on cellular senescence. The long-term goal of their research is to elucidate the contribution of senescent cells to the aging process and to develop novel cell-based therapeutic strategies to treat age-related pathologies. This work has lead to several awards including the the Chairman’s Prize award from MSKCC, listing as Forbes 30 under 30 and the the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award (DP5).
Host: Peter Wang
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.
