Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for May
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Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series
Wed, May 01, 2024 @ 09:45 AM - 10:45 AM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Jeff Saucerman, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Cardiovascular Medicine Vivian Pinn Scholar, School of Medicine University of Virginia
Talk Title: Fusing mechanistic networks and machine learning to understand inflammation-fibrosis coupling
Abstract: Inflammation and fibrosis are conserved phases of wound healing in the heart,skin, and other organs. Yet therapeutic attempts at manipulating inflammationand fibrosis have had limited success. In this talk, I will present ourcomputational and experimental systems biology research on cardiacinflammation and fibrosis. These studies include large scale computationalmodels of the intracellular signaling networks of multiple cardiac cell types,experimental drug screens, and new methods that fuse mechanistic andmachine-learning approaches to understand how these drugs work. Ourcomputational models are validated with new experiments in cells and mice.
Biography: Dr. Jeff Saucerman is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Professor ofCardiovascular Medicine at the University of Virginia. He leads a research group in cardiacsystems biology, focused on identifying and controlling the molecular networks involved inheart disease. He received a B.S. in Engineering Science from Pennsylvania StateUniversity, Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California San Diego, andcompleted a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Donald Bers at Loyola University Chicago. Dr.Saucerman has received a number of awards including an NSF CAREER Award, Fellow ofthe American Heart Association and American Institute of Medical and BiologicalEngineering, the Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award, BME Mentoring Award, and theVivian Pinn Scholar Award.
Host: Stacey Finley
Location: 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
Wed, May 01, 2024 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Paula Cannon, Ph.D. , Distinguished Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology in the Keck School of Medicine of USC
Talk Title: Move over CAR T cells -“ engineering B cells to express custom molecules
Abstract: We use CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to reprogram B cells to express custom antibodies and antibody-like molecules. These include broadly neutralizing antibodies that can control HIV, but which are not made in response to candidate HIV vaccines. To do this, we developed a simplified gene editing protocol that inserts custom antigen-recognizing domains into constant regions of the immunoglobulin locus, resulting in molecules that mimic the heavy chain only antibodies found in Camelids. This approach preserves the important features of natural antibody expression, allowing engineered B cells to respond to matched antigens and differentiate into antibody-secreting cells. I will present our data evaluating this approach in ex vivo human tonsil organoids and in non-human primates, and describe the flexibility and potential applications of this new type of immune cell therapy.
Biography: Paula Cannon, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology in the Keck School of Medicine of USC. She obtained her PhD in bacterial gene transfer from the University of Liverpool in the UK and did postdoctoral work on HIV and gene therapy at both Harvard and Oxford Universities. Dr. Cannon uses gene editing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 to manipulate immune cells, with the goal of developing cell therapy treatments for HIV, cancer and other chronic diseases. Most recently, her group has been editing B cells to express completely customized molecules, such as antibodies that can neutralize multiple different strains of HIV. Such a platform could turn B cells into factories in the body to secrete antibodies with desirable properties, including those that are not easily generated by vaccination. Dr. Cannon is well known as a gene therapist and will become the president of the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy in 2024.
Host: Peter Wang
Location: Corwin D. Denney Research Center (DRB) - 146
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, May 03, 2024 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Kate Havens, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy Division of Biokinesiology & Physical Therapy, USC
Talk Title: Oh Baby! Integrating Anatomy, Biomechanics, and Engineering to Address Postpartum Pain
Abstract: In this presentation, Dr. Havens will introduce the biomechanics underlying pelvic girdle pain and dysfunction in postpartum mothers, integrating musculoskeletal anatomical, orthopedic biomechanical, and engineering principles. She will delve into the unique adaptations during pregnancy and postpartum, focusing on posture, gait, and balance activities, alongside an exploration of the anatomy of the region. This knowledge informs innovative engineering solutions for mitigating perinatal biomechanical challenges, particularly the unique demands of infant caregiving tasks.
Biography: Dr. Kate Havens is an Associate Professor in the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy and specializes in biomechanics and anatomical sciences. Her research interest is perinatal health. She studies biopsychosocial aspects of new motherhood and focuses her laboratory work on biomechanics underlying lumbopelvic pain and dysfunction in postpartum mothers.
Host: Megan McCain
Location: Corwin D. Denney Research Center (DRB) - 145
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
Tue, May 07, 2024 @ 10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Rong Li, Professor of Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore Department of Cell Biology and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Talk Title: Mechanics and stress in cellular development, adaptation, and aging
Abstract: Mechanical processes are central to diverse cellular functions but can also be sources of cellular stress leading to aging phenotypes. My lab currently investigates three problems related to cell mechanics and stress: 1) how intracellular fluid dynamics coupled with cytoskeletal forces drive early mammalian development and reproductive aging; 2) how stress-induced protein aggregation and subsequent disaggregation are orchestrated by and affect organelles such as mitochondria and ER; and 3) the interplay between biophysical stress and chromosome instability and its contribution to cellular adaptation and cancer evolution. I will present a combination of recent findings in the first two areas of our research.
Biography: Professor Rong Li came from Johns Hopkins University where she served as the Director of the Centre for Cell Dynamics in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She was recruited to NUS in 2019 as the second Director of Mechanobiology Institute (MBI). Professor Li is a globally respected leader in the study of cellular dynamics and mechanics. Her interdisciplinary research integrates genetics, quantitative imaging, biophysical measurements, mathematical modelling, genomics and proteomics — to understand how eukaryotic cells transmit their genomes, adapt to the environment, and establish distinct organisation to perform specialised functions. The diverse projects in Professor Rong Li’s lab contribute to two main research thrusts: cell and tissue aging; cellular and organismal adaptation. The study on aging focuses on understanding dynamic changes of crucial cellular components during the aging process and how these changes alter the mechanical functions of cells and tissues. The insights gained will be applied to the development of new methods for prolonging healthy aging and the repair and regeneration of deteriorated functions. The study of adaptation aims to understand the dynamics of genetic and epigenetic determinants of cells and tissues under acute or chronic stress which lead to adaptive behaviors ultimately beneficial or detrimental to the fitness of the organism. A potential application of the discoveries in this area is the prevention of cancer associated with chronic inflammatory diseases.
Location: Corwin D. Denney Research Center (DRB) - 145
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
Thu, May 16, 2024 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Ben Almquist, Senior Lecturer (US equivalent: Associate Professor) in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London and Director of the Biomedical Technology Ventures Programme
Talk Title: Pilfering Patient Pharmacies -“ Using Bioinspiration to Drive Wound Repair
Abstract: Over the course of our lives, our bodies break down and we fix them. Everything from a scraped knee to a broken bone can be mended. But there is always the chance that the task becomes a bit too much for our bodies to handle. Whether it is a chronic skin wound that has persisted for twenty years in an elderly individual, a diabetic ulcer that is trying hard to steal a life, or simply a major traumatic injury that is simply too much for our bodies to handle, the impact is astounding. Chronic non-healing skin wounds have been called a silent epidemic, drive social isolation and depression, and consume 3-5% of national healthcare budgets. Meanwhile, non-union fractures of bones, such as the tibia, score lower in quality-of-life surveys than acute myocardial infarction, AIDS, and T1 diabetes, with a one in two chance of not returning to work. Somewhat surprisingly, there is an astounding lack of innovative approaches carrying clinical approval for treating defective wound healing; in the area of skin repair, the last FDA approved pharmacologic treatment for chronic wounds was approved over 20 years ago! In this talk, I will discuss our push to develop new methods for promoting tissue repair for both chronic and acute wounds, using bioinspiration to link together insights from materials science, nanotechnology and biology to enable new possibilities for driving tissue repair. This goal has led us to establish a new method for controlling drug delivery based on cellular traction forces, while also allowing us to ask the question – can our bodies simply give us the helping hand we need to heal our tissues?
Biography: Dr Ben Almquist is a Senior Lecturer (US equivalent: Associate Professor) in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London and Director of the Biomedical Technology Ventures Programme. His research aims to develop new methods for seamlessly bridging the interface between engineered materials and devices and biological systems, with a major focus on tissue repair and regeneration. Dr Almquist has been recognized as an Emerging Investigator in Biomaterials Science and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining. Before joining Imperial College, Dr Almquist spent time as a NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellow at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Institute for Solider Nanotechnologies at MIT and was a Research Fellow in the Center for Probing the Nanoscale at Stanford University. He has an MS and PhD in Materials Science from Stanford University and a BSc in Materials Science from Michigan Technological University.
Host: Eun Ji Chung
Location: Corwin D. Denney Research Center (DRB) - 145
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. -
Join us to learn about the Advancements in Research Ultrasound from Verasonics
Fri, May 17, 2024 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Christian Coviello, PhD and Miguel Bernal, Phd, Verasonics
Talk Title: Join us to learn about the Advancements in Research Ultrasound from Verasonics
Host: Qifa Zhou
Location: Corwin D. Denney Research Center (DRB) - 145
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Stephanie Perales
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.
