Events Calendar

Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series

Speaker: Aijun Wang, Ph.D., Chancellor’s Fellow Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, Co-Director, Center for Surgical Bioengineering, Vice Chair for Translational Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Department of Surgery UC Davis School of Medicine

Talk Title: Engineering Stem Cells and Extracellular Components for In Utero Treatment of Congenital Anomalies"

Abstract: Birth defects contribute significantly to pediatric morbidity and mortality, affecting 1 in 33 infants in the United States. As the leading cause of infant mortality, many congenital anomalies lack effective treatments or cures. Emerging prenatal interventions – such as fetal surgery, in utero stem cell therapy and genome editing – offer the potential to treat or even cure these conditions before birth. Dr. Aijun Wang Lab at UC Davis is at the forefront of fetal tissue engineering and gene editing, developing innovative translational technologies to modify the fetal environment and address congenital disorders. The Wang lab develops innovative technologies for stem cell transplantation, and integrates stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles, biomaterial scaffolds mimicking the extracellular matrix, and non-viral gene editing techniques. A major focus of the lab has been pioneering stem cell therapy for in utero treatment of spina bifida. Their team successfully manufactured clinical-grade placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PMSCs) at the UC Davis GMP facility, obtained FDA investigational new drug (IND) approval, and is currently conducting the world’s first stem cell clinical trial using PMSCs for prenatal spina bifida treatment. Additionally, the Wang Lab is advancing non-viral genome editing technologies using lipid nanoparticles to genetically correct developing stem cells, offering a potential prenatal treatment for genetic disorders. To enhance stem cell targeting and function, they have applied novel integrin-based ligands identified through One-Bead One-Compound (OBOC) combinatorial technology. These groundbreaking approaches mark a transformative step in prenatal medicine, with the potential to redefine the management of congenital anomalies.

Biography: Dr. Aijun Wang received his PhD in biology from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China and completed his postdoctoral training at University of California, Berkeley Bioengineering and Berkeley Stem Cell Center. He joined University of California, Davis (UC Davis) faculty in 2012, and is currently a Chancellor's Fellow Professor of Surgery and of Biomedical Engineering. He serves as Vice Chair for Translational Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Department of Surgery, Co-Director of the Center for Surgical Bioengineering, and inaugural Dean's Fellow in Entrepreneurship at the UC Davis School of Medicine. Additionally, he is a Principal Investigator at the Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine (IPRM) / Shriners Children's Pediatric Research Center, Northern California. Dr. Wang’s research focuses on developing innovative tools, technologies, and therapeutics that integrate molecular, cellular, tissue, and biomaterial engineering to drive tissue regeneration and restore function. Dr. Wang’s lab utilizes single cell spatial multi-omics to study disease mechanisms and developmental process and engineers and develops stem cell therapy/genome editing, extracellular vesicles/nanomedicine, and extracellular matrix/biomaterial scaffolds to treat a wide spectrum of congenital conditions and acquired diseases. Dr. Wang specializes in translating discoveries from bench to bedside through innovative research, translational and investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies, current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) manufacturing, and clinical trials in both human and companion animal patients. Dr. Wang has published over 180 peer-reviewed papers in top-tier journals, such as Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Communications, ACS Nano, Advanced Functional Materials, Bioactive Materials, Biomaterials, Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, Stem Cells, and Theranostics. Since joining UC Davis, Dr. Wang has served as PI, MPI or Co-PI, on numerous major extramural and intramural grants, securing over $55 million in funding from agencies such as NIH/NINDS, NIH/NIBIB, NIH/NICHD, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program of California (TRDRP), Shriners Hospital for Children, and other foundations. Dr. Wang has received numerous awards, such as the UC Davis Health Dean’s Fellowship (2018), the UC Davis Chancellor's Fellowship (2020), the UC Davis Health Dean’s Team Award for Excellence in Research (2020), the UC Davis School of Medicine Cultivating Team Science Award (2022), the KidneyX Innovation award (2020), and the Sacramento Region Innovation Award (2021). In recognition of his outstanding contributions to regenerative medicine and translational bioengineering, Dr. Wang was inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows in 2024.

Host: Eunji Chung

Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Carla Stanard