Research

Immuno-modulatory biomimetic polymeric biomaterials

Favorable host immune response to biomaterials is critical for the clinical success of many implanted medical therapeutics. This response involves dynamic interaction of multiple immune cell types, signaling molecules and complex biochemical pathways with the surface of an implanted biomaterial. Combining engineering design of materials and biological characterization techniques, our team seeks to understand the influence of materials' physical and chemical properties on their interaction with the surrounding cellular microenvironment. We expect to uncover new insights on material characteristics that dictate the molecular and cellular dynamics of host immune response to biomaterials. Our long term goal is utilize this knowledge in rational design of biomaterial surfaces to promote successful clinical integration of implanted medical devices, drug delivery systems and tissue-engineered scaffolds.

Molecular and cellular events occuring after surgical implantation of a medical devices

Immunologically-activated drug delivery systems

A dynamic balance between multiple interacting biochemical components maintains healthy physiological conditions.  However, disturbance of this balance often results in pathological states, which are associated with alteration of specific biomarkers. Administration of therapeutic drugs offers an avenue to overcome this disturbance. However, inadequate drug delivery strategies that passively dispense therapeutics often fail to account for the temporal dynamics of the biological microenvironment, leading to inappropriate dosage and duration of drug administration. We seek to design novel drug delivery systems that harness altered immunological signals in disease-associated inflammatory states to program the release of therapeutics for effective restoration of physiological balance.

Bioimaging of inflammatory markers and polymeric microparticles for drug delivery

Transplantation of cell-based therapeutics holds great promise as a long-term therapy to replace diminished pancreatic insulin production and improve glucose regulation in patients with type I diabetes. Before transplantation, pancreatic islets are isolated from donor source, thus losing their supporting blood vessels. Transplanted cells often suffer from decreased viability and function as they have to rely mainly on passive diffusion of oxygen and nutrients from the in vivo environment of the cell recipient. Our team seeks to overcome this limitation by designing novel microtissue architectures and encapsulation micro/macrodevices for enhanced survival and glucose-responsive efficacy of insulin-secreting therapeutic cells.

Immuno-isolation and visualization of pancreatic islet tissues