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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Summary Sentence: BME Speaker Seminar with Ester Kwon, Ph.D. *
Full Summary: No summary paragraph submitted.
Ester Kwon, Ph.D.**** FACULTY CANDIDATE ***
Postdoctoral Fellow,
Research Scientist
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ABSTRACT
Recent advances in nanoscale materials that possess emergent physical properties and molecular organization hold great promise to impact human health in the diagnostic and therapeutic arenas. In order to be effective, nanomaterials need to navigate the host biology and traffic to relevant biological structures, such as diseased or pathogenic cells. Inspired by nature, I use peptides to transfer biological trafficking properties to synthetic nanomaterials to achieve targeted delivery of payloads. I will discuss the development of nanoscale technologies for application to three outstanding health problems: bacterial infections, cancer detection, and traumatic brain injury. A biodegradable nanoparticle carrying a peptide toxin trafficked to the bacterial surface has antimicrobial activity in a pneumonia model. Trafficking of a protease-sensitive nanosensor in an orthotopic ovarian cancer model sensitively detects cancer via a urine measurement. A neuron-targeted nanoparticle carrying siRNA traffics to neuronal populations and silences genes in a model of traumatic brain injury. This framework for assembling nanomaterials that leverage bio-inspired molecules to traffic diagnostic and therapeutic payloads can be applied broadly to solve problems in human health.
Host: Johnna Temenoff, Ph.D.
10:30 a.m.
McIntire Room 3115,
Whitaker Bldg.
Videoconference:
Emory: HSRB E160
Georgia Tech: TEP 104
