BME7900 Seminar Series - Kam Leong, PhD

Description

We welcome our next speaker in our seminar series, Dr. Kam Leong from Columbia University. He is the Samuel Y. Sheng Professor of Biomedical Engineering.

Unexpected Applications of Cationic Biomaterials

Abstract: Inflammation plays an important role in responding to danger signals arising from damage to our body and in restoring homeostasis. Controlling the inflammatory response is a major strategy in managing diseases such as cancer, autoimmunity, and wound healing. While conventional drug therapies are the norm in tackling inflammation, biomaterials are increasingly proposed to join the battle. Through drug delivery strategies, biomaterials potentiate the efficacy of anti-inflammatory drugs by improving bioavailability and diminishing side-effects. Applied in inhibitory or scavenging strategies, they reduce inflammation by removing the pro-inflammatory factors. For instance, the scavenging approach may be applied to inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus, which are increasingly linked to inappropriate and chronic activation of inflammatory cells. A central event in the pathogenesis of these diseases appears to be an aberrant activation of innate immune sensors, most prominently the Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs), by nucleic acids that are released from dead and dying cells. In this presentation, I will discuss the application of nucleic acid-binding polymers in the configuration of either soluble polycation or cationic nanoparticle to scavenge these nucleic acids as a molecular strategy to combat inflammation.

Bio: Kam W. Leong is the Samuel Y. Sheng Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University, where he focuses on three major research directions: 1) Nonviral gene editing in vivo; 2) Biomaterials-assisted modulation of inflammation; 3) Human-tissue chips for disease modeling and drug screening. He has published ~500 manuscripts and holds more than 60 issued patents. He is the recipient of the Founder’s Award of the Society for Biomaterials and the IEEE-EMBS Technical Achievement Award in 2022, Editor-in-Chief of Biomaterials, and a member of the USA National Academy of Inventors, the USA National Academy of Engineering, and the USA National Academy of Medicine.