Join us this month as Prof. Milica Radisic discusses tissue engineering, a branch of engineering science that focuses on developing living tissue matrices in the laboratory. With the ultimate goal of using these tissues for drug testing and to repair injured tissues and organs, Dr. Radisic will review recent progress in developing living tissue supplements and specifically highlight those that were already tested and used in humans. Her presentation will also emphasize the emerging area of organ-on-a-chip engineering.
Dr. Milica Radisic is a Professor at the University of Toronto, Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Functional Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering and a Senior Scientist at the Toronto General Research Institute. She is also the Associate Chair-Research for the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto and Director of the NSERC CREATE Training Program in Organ-on-a-Chip Engineering and Entrepreneurship. She obtained B.Eng. from McMaster University, and Ph.D. form the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is a co-founder of a New York-based company TARA Biosystems, that uses human engineered heart tissues in drug development and safety testing for major pharmaceutical companies. She serves on the Board of Directors for Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and TARA Biosystems.
Professor Chris Cappa
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of California, Davis
An important process through which atmospheric particles exert an influence on regional and global climate is the absorption of solar radiation. Three classes of particles contribute most of the absorption: black carbon (BC), absorbing organic carbon (aka “brown” carbon, or BrC) and dust. Absorption by BC and BrC can contribute nearly as much to global radiative forcing as CO2. However, the uncertainties in the absolute and relative BC and BrC contributions are substantial. In this seminar, new results from two CA field studies and a laboratory study focused on biomass burning emissions will be used to understand the atmospheric variability in observed BC and BrC properties. The field studies, in wintertime Fresno and summertime Fontana, CA, provide context for understanding seasonal and regional differences in how sources and chemical processing impact the relationship between particle composition and absorptivity. The “FIREX” lab study, at the US Forest Service Fire Lab, provides a comprehensive look at how chemical processing in smoke plumes alters the absorption by biomass burning-derived particles, and how this depends on the fuel burned. Together, these studies provide new constraints for representing the atmospheric variability evolution of BC and BrC in models.
Download the lecture poster HERE
Host: Nikolai DeMartini
The building blocks of cellulose microfibrils, which make up the wall of wood fibers, are cellulose nanofibrils (CNF). These fibrils are several microns long and have a diameter of about 5 nm. They consist of alternating crystalline and amorphous regions, each about 100-200 nm in length. Two forms of nanocellulose can be obtained from CNF: 1) cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), which can be obtained by removing the amorphous regions by acid hydrolysis, resulting in needle-like particles, each about 100-200 nm long and 5 nm wide, which are well studied and presently available commercially; and 2) hairy nanocellulose (HNC), the topic of this talk.
Instead of hydrolysis, we can cleave the chains in the amorphous regions, resulting in cellulose nanoparticles with a crystalline core, with amorphous cellulose chains protruding from both ends. We refer to these particles as hairy nanocellulose (HNC). We can adjust the length of the hairs by acid hydrolysis. The hairs (i.e. the protruding chains) can be readily functionalized by reactive aldehyde groups, carboxyl groups, quaternary amine groups, and as a result the properties of HNC can be precisely tuned. When charged, they can be readily dried and redispersed, in contrast with CNC, which is difficult to redisperse when dried. We will discuss the synthesis of these particles, their characterization and rheological properties, and point to a number of potential applications, such as heavy metal scavenging, antiscaling agents, antifouling membranes, crystal morphology modifiers, components of wound dressings and when incorporated in carbon nanotubes matrices, they act as a humidity switch.
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Theo van de Ven received a Masters Degree in Physical and Colloid Chemistry, with a minor in Theoretical Physics, from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from McGill University. After a two-year postdoc at Sydney University in Australia, he returned to Montreal, where he became an assistant scientist at Paprican, working in the Pulp & Paper Centre, McGill. In 1981 he obtained a cross-appointment with the Department of Chemistry, where he became a full professor in 2004. Presently he holds the Sir William C. Macdonald Chair in Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, McGill and is Co-director of QCAM (Quebec Centre for Advanced Materials). He has published over 350 papers in scientific journals, 64 refereed conference proceedings, 7 book chapters, 1 book, edited 4 books and holds 4 patents. His research interests are in the areas of colloidal hydrodynamics, papermaking and cellulose chemistry. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, was awarded the ACS Award in Colloid and Surface Science, and received the Kalev Pugi Award from the Canadian Section of the Society of Chemical Industry. He recently received the Bates S. Gold Memorial Medal, the highest distinction in Canada for the advancement of science and technology in the Forest and Pulp and Paper Industry.
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Dr. Laura de Vito
Research Fellow, Air Quality Management Resource Centre
Faculty of Environment and Technology, University of the West of England
Despite many years of efforts to reduce air pollution to safe ambient concentrations, levels of several pollutants still contravene health-based guidelines across many European cities and around the world. During this seminar I will draw from evidence across six European cities as part of the ClairCity project and from Delhi as part of the CADTIME project to show why and how air quality management should put a greater emphasis on the social and contextual factors that contribute to emissions. By putting citizens’ behaviour, activities and experiences of air pollution at the heart of policymaking, citizens are empowered to visualise clean, low carbon, healthy futures for their city and policymakers can design context-specific policies that work and produce meaningful results for all communities.
Download the seminar poster HERE
Dr. Daniel Siegwart
Department of Biochemistry
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Structure‐guided, rational optimization of nanoparticle carriers for delivery of long RNAs to achieve CRISPR/Cas gene editing and mRNA-mediated protein replacement will be described. CRISPR/Cas is a revolutionary gene editing technology with wide-ranging utility. We will present and report the development of zwitterionic amino lipids (ZALs) that are uniquely able to deliver long RNAs (Cas9 mRNA and targeted sgRNA) from ZAL nanoparticles (ZNPs) to enable gene editing. ZALs were synthesized using high efficiency ring-opening and addition reactions, providing access to a library of unique charge unbalanced lipids. Intravenous co-delivery of Cas9 mRNA and sgLoxP induced expression of floxed tdTomato in the liver, kidneys, and lungs of genetically engineered mice. Correction of a mutation causing Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) via an exon skipping approach will be highlighted as a functional application of CRISPR/Cas in muscle. The effectiveness of ZNPs for delivery of long RNAs provides a chemical guide for the rational design of future carriers. Such insights allowed reengineering of dendrimer-based lipid nanoparticles (DLNPs) for mRNA-based protein replacement therapy, where mDLNPs effectively delivered fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH) mRNA that normalized liver function and significantly extended survival in a difficult‐to‐treat Hepatorenal Tyrosinemia Type I (HT‐1) mouse model. The development of gene editing using synthetic nanoparticles is a promising step towards improving the safety, efficacy, and utility of CRISPR/Cas.
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Dr. Daniel J. Siegwart is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Lehigh University (2003), and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University (2008) with University Professor Krzysztof Matyjaszewski. He also studied as a Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo with Professor Kazunori Kataoka (2006). He then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at MIT with Institute Professor Robert Langer (2008-2012). The Siegwart Lab aims to discover and define the critical physical and chemical properties of synthetic carriers required for therapeutic delivery of small (e.g. ~22 base pair miRNA) to large (e.g. ~5,000 nucleotide mRNA) RNAs. Their research is grounded in chemical design and takes advantage of the unique opportunities for collaborative research at UT Southwestern.
Hosted by Dr. Molly Shoichet
Snacks and Refreshments will be served
Co-hosted with the Institute for Water Innovation (IWI)
Host: Vladimiros Papangelakis
Plastic debris and in particular secondary microplastics represent a significant problem among the various pollution problems facing the marine environment. Several studies have been conducted on the fate and weathering of plastics in the marine environment including the generation and fate of microplastics. Laboratory results on the biodegradation of plastics show great variability. An important question, which remains unanswered, is what is the level of weathering that makes the common plastics (C-C backbone) biodegradable at a reasonably fast rate. In this presentation we focus on the determination of biodegradation and fragmentation rates of polystyrene and polyethylene films naturally weathered on beach sand as well as polypropylene films weathered in seawater mesocosms. Their fate in the water column is also examined. Overall, the results are very encouraging pointing to new challenges that need to be addressed for a successful biodegradation of plastics in the marine environment as well as significant advances in the context of circular economy. The most effective mitigation measures and plastic debris removal technologies from the marine environment will also be highlighted.
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Nicolas Kalogerakis is Professor of Biochemical Engineering at the Technical University of Crete (Greece) where he has served as Vice-President of the University Council and as Department Head (twice). Prior to that he was a Professor at SUNY-Buffalo (USA) and at the University of Calgary (Canada). He holds a Diploma in Chemical Engineering from NTUA (Athens), an MEng from McGill University and a PhD from the University of Toronto. His area of expertise includes environmental biotechnology focusing on bioremediation and phytoremediation technologies for the restoration of contaminated sites; protection and restoration of the marine environment; novel oxygenation systems and wastewater treatment; and mathematical modeling of environmental processes. Currently his group is participating in several National projects and 4 EU-funded research projects (H2020) and he was the coordinator of the large FP7-project KILL*SPILL. Prof. Kalogerakis’ publication record includes five patents, one book, 188 papers in referred journals and more than 170 presentations at international conferences including several keynote and plenary presentations. He has >8100 citations with a H-index of 47 (Scopus). He has served as a member of the European Commission Environment Committee (2007-2011) and as Sherpa at the European Commission High Level Group on Key Enabling Technologies (2013-2015).
Click here for more information on Lectures of the Leading Edge 2019-2020
Irving O. Shoichet Distinguished Lecture
Host: Molly Shoichet
Our laboratory studies how micro- and nanoscale systems can be deployed to understand, diagnose, and treat human disease. In this talk, I will describe our progress in two application areas: liver disease and cancer. In the area of hepatic tissue engineering, we are developing microtechnology tools to understand how ensembles of cells coordinate to produce tissues with emergent properties in the body. We have used this understanding to fabricate human microliver tissues in both ‘2D’ and ‘3D’ formats that enable us to study the pathogenesis drug-drug interactions, hepatotropic pathogens, and regeneration.
In the area of cancer, we are developing nanotechnology tools to meet the challenge of delivering cargo into the tumor microenvironment where transport is dominated by diffusion. Our strategy is to design nanotechnologies which emulate nature’s mechanisms of homing, activation, and amplification to deliver cytotoxic drugs, diagnostic tools, imaging agents, and siRNA to tumors. Thus, using nature as a guide, we are establishing a framework for building systems from micro- and nanoscale components that function collectively to treat human disease.
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Sangeeta Bhatia is a biomedical researcher, MIT professor, and biotech entrepreneur who works to adapt technologies developed in the computer industry for medical innovation. Trained as both a physician and engineer at Harvard, MIT, and Brown University, Bhatia leverages ‘tiny technologies’ of miniaturization to yield inventions such as human microlivers that model human drug metabolism and liver disease, as well as responsive nanoparticles and nanoporous materials that can be engineered to diagnose, study, and treat a variety of diseases, including cancer. She and her trainees have launched multiple biotechnology companies to improve human health. As a prolific inventor and passionate advocate for diversity in science and engineering, Bhatia has received many honors including the Lemelson-MIT Prize, known as the ‘Oscar for inventors,’ and the Heinz Medal for groundbreaking inventions and advocacy for women in STEM fields. She is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, the Director of the Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, and an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Science, the National Academy of Inventors, and Brown University’s Board of Trustees.
Click here for more information on Lectures of the Leading Edge 2019-2020
Joel Corbin, PhD
Research Officer, Metrology Research Centre National Research Council Canada
The combustion of carbonaceous fuels emits radiation-absorbing gases and particles, including but not limited to soot. These emissions play a major role in climate forcing. For example, mean global forcing by soot approaches that by CO2 and regional forcing by soot can exceed that of CO2. Yet recent work has recognized the role of other forms of carbon, such as small light-absorbing molecules (brown carbon) and light-absorbing macromolecules (tarballs).
Particle deposition on glaciers and snow further accelerates their melt. In order to understand the environmental effects of these materials, their fundamental properties must be understood, as these influence their atmospheric impacts, particularly their radiative forcing, and their deposition rates, resulting for example in the darkening of glaciers and snow. This talk will discuss the chemical nature of these light-absorbing carbons as well as physical models for their optical properties. The determination of accurate optical models is surprisingly difficult, and leads to the conclusion that the relative importance of non-soot aerosols can be surprisingly high.
Techno-economic analysis (TEA) integrates process design and economic analysis techniques to assess the commercial viability of production processes. Understanding TEA is fundamental for researchers developing novel production methods and pathways.
Workshop topics will include:
•Process design fundamentals
•Lab data for TEA and scale-up
•Economic analysis tools for talking to industry
•Estimating product price and feedstock costs
•Cap-Ex, Op-Ex and project financing
•Technology commercialization
•Presentations by industry partners
The workshop will focus on biotechnology applications.
Allison Simmonds is a Professional Engineer with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto. She has more than 10 years of experience in environmental consulting, including 6 years working at the interface between research and industry with Savant Technical Consulting. Her expertise includes bioprocess engineering, techno-economic analysis, bioinformatics, bioremediation and site assessment, and life cycle assessment.
Lunch will be served so please register if you plan to attend: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/techno-economic-analysis-primer-workshop-registration-77175019561
Prof. Paschalis Alexandridis
University at Buffalo
Block copolymers exhibit an innate ability to organize from the nanoscale across to the mesoscale. Selective solvents provide valuable degrees of freedom for controlling the morphology and, hence, structure/property relationships; furthermore, solvents can dramatically affect the molecular mobility and the dynamics of structural transformations. The presentation will utilize research findings on “model” amphiphilic block copolymers of the poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide) (PEO-PPO) family, commercially available as Pluronics or Poloxamers, to discuss: (1) the basic self-assembly elements, i.e., micelles, in terms of the thermodynamics and interactions underlying their formation and disassembly in aqueous solvents (selective for PEO), and their nano-scale structure and dynamics, (2) the adsorption of block copolymers on surfaces macroscopic and nanoscale, hard and soft, and how the adsorbed layer structure can be related to the polymer organization in the bulk solution, (3) ordered micelles, i.e., lyotropic liquid crystal structures, in the context of their range of stability as affected by the block copolymer conformation and various additives (e.g., glycols, nanoparticles), and their structural transformations under shear, and (4) how the equilibrium phase behavior can inform processing paths for the preparation of kinetically stabilized emulsions and nanoparticles, and templates for nanomaterials synthesis. The self-assembly properties of PEO-PPO block copolymers in selective solvents are compared to those of low-molecular weight nonionic surfactants, and to block copolymers organizing in the absence of solvents.
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Paschalis Alexandridis utilizes molecular interactions and supramolecular assemblies to develop products with desired properties and function, and processes that are environment friendly and energy efficient. Ongoing projects address structuring via self-assembly and directed assembly, block copolymers, perfluorinated surfactants, ionic liquid solvents, polymer dissolution, biomass processing, and plastics recycling. He has worked with industry to address product and process issues involving complex fluids, soft materials, and surfaces, for example, formulation of waterborne inks for improved pigment deposition, prediction of long-term performance of biomedical cross-linked polymer gels, and control of adhesion during plastics processing.
Prof. Alexandridis has authored over 165 peer-reviewed articles (published in 60 different journals) and 65 proceedings (Google Scholar citations >17,400 and h-index = 67). He is the editor of two books and co-inventor of six U.S. patents on pharmaceutical formulations, superabsorbent polymers, and nanomaterial synthesis. He has served as Director of Graduate Studies in Chemical Engineering, Co-Director of the Materials Science and Engineering program, and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Alexandridis received his PhD in chemical engineering from MIT in 1994, and joined UB in 1997 following postdoctoral research in polymer and surfactant physical chemistry at Lund University in Sweden.
At UB, Alexandridis has developed and taught courses such as “We All Live in a Material World” and “Molecular Nanotechnology and Bionanotechnology” (freshman-level seminars), “Colloid and Surface Phenomena”, “Introduction to Polymers”, and “Petroleum Engineering” (elective courses), and “Product Design” (required capstone design course). He has mentored in research over 70 graduate and 70 undergraduate students.
Prof. Alexandridis is an elected Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He has received numerous awards including the American Chemical Society (ACS) Schoellkopf Medal, Bodossaki Foundation Academic Prize in Applied Science, SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activity and in Teaching, and UB’s inaugural Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award. Alexandridis has served as chair of AIChE Area 1C: “Interfacial Phenomena” and on the executive committee of the ACS Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry. He is currently serving as co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences and Review Editor of the Journal of Surfactants and Detergents.