报告题目：Impact of nanotherapeutics on gene, immuno-, and cell therapy

报告人：梁锦荣，美国杜克大学教授，美国工程院院士

报告时间：2013年7月12日上午9:00-10:00

主持人： 陈永明教授

报告地点：丰盛堂A403讲学厅

报告人简介：

　　梁锦荣教授（Kam W. Leong）是美国杜克大学James B. Duke冠名教授。1986年-2006年在Johns Hopkins University生物医学工程系任助理教授、副教授和教授，2006年至今为Duke University生物医学工程系、外科学系、机械工程和材料学教授，纳米医学研究计划首席科学家。2013年当选美国工程院院士。梁教授研究生物医用高分子材料，在药物输送和组织工程材料的基础科学、工程技术和临床医学上做出了里程碑式的研究成果。在Nature Medicine, Nature Materials, Proceeding of National Academy of Sciences等高水平学术期刊发表了260多篇论文，引用17000次；申请和授权专利50余项。

报告摘要：

   Advances in genomics and systems biology have identified many nucleic acid-based therapeutics such as DNA, siRNA, mRNA, miRNA and aptamers that can target diseases at the molecular level. The future of genetic medicine hinges on the successful intracellular delivery of these nucleic acid-based therapeutics. This lecture will focus on polymeric gene carriers, which enjoy the advantage of versatility and relative biocompatibility. Kam W Leong will review the studies on using chitosan as a carrier to deliver FVIII and FIX genes for hemophilia therapy via the oral route. This is complemented by studies to understand the rate barriers in nonviral gene transfer using quantum dot-FRET (QD-FRET) technology. Using a more rational gene carrier design, we apply bioreductive polycations to deliver transcription factors for direct cellular reprogramming. Finally, Kam W Leong will also cover the recent effort on applying microfluidics to improve the self-assembly of polycation-DNA nanocomplexes.

  Whereas nanoparticles may improve bioavailability of drugs and DNA-based therapeutics, nanofibers and nanopatterns may dictate the response of cultured cells in tissue development. Cells in their natural environment interact with extracellular matrix that contains structures in the nanometer scale. Nanoscaled topography of synthetic materials, through its resemblance to in vivo surroundings, may provide potent cues to influence the cell-substrate interactions. Kam W Leong’s team have fabricated polymeric continuous nanostructures by either electrospinning or nanoimprinting, where the former can be endowed with biochemical cues embedded in the electrospun fibers, and the latter can offer systematic variation of topographical features to study cell-topography interactions. This lecture will highlight their mechanistic understanding of topographical sensing by cells and on the application of nanopatterns to modulate cellular phenotypes.