Medical Engineering Distinguished Seminar Series, Professor Joanna Aizenberg
Living organisms and biological substances are among the most difficult and persistent sources of surface fouling, particularly in medical and marine settings. The ability of organisms to adapt, move, cooperate, evolve on short timescales, and modify surfaces by secreting proteins and other molecules enables them to colonize even state-of-the-art antifouling coatings, and small surface defects can trigger protein aggregation and blood clotting. Attempts to combat these issues are further hindered by conflicting requirements at different size scales and across different species. Our recently developed concept of Slippery, Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces (SLIPS) provides a defect-free, dynamic liquid interface that overcomes many of these problems at once. A single surface is able to prevent adhesion of a broad range of genetically diverse bacteria, including many pathogenic species that underlie widespread hospital-acquired infections. The same approach resists adhesion of proteins, cells, and blood, preventing clogging and thrombus formation inside medical tubing and catheters. We are currently developing this strategy to solve longstanding fouling issues in a wide range of medical settings. Examples described in the lecture will include the use of this material in endoscopes, medical tubing and surgical instruments.
Biography: Joanna Aizenberg is the Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science and Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University. She received the B.S. degree in Chemistry from Moscow State University, and the Ph.D. degree in Structural Biology from the Weizmann Institute of Science. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard and worked nearly a decade at Bell Labs, prior to joining Harvard.
The Aizenberg lab's research is aimed at understanding some of the basic principles of biological architecture and the economy with which nature solves complex problems in the design of multifunctional, adaptive materials. These biological principles are then used as guidance in developing new, bio-inspired synthetic routes and nanofabrication strategies that would lead to advanced materials and devices, with broad implications in fields ranging from architecture to energy efficiency to medicine. Research topics of interest include biomimetics, smart materials, wetting phenomena, bio-nano interfaces, self-assembly, surface chemistry, structural color, metamaterials and catalysis.
Aizenberg is elected to the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science; and she is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Materials Research Society and External Member of the Max Planck Society. Dr. Aizenberg's select awards include: MRS Medal; ACS National Award in Colloid Chemistry; Kavli Innovations in Chemistry Leader Award, ACS; Fred Kavli Distinguished Lectureship in Nanoscience, MRS; Ronald Breslow Award for the Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry, ACS; and Harvard's Ledlie Prize for the most valuable contribution to science. She has >365 publications, >100 issued patents, and is a Founder of four start-up companies. http://aizenberglab.seas.harvard.edu/
Hosted by Anqi Zhang