參加美國杜克大學Kam W. Leong教授學術報告(2013.7.12）
報告題目：Impact of nanotherapeutics on gene, immuno-, and cell therapy
報告人：梁錦榮，美國杜克大學教授，美國工程院院士
報告時間：2013年7月12日上午9:00-10:00
主持人： 陳永明教授
報告地點：豐盛堂A403講學廳
報告人簡介：
梁錦榮教授（Kam W. Leong）是美國杜克大學James B. Duke冠名教授。1986年-2006年在Johns Hopkins University生物醫學工程系任助理教授、副教授和教授，2006年至今為Duke University生物醫學工程系、外科學系、機械工程和材料學教授，納米醫學研究計劃首席科學家。2013年當選美國工程院院士。梁教授研究生物醫用高分子材料，在藥物輸送和組織工程材料的基礎科學、工程技術和臨床醫學上做出了里程碑式的研究成果。在Nature Medicine, Nature Materials, Proceeding of National Academy of Sciences等高水平學術期刊發表了260多篇論文，引用17000次；申請和授權專利50余項。
報告摘要：
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.