IHE Colloquium: Using biomolecules for complex tissue engineering

With Professor Alvaro Mata from QMUL

Back to All Events

IHE Colloquium: Using biomolecules for complex tissue engineering

07 May 2019, 13:00 – 14:00

G08
Torrington Place
London
WC1E 7JE
United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

There is great interest to develop new materials with advanced properties that resemble those of biological systems such as hierarchical organization and the capacity to grow or self-heal. To this end, supramolecular chemistry offers an exciting opportunity to grow materials with nanoscale precision. However, the ability to transform molecular design into functional devices with utility at the macroscale remains a challenge. The talk will describe new strategies that integrate supramolecular chemistry with engineering principles to develop practical materials with tuneable and advanced properties such as hierarchical organisation, the capacity to grow, tunable mechanical properties, and specific bioactivity. These materials are being used to develop new regenerative therapies of tissues such as enamel, bone, and blood vessels as well as more biologically relevant in vitro models for applications in cancer and neurological disorders.

Lunch and refreshments provided.

Professor Alvaro Mata

Professor in Biomedical Engineering & Biomaterials

Queen Mary University London

Alvaro Mata is Professor in Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering in the School of Engineering and Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). He holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Kansas, a Master's Degree from the University of Strathclyde, and a Doctor of Engineering Degree from Cleveland State University working with Prof. Shuvo Roy. He conducted his postdoctoral training with Prof. Samuel Stupp at Northwestern University working on self-assembling materials. From 2008-2013 he was Head of the Nanotechnology Platform at Parc Científic Barcelona in Spain and from 2014-2017 was the Director of the Institute of Bioengineering at QMUL. He holds seven patents or patent applications; publications in journals including Science, Nature Chemistry, and Nature Materials; and awards such as the Baxter Early Career Award in 2006, Ramon y Cajal Award in 2010, an ERC Staring Grant in 2012, and a Frontiers Innovator Award from the Wellcome Trust in 2015. He is a member of the Board of the Biomedical Engineering Association, Editorial Board of several leading biomaterials journals, and the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform – Smart Materials Hub.