Nicole F. Steinmetz – “From Black Eyed Peas to Biomedical Nanotechnology”
Event Date:
January 30, 2014 – 3:30 PM to January 31, 2014 – 4:59 PM
Location:
Burson 115
Event Date:
January 30, 2014 – 3:30 PM to January 31, 2014 – 4:59 PM
Location:
Burson 115
Ph.D Nanoscale Science
Seminar Series
Spring 2014
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Nicole F. Steinmetz
Case Western Research University
Biomedical Engineering
“From Black Eyed Peas to Biomedical Nanotechnology”
Abstract:
Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize materials science and medicine. Currently, a number of different nanoparticles are being investigated for applications in imaging and therapy. Nature has already perfected the self-assembly of various nanostructured molecules and materials; therefore, we have turned toward the structures of plant viruses (termed viral nanoparticles, VNPs). VNPs of interest are materials such as the cowpea mosaic virus, potato virus X, tobacco mosaic virus, and various others. From a materials scientist’s point of view VNPs are attractive building blocks for several reasons: these highly symmetrical nanomaterials come in various shapes and sizes, but each species is highly monodisperse, the particles can be produced with ease in an indoor greenhouse, are exceptionally stable, and biocompatible. VNPs are “programmable” units, which can be specifically engineered using genetic modification or chemical bioconjugation methods. Further, viruses naturally evolved to develop cargos to specific cells and tissues. These features render VNPs attractive cargo-delivery systems for medical applications.
In this presentation, I will highlight structure-function based studies specifically characterizing tissue-specificity of VNPs of varying geometries, i.e. size, flexibility, aspect ratio. We will discuss self-assembly protocols that allow shape switching of VNP rods to spheres, facilitate the synthesis of VNP rods of varying but defined aspect ratios, and self-assembly of co-operative VNP networks and chains. Further, I will discuss our recent research on the development and application of VNP-based materials in drug delivery and imaging; we focus on cancer as well as cardiovascular disease.
Bio:
Dr. Steinmetz is Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, where she is leading a research lab at the interface of bio-inspired, molecular engineering approaches and biomedical research and materials science. Dr. Steinmetz trained at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA (AHA and NIH post-doctoral fellow), John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK (PhD in Bionanotechnology), and RWTH-Aachen University in Germany (Masters in Molecular Biotechnology). In 2011, Dr. Steinmetz was named Mt. Sinai Scholar, she is a 2009 recipient of the NIH/NIBIB Pathway to Independence Grant (K99/R00), a previous American Heart Association Post-doctoral Fellow, and former Marie Curie EST Fellow. Dr. Steinmetz serves on the Editorial Board of Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews (WIREs) and the Advisory Editorial Board for the ACS journal Molecular Pharmaceutics. Dr. Steinmetz has chaired symposia at ACS and MRS; she is the Session Chair for the Protein and Viral Nanoparticle Track at FNANO and the Chair (Co-Chair Trevor Douglas) of the Gordon Conference of Physical Virology (2015). Dr. Steinmetz has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, reviews, and book chapters; she has authored and edited books on Virus-based nanotechnology. Research in the Steinmetz Lab is funded through grants from National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation, Ohio Cancer Research Associates, American Cancer Society, and Department of Energy.
Thursday, January 30, 2014 @ 3:30 PM in Burson 115
Refreshments served at 3:15 PM