(451b) Harnessing Biomaterials to Study and Engineer Immune Function

Our research combines immunology and biomaterials to i) understand the interactions between synthetic materials and immune tissues, and ii) to design more selective therapeutic vaccines for cancer and autoimmunity. This presentation will highlight our most recent efforts toward these goals using materials science tools, primary cell culture, animal models, and samples from human patients. One example will discuss new degradable polymer depots that could improve the selectivity of therapies for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes. A second area will present the lab's efforts to self-assemble immune signals into modular nanostructures. This rational design approach allows programmable activation of the combination and relative levels of immune pathways triggered by vaccines. Controlling these pathways could improve the efficacy of vaccines and the efficiency of vaccine development.