SPRING 2026 GRADUATE SEMINAR SERIES

Title: Biologically Inspired Delivery Strategies to Prevent and Overcome Antibiotic Resistance

Abstract: Antibiotic resistance—especially in Gram-negative bacteria with protective dual membranes—reduces the effectiveness of many current antibiotics. This talk presents biologically inspired strategies to overcome these barriers, including toxin-responsive liposomal systems that deliver antibiotics directly to pathogens to reduce systemic exposure, and antibiotic-loaded bacterial outer membrane vesicles that transport drugs across the bacterial envelope. Together, these targeted delivery platforms aim to improve antibiotic efficacy while slowing the development of resistance.

Title: Forebrain Cholinergic System: Architecture, Function and Dysfunction

Abstract: Cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain supply most of the brain’s cortical acetylcholine and play key roles in attention, memory, and cortical activation, but their mechanisms in regulating cognition are not fully understood. In Alzheimer’s disease, these neurons and cortical acetylcholine levels decline, though cardiorespiratory fitness may help improve cognition by strengthening basal forebrain connectivity. Current rodent studies combine anatomical reconstruction, circuit analysis, and large-scale recordings to better understand how cholinergic circuits modulate cognitive and motor processes.

Title: Multiscale Fabrication of Bioinspired Scaffolds to Promote Tissue Regeneration

Abstract: A significant limitation in the design of engineered scaffolds is the lack of biophysical and biochemical signaling cues that recapitulate cellular microniches to direct functional tissue regeneration. Pins lab focuses on the fabrication of bioinspired scaffolds and 3D model systems to direct cell-mediated tissue restoration. Specifically, his lab takes cues from native tissue development and wound healing to develop instructive scaffolds that emulate native tissue architecture and cellular microenvironments.

Title: State-Aware Ultrasonic Neuromodulation: From Network Control to the Stochastic Thermodynamics of Brain State

Abstract: Noninvasive neuromodulation is constrained by brain state variability, so this work reframes it as a control problem that integrates focused ultrasound with state-aware inference. Using multiscale recordings in animals and humans, the lab shows that brief, low-intensity tFUS to the subgenual ACC increases whole-brain connectivity and redistributes activity toward control and salience networks. This work concludes with a stochastic thermodynamics framework that links brain state trajectories to energetic costs, offering principled insights into responder phenotypes and state steering limits.

February 27

Title: Biomaterials-based, bottom-up approaches for the engineering of functional tissues

Abstract: The Jia Group researches at the intersection of materials science and biology to design innovative biomaterials that mimic the molecular, mechanical, and biological properties of natural extracellular matrices. By combining synthetic matrices with controlled mechanical and biological cues, they create three-dimensional microenvironments to study cell behavior, tissue morphogenesis, and to engineer replacement tissues and disease models.

Title: Narratives resonate in the internal brain-body dynamic

Abstract: Movies or spoken narratives elicit strong responses in the brain. These responses are similar across subjects, effectively synchronizing brain activity between individuals. The synchronization is widespread across the brain and modulated by attention, suggesting that narratives effectively engage our cognition. Recent findings show that listening to narratives also synchronizes physiological signals. This includes synchronization of heart rate and pupil size, suggesting that stories also drive the autonomic system. Quite likely, cognition and arousal dynamically interact.

Title: Optical Spectroscopy Applications in Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science

Abstract: Optical spectroscopy—especially laser-based methods like Raman and photoluminescence (PL/TRPL)—is essential for characterizing materials and devices in biomedical engineering, materials science, and semiconductor manufacturing. These noninvasive techniques probe molecular structure, defects, and photonic components, supporting advances from medical diagnostics to quantum computing. Horiba Scientific is a long-standing leader in spectroscopic instrumentation, with its Raman, fluorescence, and optical systems widely used by researchers and manufacturers worldwide.

Title: Engineering Biointerfaces for Clinical Translation

Abstract: This work emphasizes the need to engineer biological interfaces across tissue, protein, and cell scales to address major clinical challenges. It highlights failures in tissue adhesion, biologic drug stability, and implant coatings that contribute to surgical complications, limited drug efficacy, and device failure. The research explores novel biomaterial platforms that control interfacial physicochemical interactions to improve clinical outcomes.

Title: A Bio-Medical Engineering Career in the Healthcare Industry — Expectations and Research Examples from a Spine Medical Device Engineer

Abstract: This seminar explores a Bio-Medical Engineering career in industry, covering various roles, regulatory practices, and the development of healthcare solutions. Through industry examples and research outcomes — particularly in advancing spinal healthcare — it highlights broadly applicable themes and the importance of collaboration between academia and industry. Likewise, the seminar will discuss insights into future trends in Bio-Medical Engineering and advice for those considering an industry career.

Title: Engineering T cell Immunotherapy Through Mechanobiology

Abstract: The immune system — particularly T cells, which are now being used as “living drugs”— offers powerful therapeutic opportunities. Likewise, the T cells’ ability to sense the mechanical responses of their environment offers new ways to tailor immune responses. His work examines the distinct molecular mechanisms and impacts of T cell mechanosensing, their variation across T cell subtypes and individuals, and how short-term functional assays combined with machine learning can predict long-term responses to biomaterials.

Title: The biophysics of noninvasive electrical stimulation using kHz frequency carriers — limitations and opportunities of temporal interference stimulation

Abstract: Temporal interference stimulation (TIS) is a noninvasive technique that uses high-frequency carriers amplitude-modulated at low frequencies, originally assuming that neurons respond only to the low-frequency modulation. Experimental evidence instead shows that the observed stimulation effects are driven by the kHz carrier itself, not by neural demodulation of the modulation frequency. New findings, particularly in neuromuscular stimulation, reveal distinct recruitment of sensory versus motor fibers depending on modulation waveform, enabling reliable and more comfortable muscle contraction in humans.