GCI and MIME Joint Seminar: Making Materials That Speak the Cellular Language
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This event is hosted in collaboration with Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME).
Presenter: Prof Maartje Bastings, Programmable Biomaterials Lab, EPFL - Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne
Date and Time: Wednesday 12th November, 12 - 1pm
Venue: Hybrid Event
- B120 Lecture Theatre, Basement 1, 207 Bouverie St CARLTON (BLD 379)
- Or via ZOOM Link (Meeting ID 863 0870 0017, Passcode: 397280)
ABSTRACT:
At the Programmable Biomaterials Laboratory (PBL), we create materials that can interact with cells in very precise ways. By working at the scale of individual molecules, we design surfaces that don't just contact cells, they are able to communicate with them. In this lecture, I will show how we use DNA as a building block to program how many signals a material sends, how they're spaced, and how rigid or flexible the surface is. These tiny design choices have a big impact: they let us control whether a material is ignored, welcomed, or sparks a strong biological response. I will show that arranging molecular cues in specific patterns can make materials incredibly selective and are able to activate immune cells or interact with viruses like COVID-19. Our goal is to build materials that can understand and respond to the body's signals, opening the door to earlier disease detection, smarter therapies, and truly personalized medicine.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Prof. Maartje Bastings is a biomaterials engineer whose research lies at the intersection of supramolecular materials science, biophysics, and cell biology. She obtained a PhD (2012) in Supramolecular Biomaterials from the Eindhoven University of Technology (E.W. Meijer) and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University / Wyss Institute / Dana Farber Cancer Institute (W. Shih). Her team at EPFL pioneers Multivalent Engineering through the use of DNA as an engineering material to create dynamic, uniform nanostructures capable of precise, selective interactions with living systems. Her group has introduced key principles such as Interface Flexibility, demonstrating that nanoscale mechanical properties influence cellular selectivity, and Multivalent Pattern Recognition, enabling super-selective targeting of immune cells and viral pathogens by mimicking spatial patterns at the biointerface. At its core, her research envisions materials that do more than interact with biology: they speak its language, enabling life-like communication and integration with cellular function. Bastings’ research is funded by (a.o.) the SNF Eccellenza Award, an ERC Starting Grant (InActioN), HFSP Young Investigator Award, and the Volkswagen Foundation.