Speaker: Prof. Peter X. Ma

Title: Designing biodegradable polymers to engineer microenvironment for stem cells and regeneration

Place: 206, Block D, Main Building, Xingqing campus

Time: 7:30pm, 5/11/ 2016

Introduction

Prof. Peter X. Ma is one of the pioneer scientists who research the tissue engineering scaffolds. His research areas are Biomedical Polymer Materials, Tissue Engineering, Drug Delivery, Self-assembly and nano-materials, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine and so on.

Abstract

Regenerative medicine aims to produce replacement tissues and organs by utilizing the highly regenerative potentials of various stem cells, such as embryonic stem cells, multipotent adult stem cells, tissue specific stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. There is a growing recognition of 3D matrix microenvironments on the fate and function of stem cells. A key challenge facing regenerative medicine is to rationally design and create 3D microenvironments that can recapitulate those in a developmental or healing program to maintain stemness, to accelerate proliferation, or to direct stem cells to differentiate along a specific therapeutic lineage. Our lab takes a biomimetic approach to design biodegradable polymers to modulate 3D microenvironments on the micro, nano and molecular scales (matrix, signals, and supporting cells etc.) for stem cells to regenerate tissues. Several examples of regenerating dental/craniofacial, orthopaedic, and cardiofascular tissues will be presented to demenstrate the impact of biomimetic polymers in regenerative medicine.