Lecture: 'Molecularly engineered biomaterials for applications in drug delivery and tissue regeneration'

The ability to induce precise modifications in biomaterials through the direct action of body enzymes or external fields has been widely exploited in the design of drug delivery carriersand tissue engineering scaffolds to control drug release or cell behaviours, respectively. Enzymes such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are produced by specific cell types during normal tissue remodelling as well as in pathological conditions (e.g. cancer, inflammation) and can be used as biological triggers. On the other hand, externally applied fields can be used to direct the self-assembly process and control orientation over the micro and macroscale.

In this talk, the role of supramolecular cohesion on the enzymatic degradability of self-assembled peptide nanostructures will be presented and discussed as well as the application of magnetic field to promote alignment of peptide nanofibers in self-assembling membranes.

About

Helena S. Azevedo obtained a MEng degree in Biological Engineering from the University of Minho (Portugal) and her PhD from De Montfort University (UK). She completed post-doctoral work with Prof. Reis at the 3B’s Research Group at the University of Minho working on biomaterials for applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering. Before becoming an independent researcher at the University of Minho, she was a Marie Curie fellow in Chicago with Prof. Stupp at Northwestern University (USA) where she developed work on self-assembling biomaterials using peptide amphiphiles. Currently, she is a Reader in Biomedical Engineering and Biomaterials in the School of Engineering and Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) where she leads her own research group and coordinates the BEng and MEng programmes in Biomedical Engineering. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (FHEA), Member of the Advisory Board of the RSC journal Molecular Systems Design & Engineering and Associate Editor of the Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. Her work is focused on the design of self-assembling biomaterials using rationally designed peptides and (bio)polymers. These innovative biomaterials include self-assembling hydrogels and membranes with applications in regenerative medicine, drug delivery and as in vitro tissue models.