“Using Macrophage Polarization for Enhanced Delivery and Diagnostics”
Elizabeth Wayne, Ph.D
Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering,
Carnegie Mellon University
Friday, March 18th at 11:45 am
On Zoom
Registration required – Click here to register!
Most modern drug formulations are encapsulated within nanoparticles, biomaterials, or protein conjugations. Macrophages are innate immune cells that maintain tissue homeostasis by aiding in the initiation, progression, and resolution of immune response. As such, macrophages are among the first cells to interact with nano-formulated therapeutic materials. It was largely believed that macrophages represented an obstacle for nanoparticle drug delivery, that macrophages would phagocytose these therapies and inhibit the overall efficacy. However, newly available information suggests that macrophages can act as slow-release drug reservoirs. Moreover, this drug release can occur in a polarization phenotype dependent manner. The precise manner in which macrophages phenotype impact nanoparticle uptake may yield insight into the design of precision therapeutics. This talk will discuss new strategies for measuring macrophage polarization. In addition, this talk will discuss new strategies for engineering macrophages to control drug delivery.
Elizabeth Wayne is a TED Fellow and Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. She research is at the interface of immunology and biomaterials engineering, designing nanoparticles and diagnostic tools that can modulate macrophage phenotype. Currently, she is applying these concepts to investigate atherosclerosis, pre-eclampsia, and cancer. Dr. Wayne received her bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Pennsylvania where she was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar and Moelis Access Science Scholar. Dr. Wayne continued her education at Cornell University, where her research on the role of immune cells in cancer progression and their potential as drug delivery carriers was supported by funding from the National Cancer Institute Physical Sciences in Oncology Network and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Afterwards, she completed a National Cancer Institute Cancer Nanotechnology Training Program Postdoctoral Fellow in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Wayne is a science communicator who uses her platform to discuss the future of immunoengineering and issues related to underrepresented minorities in science. In 2017, she gave a TED Talk on immunoengineering which currently has been viewed over 1.5 million times. Dr. Wayne was featured in the Super Cool Scientists: A Women in Science Coloring Book. She is also the co-host of the show PhDivas, a podcast that tells the stories of women in leadership and higher education. Dr. Wayne has been interviewed and written in various platforms including PBS News Hour Brief but Spectacular Series, Aspen Ideas Health Festival, Nature Careers, Nature Medicine, Bust Magazine, The Atlantic, and the LA Times.
Twitter: @lizwaynephd and @theWayneGroup
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