Abstract：
New materials with tailored structural and functional characteristics can advance the ways medical treatments are delivered in combating diseases and repairing damaged tissues.  This lecture discusses two examples of in the development of polymeric nanomaterials to improve gene medicine delivery and enhance tissue regeneration.  The biggest barrier to the realization of the therapeutic potential of gene medicine remains the efficacious and safe delivery system.  Dr. Mao’s research uncovers materials engineering approaches that allows for exquisite control of biophysical properties of DNA nanoparticles that closely mimic that of natural viruses.  These advances open up new avenues for governing the transport properties of therapeutic nanoparticles and enhancing delivery efficiency of gene medicine to the target tissue and organs.  The second biomaterials engineering application is directed towards generating artificial extracellular matrices that can regulate cell morphology, migration, organization and tissue formation.  Dr. Mao’s team develops an array of nanofiber materials with tailored structures and physical and biochemical characteristics that aid specific cellular functions, including expanding blood stem cells to support bone marrow transplantation and generate new vascular networks, deriving neural cell types to regenerate peripheral nerves and brain tissue, and facilitating soft tissue regeneration to repair traumatic injuries and tissue loss.