Program » Speakers
Plenary Speakers
Shana Kelley
Chen Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago & Northwestern University, USA
Michael Koeris
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), USA
Kate Rubins
NASA & University of Pittsburgh, USA
SCALING THE MICROSCALE: THE RISE OF EXTREME MICROFLUIDICS
Mehmet Toner
Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, USA
PATIENT-SPECIFIC ORGANS-ON-CHIP MODELS OF HUMAN PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic
Columbia University, USA
Invited Speakers
Kiana Aran
University of California, San Diego, USA
MICROTECHNOLOGIES TO ADDRESS GRAND CHALLENGES IN SEPSIS AND BLOOD STREAM INFECTIONS
Rashid Bashir
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA
University of Wisconsin, USA
Po Yen Chen
University of Maryland, USA
Aram Chung
Korea University, KOREA
ENGINEERING PRECISION BIOMATERIALS FOR THERAPEUTIC DELIVERY AND IMMUNE MODULATION
Tejal Desai
Brown University, USA
Dino Di Carlo
University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Leyla Esfandiari
University of Cincinnati, USA
Steve George
University of California, Davis, USA
Reza Ghodssi
University of Maryland, USA
Keisuke Goda
University of Tokyo, JAPAN
Amy Herr
University of California, Berkeley, USA
University of Pennsylvania, USA
Noo Li Jeon
Seoul National University, KOREA
Salman Khetani
University of Illinois, Chicago, USA
Michelle Khine
University of Adelaide, AUSTRALIA
Kevin King
University of California, San Diego, USA
MICROFLUIDICS FOR PRECISION IMMUNOMEDICINE
Abe Lee
University of California, Irvine, USA
Marya Lieberman
University of Notre Dame, USA
Harvard University, USA
HIGH-SPEED HIGH-THROUGHPUT IMAGING OF NEURONAL ELECTRICITY FOR NETWORK MODELING AND DRUG SCREENING
Michael Lin
Stanford University, USA
YongKeun Park
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), KOREA
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
Tyler Ray
University of Hawaii, USA
Erkin Seker
University of California, Davis, USA
MECHANOMICS: DECODING CELLULAR STATES BY SHAPE, MOTION, AND STRESS
Jennifer Shin
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), KOREA
Jae Won Shin
University of Michigan, USA
University of California, Berkeley, USA
Aaron Streets
University of California, Berkeley, USA
Ashleigh Theberge
University of Washington, USA
Anubhav Tripathi
Brown University, USA
Ian Wong
Brown University, USA
David Wood
University of Minnesota, USA
FLOW PERFUSION VIA INTEGRATED VASCULATURE DRIVES HUMAN BRAIN ORGANOID MATURATION AND ENABLES MODELING OF MICROGLIA-VASCULATURE TRAFFICKING
Angela Wu
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), CHINA
Emerging Investigator Speakers
MICROENGINEERING OF TISSUE-SPECIFIC FUNCTIONAL INTERFACES
Song Ih Ahn
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), KOREA
Colin Hisey
Northwestern University, USA
University of Pennsylvania, USA
BIOENGINEERED MODELS OF OVARIAN CANCER MECHANOBIOLOGY
Susan Leggett
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA
Jouha Min
University of Michigan, USA
Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
Maral P. S. Mousavi
University of Southern California, USA
4D TISSUE ENGINEERING OF BIOLOGICAL ACTUATORS FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE AND BIOHYBRID ROBOTICS
Ritu Raman
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
University of Arizona, USA
Julea Vlassakis
Rice University, USA
SPATIOTEMPORAL MOLECULAR PROFILING OF INFLAMMATION IN LIVE ANIMALS WITH MICROENGINEERED DEVICES
Daniel Z. Wang
CZI Biohub Chicago, USA
Shana KelleyChen Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago & Northwestern University, USA
Michael KoerisDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), USA
Kate RubinsNASA & University of Pittsburgh, USA
SCALING THE MICROSCALE: THE RISE OF EXTREME MICROFLUIDICSMehmet Toner
Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, USA
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Microfluidics has traditionally enabled precise manipulation of minute fluid volumes, but its broader application has been constrained by limited throughput and the complexity of real-world biological fluids. Here, we introduce "extreme microfluidics," extending microscale principles to process large volumes of complex, non-Newtonian fluids such as whole blood while preserving precision and gentle handling of living cells. We highlight key innovations leveraging multiplexing, inertial and viscoelastic effects, and integrated multi-physics platforms to enable high-throughput separation and manipulation of rare cells. These advances include both positive selection and label-free negative depletion strategies, as well as inertial focusing approaches that allow continuous, high-speed control of particles without external forces. Scalable parallelization and non-equilibrium processing further enable clinically relevant throughput and efficient isolation of rare single cells and multicellular clusters under physiologically gentle conditions. Together, these developments bridge microscale precision with macroscale processing, establishing extreme microfluidics as a powerful platform for applications in diagnostics, cell therapy, and large-scale bioprocessing.
PATIENT-SPECIFIC ORGANS-ON-CHIP MODELS OF HUMAN PATHOPHYSIOLOGYGordana Vunjak-Novakovic
Columbia University, USA
Invited Speakers
Kiana Aran
University of California, San Diego, USA
MICROTECHNOLOGIES TO ADDRESS GRAND CHALLENGES IN SEPSIS AND BLOOD STREAM INFECTIONS
Rashid Bashir
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA
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David Beebe
Infectious diseases and Sepsis are grand challenges of our times and taking a huge tole on the world at large. Integration of biology, medicine, and engineering at the micro and nano scale offers tremendous opportunities for solving important problems to enable a wide range of applications in diagnostics and detection of disease markers. Microfluidics, nanotechnology, and Lab-on-Chip can address many grand challenges in personalized diagnostics such elimination of blood culture, profiling of immune systems and disease markers, point-of-care counting of specific cells from whole blood, and for detection of nucleic acids using CRISPR based sensitive and specific personalized technologies. I will present our group’s past and recent work in the development and translation of these technologies for advancing personalized medicine for diagnosis of infection and stratification of sepsis.
University of Wisconsin, USA
Po Yen Chen
University of Maryland, USA
Aram Chung
Korea University, KOREA
ENGINEERING PRECISION BIOMATERIALS FOR THERAPEUTIC DELIVERY AND IMMUNE MODULATION
Tejal Desai
Brown University, USA
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LINKING CELLULAR FUNCTION & STATE USING LAB ON A PARTICLE TECHNOLOGY
The field of nanomedicine offers great potential to revolutionize clinical care, including medical devices, regenerative medicine, and molecular imaging approaches. Recent advancements in nanofabrication and molecular assembly lay the groundwork for creating biomaterials with a high level of control at the sub-cellular scale. These subtle interactions with cell and tissue assemblies can modulate properties such as adhesion, uptake, transport, and immune activation. In this talk, I will present an overview of our recent work in developing injectable nanostructured materials for antibody delivery and sustained biomoledcular presentation including injectable antibody factories and high aspect ratio particles to potentiate endogenous cytokines. Additionally, DNA scaffolded particles can be designed to engage with immune cell subsets and enhance cell-specific targeting, allowing for highly programmable drug delivery systems with nanometer-scale precision. By leveraging the specific binding properties of DNA, one can control the ratiometric and spatial arrangement of ligands and therapeutic payloads on a particle's surface. This "architectural" approach enhances how these particles interact with biological barriers, significantly improving targeted delivery and the immune system's response to disease.
Dino Di Carlo
University of California, Los Angeles, USA
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ELECTROKINETIC MICROCHIP PLATFORM FOR EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE-BASED DIAGNOSTICS AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
Biology is organized through interactions, between molecules, cells, and tissues, yet many of our most powerful measurement tools still average across large populations, obscuring rare functional states and transient cell - cell programs that drive immunity, cancer, and tissue repair. In this plenary lecture, I will describe our group's "Lab‑on‑a‑Particle" platform: microscale, biofunctional particles that template and compartmentalize single cells (and defined cell pairs) into millions of independent assay units that can be processed with standard lab workflows and read out by flow cytometry and sequencing. I will first introduce Nanovials, hydrogel microparticles with an engineered inner cavity that can be selectively functionalized to capture secreted proteins while keeping producing cells viable. This architecture enables secretion‑encoded single‑cell assays that link function to genotype: cells can be screened based on secretory output or binding activity, then recovered for downstream single‑cell RNA‑seq or targeted sequencing to obtain the underlying receptor/antibody sequences. These capabilities provide a general route to accelerate discovery of therapeutic antibodies and T cell receptors, and to optimize engineered immune cells by screening directly on functional potency.
Next, I will discuss how extending "lab‑on‑a‑particle" from single cells to defined interactions opens a direct window into pairwise cellular programs. Our Cell‑Cell‑seq approach uses Nanovials to co‑encapsulate two cells in a controlled microenvironment, allowing parallel measurement of dyad‑specific functional outputs (e.g., cytokine secretion, activation markers) coupled to transcriptomic profiling of each partner. By comparing paired‑cell responses to matched single‑cell controls, we can distinguish interaction‑induced gene programs from intrinsic state, identify directional responses, and begin to map how heterogeneous tumor and immune populations engage one another. Together, these tools provide a scalable route to connect cellular function, interaction context, and molecular identity, ultimately providing a foundation for next‑generation therapeutics and data that train predictive models of cell behavior.
Leyla Esfandiari
University of Cincinnati, USA
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INTERROGATING THE EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE PROTEOME TO DESIGN A BRAIN PENETRATING NANOVESICLE CHASSIS
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are increasingly recognized as central regulators of intercellular communication and powerful biomarkers for disease diagnostics and regenerative medicine. In this talk, I will present a novel electrokinetic microchip platform that enables rapid, label-free isolation of EVs directly from complex biological samples. By integrating isolation with impedance-based sensing, this technology provides real-time characterization of vesicle biophysical properties, offering new insights into EV function. This scalable platform has the potential to transform point-of-care diagnostics and accelerate the development of EV-based therapeutic strategies.
Steve George
University of California, Davis, USA
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FROM SENSING TO ACTION: CLOSED-LOOP INGESTIBLE DEVICES FOR GUT HEALTHCARE
Drug delivery strategies to penetrate the has proven remarkably challenging. Despite intense efforts over many decades, there are still no FDA approved drug delivery strategies to target the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and thus sites in the brain interstitium. This failure impacts the treatment of a host of diseases of the brain with remarkably poor outcomes and few therapeutic options, including, but not limited to, glioblastoma and Alzheimer’s. While current strategies rely on inefficient "single-receptor" targeting, nature has already solved this problem: subpopulations of extracellular vesicles (EVs) naturally traverse the blood-brain barrier (BBB). However, the transport of EVs is inefficient and not scalable for clinical translation. If we are to leverage the ability of EVs to traverse the BBB (e.g., functionalize a nanovesicle), we must discover the specific "combinatorial code" of surface proteins (distribution and identity) that enables distinct EV subpopulations to penetrate the brain. We have tackled this problem using a combination of approaches including in vitro 3D models of the BBB, interrogation of the EV proteome, and “cell free” synthesis of functionalized liposomes. Our early results demonstrate a productive workflow and the identification of protein candidates that actively participate in efficient BBB transport.
Reza Ghodssi
University of Maryland, USA
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QUALITY MATTERS: HOW HIGH-PERFORMANCE IMAGING DRIVES BIOMEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
Gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and various forms of cancer, are increasingly prevalent due to a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors, impacting more than 40 million people in the US alone. Current medical tools for monitoring and treating GI diseases date back to the 1970s and require invasive procedures. An emerging method for probing the GI tract is the use of minimally invasive devices to monitor, detect, diagnose, and treat, particularly in remote regions of the GI. These devices rely on MEMS and microsystems, which have demonstrated the potential to improve healthcare through compact, low-power, and cost-effective solutions for continuous, real-time monitoring and advanced diagnostics, enabling early disease detection, and out-patient digital healthcare. Microsystems, such as wearable electronics, that interface with the body have been thoroughly explored both academically and commercially. Recently, the application of MEMS and Microsystems to ingestible devices has yielded key technologies to address GI-related diseases. The accessible nature of the GI tract provides a gateway for analyzing bodily processes and reaching specific organ systems for treatment.
Keisuke Goda
University of Tokyo, JAPAN
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TEASING APART THE PROTEOME OF CELLULAR INTERACTIONS IN MAMMALIAN TO MARINE SYSTEMS
My group's research focuses on the development of ingestible tools for monitoring and treatment of GI and systemic diseases. Our integrated devices featuring embedded electronics and sensors enable analysis of critical biomarkers, like hydrogen sulfide (H2S), neurotransmitters, and tissue permeability, while actuators allow sampling and drug delivery at precise locations in tissue for highly effective on-command treatment. It is our hope that these technologies will not only be integrated into ingestible devices but also prove worthy of addressing these problems, making such monitoring tools more accessible to a larger population around the world. In this talk, I discuss some of the challenges and future opportunities of these integrative micro/nano/bio technologies and systems.
Amy Herr
University of California, Berkeley, USA
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Dave Issadore
My lab is interested in design of microanalytical tools to address cellular-resolution questions that are difficult (or impossible) to answer with existing approaches. We tackle questions where protein expression, state, and function play important biological roles, and we are particularly interested in questions where proteoforms (e.g., protein isoforms) are key molecular players.
In this talk, I will focus on two areas where precision microfluidic tools for molecular and cellular measurements are accelerating biological understanding.
First, we aim to move cell atlasing into an era of single-cell proteome profiling. Here, I will describe our work to map the proteomic state of a remarkable symbiosis of two distinct organisms: cnidarians (e.g., coral, anemones) that have internalized algae to harness the energy stores generated by algal photosynthesis. We tease apart proteomic response of anemone gastrodermal cells in symbiosis with compatible and also incompatible algal strains. Our overarching goal is to shed insight on the breakdown of symbiosis in this critical marine system.
Second, I will describe recent research from my lab that physically links together multiple, independent measurement modalities in a 'single-cell, same-cell' paradigm. Such so-called "joint analyses" are important to directly correlate different - but interrelated - layers of molecular information. These types of joint analyses may play important roles in generative models of cells and cellular systems, owing to low biological and technical noise. Here, I will describe a suite of approaches that allow us to interrogate the nuclear nucleic acid compartment versus cytoplasmic protein compartment, with specific application to breast cancer biology. Our long-term vision is to create tools that allow researchers to ex-post query a unique originating cell for protein-level information, as informed by a priori sequencing-based discovery.
Taken together, we strive to introduce tools uniquely equipped to measure both cellular and molecular heterogeneity as a means to more comprehensively understand cellular form and function.
In this talk, I will focus on two areas where precision microfluidic tools for molecular and cellular measurements are accelerating biological understanding.
First, we aim to move cell atlasing into an era of single-cell proteome profiling. Here, I will describe our work to map the proteomic state of a remarkable symbiosis of two distinct organisms: cnidarians (e.g., coral, anemones) that have internalized algae to harness the energy stores generated by algal photosynthesis. We tease apart proteomic response of anemone gastrodermal cells in symbiosis with compatible and also incompatible algal strains. Our overarching goal is to shed insight on the breakdown of symbiosis in this critical marine system.
Second, I will describe recent research from my lab that physically links together multiple, independent measurement modalities in a 'single-cell, same-cell' paradigm. Such so-called "joint analyses" are important to directly correlate different - but interrelated - layers of molecular information. These types of joint analyses may play important roles in generative models of cells and cellular systems, owing to low biological and technical noise. Here, I will describe a suite of approaches that allow us to interrogate the nuclear nucleic acid compartment versus cytoplasmic protein compartment, with specific application to breast cancer biology. Our long-term vision is to create tools that allow researchers to ex-post query a unique originating cell for protein-level information, as informed by a priori sequencing-based discovery.
Taken together, we strive to introduce tools uniquely equipped to measure both cellular and molecular heterogeneity as a means to more comprehensively understand cellular form and function.
University of Pennsylvania, USA
Noo Li Jeon
Seoul National University, KOREA
Salman Khetani
University of Illinois, Chicago, USA
Michelle Khine
University of Adelaide, AUSTRALIA
Kevin King
University of California, San Diego, USA
MICROFLUIDICS FOR PRECISION IMMUNOMEDICINE
Abe Lee
University of California, Irvine, USA
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AIR-GAP PAPER MICROFLUIDIC DEVICES FOR PHARMACEUTICAL QUALITY SCREENING
Precision medicine is the paradigm to develop treatments for patients based on molecular-targets that are effective in vivo when administered. That is, one must not only be able to identify molecular and cellular targets that are the source of disease but also understand how these targets behave inside the body based on physiological principles. Since microfluidics bridges the scales of molecular, cellular, tissue, and can even recapitulate organ and circulatory functions of the body it is the ideal platform technology to develop personalized medicine. The immune system is involved in all aspects of medicine, ranging from healthy wellness, disease onset, diagnosis, prognosis, to systemic treatment. It is the quintessential armor defending our body from all types of injuries and diseases. "Immunomedicine" involves the real-time assessment of the immune status and the reinforcement and engineering of the immune system to overcome and breakdown in this health armor - immunoengineering or immunotherapy. Immunoengineering involves the "reprogramming" of the immune system to overcome limitations of the innate or adaptive immune responses that the body naturally produces. Microfluidic technologies can address most steps of this complex cell manufacturing process, including cell harvesting, cell isolation, cell activation and expansion, and cell transfection. In this talk I will introduce two microfluidic platforms in my lab applied to immunoengineering. First, thee acoustic electric shear orbiting poration (AESOP) device is able to uniformly deliver genetic cargos into a large population of cells simultaneously. We demonstrate high quality transfected cells with controlled dosage delivery as well as sequential delivery of different genetic cargos. These capabilities can be used to optimize the therapeutic efficacy of the engineered cells and also combine it with promising gene editing tools to further condition the cells for more specific in vivo targeting. Second, we constructed bottom-up artificial antigen presenting cells (aAPCs) for antigen-specific T cell activation. We demonstrated immune synapses formed between T cells and aAPCs that resulted in the expansion of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells by 16-fold, CD8+ T cells by 233-fold, and cytokine secretion increase up to 28-fold. In terms of immune status assessment, I will present a technology termed "Arrayed Droplet Optical Projection Tomography" or ADOPT. By trapping single cells in microfluidic droplet compartments, we are able to study the 3D morphology immune cells to distinguish immune cell activation states and immune cell synapses.
Marya Lieberman
University of Notre Dame, USA
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Jia Liu
Our lab develops paper microfluidic devices and kits suitable for use in field settings for tasks such as detection of bad quality medicines. In 2014, we developed a wax-printed paper analytical device, or PAD. The PAD translates the chemical functional groups present in a pharmaceutical dosage form into a color bar code. The PAD is integrated with a mobile app, the PADreader, which evaluates the results from samples, and with VERIFY, a cloud-based sample tracking system. PAD screening has uncovered multiple bad quality pharmaceuticals in low- and middle-income countries, for example, three lots of substandard cisplatin. We are collaborating with researchers and regulators in five countries in sub-Saharan Africa to do implementation studies requiring thousands of PADs per year. When Xerox stopped making wax printers in 2016, alternative methods for mesoscale production of PADs became a critical path for this research. A roll-to-roll process in which 2 mm air gaps separate different reaction areas and/or fluidic channels proved satisfactory for production of PADs. This talk will focus on how the roll-to-roll process works and the types of paper devices for which it can be adapted.
Harvard University, USA
HIGH-SPEED HIGH-THROUGHPUT IMAGING OF NEURONAL ELECTRICITY FOR NETWORK MODELING AND DRUG SCREENING
Michael Lin
Stanford University, USA
YongKeun Park
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), KOREA
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Sumita Pennathur
Holotomography (HT) is a label-free imaging technique that enables high-resolution, three-dimensional quantitative imaging of live cells, tissues, and organoids by using refractive index (RI) distributions as intrinsic imaging contrast [1 - 3]. Similar to X-ray computed tomography, HT acquires multiple two-dimensional holograms of a specimen under various illumination angles, and reconstructs a 3D RI distribution by inversely solving the wave equation.
Recent advances have extended HT applications to highly relevant biological systems, including embryos, oocytes, and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), in addition to conventional cell lines and patient-derived organoids. These developments highlight the unique ability of HT to non-invasively monitor developmental dynamics, cellular heterogeneity, and tissue-level organization with quantitative precision. By combining the label-free and quantitative 3D imaging capabilities of HT with artificial intelligence (AI), synergistic opportunities arise for segmentation, classification, and inference [3 - 6]. AI-driven models can enhance the extraction of morphological and biophysical features from HT data, supporting tasks ranging from embryo quality assessment to disease classification and prediction of therapeutic responses.
In this presentation, we will discuss the potential benefits and challenges of integrating QPI and AI for biomedical imaging and diagnostics. We will also highlight recent progress [8 - 9] and share perspectives on future research directions. Overall, the integration of HT and AI offers transformative potential for advancing life science, regenerative medicine, and clinical decision-making.
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
Tyler Ray
University of Hawaii, USA
Erkin Seker
University of California, Davis, USA
MECHANOMICS: DECODING CELLULAR STATES BY SHAPE, MOTION, AND STRESS
Jennifer Shin
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), KOREA
Jae Won Shin
University of Michigan, USA
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Lydia Sohn
Cells are constantly shaped not only by molecular programs but also by the physical environments they inhabit. Mechanics influences cell fate, collective organization, and disease progression, motivating the emerging framework of mechanomics, a systems-level framework for mapping and interpreting relationships between microenvironmental cues, mechanically encoded traits, and cellular states. In this talk, I will discuss how cell states can be understood through three physically interpretable dimensions: shape, motion, and stress. Moving beyond static molecular endpoints, we seek to capture dynamic cellular adaptation through measurable changes in morphology, migratory behavior, and force-related readouts. I will first introduce this framework in epithelial monolayers, where collective behaviors such as jamming transitions can be resolved through integrated analysis of cell shape, movement, and stress distribution. I will then present fibroblasts as a model of mechanical adaptation and heterogeneity, showing how extracellular matrix density, stiffness, and spatial gradients reshape stromal states and functions. Through studies of fibroblasts and cancer-associated fibroblasts, this work aims to establish a quantitative framework for mechano-phenotyping within mechanomics, providing new insight into dynamic cellular adaptation across development, fibrosis, aging, and cancer.
University of California, Berkeley, USA
Aaron Streets
University of California, Berkeley, USA
Ashleigh Theberge
University of Washington, USA
Anubhav Tripathi
Brown University, USA
Ian Wong
Brown University, USA
David Wood
University of Minnesota, USA
FLOW PERFUSION VIA INTEGRATED VASCULATURE DRIVES HUMAN BRAIN ORGANOID MATURATION AND ENABLES MODELING OF MICROGLIA-VASCULATURE TRAFFICKING
Angela Wu
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), CHINA
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Cerebral organoids are invaluable for modeling human brain development and disease, but their physiological relevance is constrained by the lack of perfusable vasculature. We developed the first long-term cultured perfusable vascularized human cerebral organoid (pvhCO) model that integrates intrinsic vasculature with an engineered, external microfluidic vascular network. Active flow perfusion in pvhCOs reduced hypoxia, enhanced organoid growth, promoted neuron and glia differentiation, reconstituting the transcriptomic landscape of the 9-12 post-conception week (PCW) human fetal brain as early as Day 70 of culture. Endothelial cells in pvhCOs acquired a more specialized, neural tissue-associated signature, upregulating genes associated with barrier maintenance, fetal angiogenesis, and flow-response. Functionally, the pvhCO model also exhibited increased spontaneous spike amplitudes and more complex network activity. By loading microglia into microfluidic channels, we demonstrated that they actively infiltrate organoid tissue via the integrated perfusable vasculature, adopting both migratory and homeostatic morphologies in-situ post-colonization of the neural tissue. This represents the first direct observation of microglia-vasculature trafficking and colonization within a functionally perfusable human neurodevelopmental context. Our model provides a physiologically relevant platform to investigate neurovascular interactions and model diseases, offering a manipulatable human-specific alternative to animal models.
Emerging Investigator Speakers
MICROENGINEERING OF TISSUE-SPECIFIC FUNCTIONAL INTERFACES
Song Ih Ahn
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), KOREA
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ENABLING QUANTITATIVE MATRIX-ASSOCIATED VESICLE STUDIES USING LIGHT-INDUCED NANOPARTICLE ADSORPTION
Understanding and accurately predicting human tissue responses remain major challenges in drug development and implantable biomedical device research, largely due to the limited physiological relevance of conventional in vitro models and the translational gap associated with animal studies. This limitation is particularly critical in tissues governed by complex functional interfaces, such as the blood - brain barrier (BBB) and the blood - retinal barrier (BRB), where tightly regulated cellular organization and dynamic microenvironments play essential roles in maintaining tissue homeostasis and regulating molecular transport.
To address these challenges, we develop microphysiological systems (MPS) that recapitulate tissue-specific functional interfaces under well-controlled and physiologically relevant conditions. Our approach integrates microfluidics, tissue engineering, and bioelectronics to reconstruct multicellular architectures with defined spatial organization, perfusable microvascular networks, and tunable biochemical and mechanical cues. These platforms incorporate human-derived cells, extracellular matrices, and 3D-printed organic electrodes to enable the modeling of key tissue-level functions, including selective permeability, transport dynamics, and inflammatory responses. We focus in particular on tissue-tissue barriers, including the BBB and related neurovascular interfaces, which are difficult to model using conventional systems. Our microengineered platforms reproduce essential features such as endothelial tight junction formation, shear stress - dependent maturation, and cell - cell interactions with supporting cell types. These features enable systematic investigation of how disease-relevant perturbations and external stimuli modulate barrier integrity and function.
To enable continuous and quantitative interrogation of these systems, we integrate bioelectronic sensing modalities, including electrical impedance-based measurements for real-time monitoring of barrier integrity. These sensing capabilities provide non-invasive, longitudinal readouts of tissue dynamics with high temporal resolution. In parallel, we employ complementary analytical methods, including permeability assays, cytokine profiling, and imaging-based analyses, to generate multidimensional datasets capturing molecular transport, inflammatory signaling, and structural changes. To further enhance reproducibility and scalability, we implement automated cell culture platforms and analysis pipelines that support high-throughput operation of MPS devices. This enables systematic perturbation studies across multiple experimental conditions and facilitates the generation of large-scale, high-content datasets. Such datasets provide a foundation for integrating experimental observations with computational approaches, including data-driven modeling and machine learning, to extract predictive insights into complex biological responses.
Overall, we establish a scalable and quantitative platform for engineering and interrogating tissue-specific functional interfaces. By combining microengineering and bioelectronics within human-relevant MPS, our approach advances the development of predictive in vitro models for studying disease mechanisms and evaluating therapeutic strategies, ultimately contributing to improved translational outcomes in biomedical research.
To address these challenges, we develop microphysiological systems (MPS) that recapitulate tissue-specific functional interfaces under well-controlled and physiologically relevant conditions. Our approach integrates microfluidics, tissue engineering, and bioelectronics to reconstruct multicellular architectures with defined spatial organization, perfusable microvascular networks, and tunable biochemical and mechanical cues. These platforms incorporate human-derived cells, extracellular matrices, and 3D-printed organic electrodes to enable the modeling of key tissue-level functions, including selective permeability, transport dynamics, and inflammatory responses. We focus in particular on tissue-tissue barriers, including the BBB and related neurovascular interfaces, which are difficult to model using conventional systems. Our microengineered platforms reproduce essential features such as endothelial tight junction formation, shear stress - dependent maturation, and cell - cell interactions with supporting cell types. These features enable systematic investigation of how disease-relevant perturbations and external stimuli modulate barrier integrity and function.
To enable continuous and quantitative interrogation of these systems, we integrate bioelectronic sensing modalities, including electrical impedance-based measurements for real-time monitoring of barrier integrity. These sensing capabilities provide non-invasive, longitudinal readouts of tissue dynamics with high temporal resolution. In parallel, we employ complementary analytical methods, including permeability assays, cytokine profiling, and imaging-based analyses, to generate multidimensional datasets capturing molecular transport, inflammatory signaling, and structural changes. To further enhance reproducibility and scalability, we implement automated cell culture platforms and analysis pipelines that support high-throughput operation of MPS devices. This enables systematic perturbation studies across multiple experimental conditions and facilitates the generation of large-scale, high-content datasets. Such datasets provide a foundation for integrating experimental observations with computational approaches, including data-driven modeling and machine learning, to extract predictive insights into complex biological responses.
Overall, we establish a scalable and quantitative platform for engineering and interrogating tissue-specific functional interfaces. By combining microengineering and bioelectronics within human-relevant MPS, our approach advances the development of predictive in vitro models for studying disease mechanisms and evaluating therapeutic strategies, ultimately contributing to improved translational outcomes in biomedical research.
Colin Hisey
Northwestern University, USA
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Jina Ko
The role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and particles (EPs/EVPs) in human health and disease has garnered considerable attention over the past two decades, driven by their ability to shuttle bioactive cargo and modulate cell behavior across tissues. However, most work has focused on EVPs isolated from biofluids, whereas matrix- and surface‑bound EVPs within the extracellular matrix (ECM) remain poorly understood despite their putative roles in processes including metastasis, angiogenesis, wound healing, immune responses. Although several EVP micropatterning strategies have been proposed for single‑particle characterization, existing platforms typically rely on antibody capture, which biases the subpopulations interrogated, limits scalability, and precludes rapid, label‑free, tunable patterning of diverse EVP types at high spatial resolution.
We introduce Light‑induced Extracellular Vesicle and Particle Adsorption (LEVA), a simple yet powerful approach for generating high‑fidelity EVP micropatterns on semi‑transparent substrates using nonspecific, light‑induced adsorption. LEVA combines a poly‑L‑lysine (PLL)/methoxy‑polyethylene glycol succinimidyl valerate (mPEG‑SVA) coating with a UV digital micromirror device (DMD) and a small‑molecule photoactivator to locally remove PEG and expose positively charged PLL based on the grayscale values of a pre-defined template. After illumination, EVPs are captured in a single incubation step, enabling the creation of micron‑scale circles, microtracks, and various gradients.
We show that LEVA reproducibly generates subcellular‑resolution EVP patterns down to approximately 2 µm and supports linear, exponential, and Gaussian gradients over tens of micrometers, while remaining effective at bulk concentrations as low as 10⁵ EVs/mL. Using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and COMSOL Multiphysics, we also quantify adsorption and desorption kinetics and demonstrate that binding rates correlate with EVP size and zeta potential, where smaller, more negatively charged EVs adsorb more rapidly than larger EVs, and neutral lipid nanoparticles show negligible binding. The versatility of LEVA is further established using GFP‑EV standards, EVs from conventional and bioreactor cultures, DiFi exomeres, and E. coli EVs, all of which can be patterned robustly without particle‑specific capture ligands. Finally, we illustrate how LEVA‑generated patterns enable functional assays that directly probe cell–EVP interactions. First, “digital titration” of single EVs support multiplexed fluorescence colocalization at the single‑particle level, improving orthogonal characterization of heterogenous EVP populations. Second, micropatterned migrasome‑mimetic trails guide U‑87 MG glioblastoma cell migration, providing a controlled platform to study ECM‑bound EVPs as breadcrumb‑like cues. Finally, spatially defined patterns of E. coli EVs elicit human neutrophil swarming, revealing how bacterial EVs can organize coordinated immune responses when presented in well‑defined microenvironments.
By enabling rapid, label‑free, scalable, and tunable micropatterning of diverse EVPs with nearly single‑micrometer precision, LEVA fills a critical technology gap in the study of ECM protein‑ and surface‑bound EVPs. This platform will accelerate fundamental investigations of EVP‑mediated communication and support the design of biomimetic, immunoengineering, and diagnostic assays that exploit precisely controlled EVP organization on materials.
We introduce Light‑induced Extracellular Vesicle and Particle Adsorption (LEVA), a simple yet powerful approach for generating high‑fidelity EVP micropatterns on semi‑transparent substrates using nonspecific, light‑induced adsorption. LEVA combines a poly‑L‑lysine (PLL)/methoxy‑polyethylene glycol succinimidyl valerate (mPEG‑SVA) coating with a UV digital micromirror device (DMD) and a small‑molecule photoactivator to locally remove PEG and expose positively charged PLL based on the grayscale values of a pre-defined template. After illumination, EVPs are captured in a single incubation step, enabling the creation of micron‑scale circles, microtracks, and various gradients.
We show that LEVA reproducibly generates subcellular‑resolution EVP patterns down to approximately 2 µm and supports linear, exponential, and Gaussian gradients over tens of micrometers, while remaining effective at bulk concentrations as low as 10⁵ EVs/mL. Using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and COMSOL Multiphysics, we also quantify adsorption and desorption kinetics and demonstrate that binding rates correlate with EVP size and zeta potential, where smaller, more negatively charged EVs adsorb more rapidly than larger EVs, and neutral lipid nanoparticles show negligible binding. The versatility of LEVA is further established using GFP‑EV standards, EVs from conventional and bioreactor cultures, DiFi exomeres, and E. coli EVs, all of which can be patterned robustly without particle‑specific capture ligands. Finally, we illustrate how LEVA‑generated patterns enable functional assays that directly probe cell–EVP interactions. First, “digital titration” of single EVs support multiplexed fluorescence colocalization at the single‑particle level, improving orthogonal characterization of heterogenous EVP populations. Second, micropatterned migrasome‑mimetic trails guide U‑87 MG glioblastoma cell migration, providing a controlled platform to study ECM‑bound EVPs as breadcrumb‑like cues. Finally, spatially defined patterns of E. coli EVs elicit human neutrophil swarming, revealing how bacterial EVs can organize coordinated immune responses when presented in well‑defined microenvironments.
By enabling rapid, label‑free, scalable, and tunable micropatterning of diverse EVPs with nearly single‑micrometer precision, LEVA fills a critical technology gap in the study of ECM protein‑ and surface‑bound EVPs. This platform will accelerate fundamental investigations of EVP‑mediated communication and support the design of biomimetic, immunoengineering, and diagnostic assays that exploit precisely controlled EVP organization on materials.
University of Pennsylvania, USA
BIOENGINEERED MODELS OF OVARIAN CANCER MECHANOBIOLOGY
Susan Leggett
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA
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PATTERNED BIOMATERIALS: NEW TOOLS TO PROBE AND CONTROL COMPLEX BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
Ovarian cancer progression is a highly dynamic process shaped by the tumor microenvironment, multitissue interactions, and biomechanical cues. Unlike many solid tumors, ovarian cancer commonly spreads through transcoelomic dissemination, in which cancer cells shed from the primary tumor into the fluid-filled peritoneal cavity, survive in suspension as individual cells or multicellular clusters, and subsequently attach to and colonize distant mesothelial surfaces. These early events are difficult to capture in vivo and remain poorly represented by conventional culture systems, limiting mechanistic insight into how physical context and local mechanics regulate metastatic success. Our laboratory develops bioengineered on-chip models that reconstruct key features of the ovarian microenvironment using scalable and imaging-compatible microfabrication approaches. Three-dimensional printing methods are used to generate PDMS-based organ-chip devices and supporting platform components, enabling rapid, reproducible fabrication and iterative design. To address the clinical challenge of late detection, we have established an anatomy-informed bioengineered ovarian model that mimics tissue geometry and enables studies of early tumor development. In parallel, we have developed a peritoneal cavity-on-a-chip that incorporates a fluid-filled three-dimensional cavity, mesothelial interfaces, and tunable extracellular environments to model ovarian cancer transcoelomic dissemination. Integrated live-cell imaging enables direct analysis and real-time visualization of how cancer cells proliferate, how individual cells and multicellular clusters transit through fluid spaces, and how they interact with the peritoneal mesothelium to initiate colonization at distant sites. Together, these approaches provide an accessible platform for studying ovarian cancer across stages ranging from early tumor development to metastatic colonization, opening a new experimental window onto disease progression that has remained difficult to access.
Jouha Min
University of Michigan, USA
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Avanish Mishra
Engineered materials and molecular sensing tools are transforming how we study and control complex biological systems. Yet many technologies operate at a single scale--either manipulating cellular environments without molecular precision or profiling molecular signals without spatial or mechanical context. My lab addresses this challenge through chemical and materials innovation, developing scalable platforms that integrate molecular design with quantitative analysis. We focus on two complementary directions: (1) physico-chemical design of soft interfaces with tunable nanoscale architecture and dynamic mechanics to probe and control material - biology interactions, and (2) biomolecular sensing platforms that combine polymer chemistry, optical or electrochemical detection, and data-driven analysis for accessible diagnostics. In this talk, I will highlight two representative efforts: nature-inspired nanopatterned coatings with dynamically tunable surface topography for long-term antibacterial activity, and integrated bioanalytical sensing technologies for early, point-of-care detection of sepsis.
Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
Maral P. S. Mousavi
University of Southern California, USA
4D TISSUE ENGINEERING OF BIOLOGICAL ACTUATORS FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE AND BIOHYBRID ROBOTICS
Ritu Raman
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
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Shang Song
All voluntary movement in humans and many other biological creatures is powered by skeletal muscle, controlled by peripheral nerves, and supplied by blood vessels. These tissues work together to form biological actuators that can efficiently generate dynamic forces while adapting their form and function to changing environmental stimuli. The Raman Lab develops biofabrication tools to build multicellular and functional models of vascularized and innervated muscle. Tissue engineering such biological actuators enables understanding and treating diseases that limit human mobility, and powering "biohybrid" robots that dynamically sense and adapt to their environments. This talk will discuss our work towards:
1) Developing 4D biofabrication tools that enable scalable and reproducible fabrication of multicellular living systems.
2) Advancing fundamental understanding of how exercise mediates assembly, maturation, and repair in the neuromuscular system.
3) Creating predictive design frameworks to deploy adaptable and sustainable muscle-actuated robots.
1) Developing 4D biofabrication tools that enable scalable and reproducible fabrication of multicellular living systems.
2) Advancing fundamental understanding of how exercise mediates assembly, maturation, and repair in the neuromuscular system.
3) Creating predictive design frameworks to deploy adaptable and sustainable muscle-actuated robots.
University of Arizona, USA
Julea Vlassakis
Rice University, USA
SPATIOTEMPORAL MOLECULAR PROFILING OF INFLAMMATION IN LIVE ANIMALS WITH MICROENGINEERED DEVICES
Daniel Z. Wang
CZI Biohub Chicago, USA
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Understanding how inflammation evolves across space and time is essential to uncovering the molecular mechanisms that drive disease progression and recovery. Yet, most existing omics approaches capture only static molecular "snapshots," offering limited insight into the dynamic processes occurring within living tissues.
In this talk, I will introduce a new class of microengineered devices designed to probe inflammation as it unfolds in vivo. By integrating minimally invasive sampling technology with high-resolution mass spectrometry, these systems enable temporal monitoring of >100 metabolites in live animals, revealing how the local metabolome changes over the course of disease. This approach opens new possibilities for generating information-rich datasets that illuminate the kinetics of inflammation and advance our understanding of dynamic disease biology.
In this talk, I will introduce a new class of microengineered devices designed to probe inflammation as it unfolds in vivo. By integrating minimally invasive sampling technology with high-resolution mass spectrometry, these systems enable temporal monitoring of >100 metabolites in live animals, revealing how the local metabolome changes over the course of disease. This approach opens new possibilities for generating information-rich datasets that illuminate the kinetics of inflammation and advance our understanding of dynamic disease biology.