Med platforms Matter: Materials science for cancer diagnostics and treatment

With the continued rise of interdisciplinary approaches bridging life and physical sciences, researchers are using every toolkit available to tackle the most pressing health problems. Med and Matter recognize that multiple driving technologies emerging in medicine are being developed on innovative and advanced materials platforms; these technologies exploit the behavior of novel materials and phenomena, including biocompatible chemistries and mechanics, adaptive structures, transport properties, photodynamics, and more. Simply put, the underlying platforms used for medicine matter. Here, we focus on materials-based solutions for potential cancer treatment, diagnostics, and the next generation of personalized medicine. About the speakers Dr. Ali Khademhosseini is the CEO of the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation. Formerly, he was the Levi Knight Professor of Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, and Radiology at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), and also a Professor at Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute. Khademhosseini is best known for developing hydrogels for tissue engineering and bioprinting. Dr. Natalie Artzi holds research appointments at Harvard Medical School, MIT, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Dr. Artzi is the recipient of multiple grants and awards, including the One Brave Idea; Stepping Strong Innovator, and Breakthrough Awards; Controlled Release Society Young Investigator Award; Mid-Career Award from the Society for Biomaterials; and the Bright Futures Prize. Dr. Wei Tao is an assistant professor at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Tao has received multiple awards and grants, including the U.S. METAvivor Early Career Investigator Award; Harvard Anesthesia Department Basic Scientist Grant; Khoury Innovation Award; Center for Nanomedicine Research Fund; Stepping Strong Breakthrough Innovator Award (Co-PI); and the American Heart Association (AHA) Collaborative Sciences Award (Co-PI).