The Armour College of Engineering Department of Biomedical Engineering will present the spring 2018 Senior Seminar on Friday, April 6 at 1:50 p.m. in Wishnick Hall, Room 113. Guest speaker Christina Chan, Ph.D., George W. Bissell Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Michigan State University, will discuss  the role of the microenvironment on mediating cell function and its impact on diseases to tissue repair.

Chan’s laboratory applies a multifaceted approach in investigating the role of soluble (e.g. elevated fatty acid levels) and physical (e.g. anisotropy) cues in the microenvironment on modulating the signaling and regulatory pathways that control cell function. Her group incorporates metabolic engineering and systems biology approaches in combination with biochemical and molecular biology measurements to identify targets and disease biomarkers. To modulate these targets and pathway Chan is developing polymeric-based drug delivery systems. Additionally, tissue engineering offers an alternative approach to treating diseases. Along those lines her group is investigating how scaffolds, cells, and biologically active molecules interact to control cell function.

This event is free and open to the Illinois Tech community.