News & Events / BME Seminar Series / Past Seminar Speakers / 2017-18Rebecca Carrier, PhD
BME Seminar Series Spring 2018
Thursday, May 3, 2018 at 4-5 pm
Tech L361
Host: Professor Guillermo Ameer
Chair of Research and Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University
Structurally Biomimetic Biomaterials for Intestinal and Retinal Tissue Engineering
The intestinal mucosal barrier is highly significant to effective oral drug delivery, nutrient absorption, and interactions between microbes and underlying tissues. The mucosa is exposed each day to dynamic and variable intestinal lumen contents, yet the impact of these contents on the mucosal barrier is not well understood. Our laboratory is studying the impact of ingested materials, such as lipids in drug delivery systems or food, on transport through the intestinal mucosa of molecules (e.g., drugs and nutrients), particulates (e.g., drug carrier systems), and microbes. Results indicate that mild stimuli, such as those presented by food, can modulate the intestinal barrier, for example to impact oral drug delivery or microbial invasion, and that permeation through mucus is highly dependent on the physical and chemical properties of the penetrating material (drug, particle, microbe). One limitation to studying the intestinal mucosal barrier is lack of appropriate in vitro experimental models. Our laboratory is working to develop engineered intestinal models incorporating microbiota in homeostasis with intestinal epithelium and immune cells for studying the links between ingested material and intestinal homeostasis/inflammation.
Learn more about Professor Rebecca Carrier and their research here.