Event Date
X. TRACY CUI, PHD
William Kepler Whiteford Professor
Department of Bioengineering
University of Pittsburgh
Abstract
Neuroelectronic devices placed in the nervous system to record and modulate neuroactivity or monitor neurochemical concentrations present tremendous potentials for understanding neural circuits and treating neurological conditions. Currently, the performance of most of these devices is suboptimal due to electrode material limitations, as well as host tissue responses including neuronal damage, inflammatory gliosis, blood brain barrier leakage and oxidative stress. We use several biomaterial strategies to minimize these responses in order to achieve seamless and stable device-tissue interface.
First, we investigated conducting polymer-based nanocomposites as electrode coatings to facilitate the signal transduction/charge transfer between the ionically conductive tissue and the electrical device. Nano-structuring is employed to improve the adhesion, stability, charge injection and drug delivery capability of the conducting polymers. Secondly, materials that mimic the mechanical properties of the neural tissue have been developed and fabricated into neural electrodes, shown to significantly reduce inflammatory tissue responses. Next, bioactive approaches are being developed to modulate cellular responses. Surface modifications with bioactive molecules and nanoparticles have been found to significantly improve neuronal health and improve recording quality and longevity. Alternatively, therapeutics that control inflammation, neurodegeneration and oxidative stress can be delivered for improved neural interface performance. The ultimate solution to a seamless device/tissue interface may be a combinatorial approach that takes advantage of multiple biomaterial strategies.
Bio
Dr. X. Tracy Cui is the William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her BS in Polymer Materials and Chemical Engineering and MS in Biophysics at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. She went on to earn her PhD in Macromolecular Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Dr Cui’s research interests lie in the area of neural engineering with special focus on neural electrode-tissue interface, neural tissue engineering, drug delivery, and biosensors. She has ~100 publications (with 7648 citations and a H index of 46, Google Scholar) and 5 patents. For her work, Dr. Cui has won numerous awards, including 2017 Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry, 2016 Fellow of American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), 2015 Carnegie Science Emerging Female Scientist Award, 2008 National Science Foundation Career Award, and 2005 Wallace Coulter Translational Research Career Award.
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