Event
BIOE Seminar: Organ-on-chip models of the lymph node and its interactions with other organs
Friday, November 10, 2023
9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
A. James Clark Hall, Room #2121
Katharina Maisel
maiselka@umd.edu
Dr. Rebecca Pompano
University of Virginia
Associate Professor
Abstract
Predicting the response of the immune system to a new vaccine, immunotherapy, or infection remains a grand challenge of biomedical science. Current models of immunity largely rely on in vivo animal studies that are difficult to control and analyze over time, or simple in vitro cultures that lack the spatial organization and cell-cell interactions of the body. Our laboratory has developed technology to model immunity outside the body by combining intact, live cultures of ex vivo lymph node tissue with 3D printed microfluidic devices to control the local microenvironment. We are using these tools to develop multi-organ microphysiological systems, such as to model the initial events after vaccination. In addition, inspired by the spatial organization of the lymph node, we are developing a spatially organized organ-on-chip model to replicate T cell and B cell interactions in this organ. Ultimately, we envision that these tools will be useful to visualize where, when, and how cells interact during immunity and inflammation, to reveal mechanisms of the immune response and inform the development of vaccines and immunotherapies.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Rebecca Pompano is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia. She completed a BS in Chemistry at the University of Richmond (2005) and a PhD (2011) at the University of Chicago. Dr. Pompano's research centers on developing cutting edge tools to unravel the complexity of the immune response. In recognition of her laboratory’s work, she has received a number of awards including most recently a 2022 Gordon and Betty Moore Inventor Fellowship and Shannon Center Mid-Career Fellowship. She has co-chaired two international conferences in her two different fields: the inaugural Gordon Research Conference for Immunoengineering in 2022, and the 2023 International Symposium on Microscale Separations and Bioanalysis, which is a bioanalytical chemistry conference. She was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society, which organizes MicroTAS, the international microfluidics conference. Prof. Pompano teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Analytical Chemistry and Bioanalytical Chemistry, respectively, and practices student-centered teaching methods such as active learning and specifications grading. She currently serves as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the Department of Chemistry at UVA. Additional information about her research group and their work is available at www.pompanolab.com.
