Jones Seminar: Harnessing Extracellular Vesicles to Engineer Host-Biomaterial Interfaces

ZOOM LINK
Meeting ID: 935 8655 7757
Passcode: 008066

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are potent mediators of intercellular communication, yet their stable integration into biomaterials has remained a persistent challenge. In this seminar, I describe a framework for designing injectable, supramolecular hydrogels crosslinked by EVs, as well as the key material design principles that make this possible. Using scalable, agriculturally sourced EVs as a model system, I show how precise polymer engineering unlocks robust, tunable gel formation across multiple EV sources, from microbial to mammalian cell-derived nanovesicles. Intriguingly, yogurt-derived EV hydrogels are intrinsically bioactive, with in vivo implantation driving spontaneous angiogenesis and recruiting a distinct immune niche without requiring any additional biological payload, and highlighting a potential application in wound healing and regeneration. 

I will also present new findings on the functionality of EV hydrogel-induced vasculature and a more detailed picture of the immune landscape that emerges—pointing toward a possible crosstalk between immunity and vascular remodeling that may be central to how these materials instruct tissue repair.

Hosted by Professor Katie Hixon.

About the Speaker(s)

Santiago Correa
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia U

Santiago Correa is an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia University and assistant director of Education and Training at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. His laboratory develops nano- and macroscale biomaterials to reprogram the immune system for cancer immunotherapy and regenerative medicine, with a focus on engineering functional immune niches. 

His work appears in leading journals in nanomedicine and biomaterials, including Matter, Advanced Science, Advanced Functional Materials, ACS Nano, Angewandte Chemie, and Chemical Reviews. His research has been supported by major federal and foundation funding, including an NIH Trailblazer Award and the Beckman Young Investigator Award, recognizing innovative contributions at the interface of immunology and bioengineering. 

Correa completed his postdoctoral training as an NCI F32 Fellow in materials science and engineering at Stanford University and earned his PhD in biological engineering from MIT as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Sloan Fellow, and Siebel Scholar.

Contact

For more information, contact Amos Johnson at amos.l.johnson@dartmouth.edu.