Pre-Meeting Workshops
Expand Your Skills Before the Conference!
Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2027
Enhance your conference experience by participating in our pre-meeting workshops. These focused sessions provide specialized training and hands-on learning opportunities led by experts in biomaterials. Register early, as space is limited, to ensure you don’t miss this chance for professional growth. Tickets and RSVPs are required to be added to your registration in order to attend these Workshops.
Advanced Materials Characterization Across Material Classes: Metals, Ceramics, Polymers, and Biomedical Systems
Location: Seattle Convention Center
Ticket Fee: TBD
The development of advanced materials increasingly relies on the ability to characterize structure, composition, properties, and performance across multiple length and time scales. Modern challenges in materials science span a broad spectrum of material classes, including structural alloys, additive-manufactured metals, bioactive ceramics, polymers, hydrogels, and biomedical devices. While these materials serve vastly different applications, they share a common need for advanced characterization methods capable of revealing critical structure–property–performance relationships.
This symposium will bring together internationally recognized experts working across metals, ceramics, polymers, and biomedical materials to discuss state-of-the-art characterization approaches. Topics will include atom probe tomography, advanced electron microscopy, synchrotron and diffraction techniques, surface and interface characterization, in situ and operando measurements, and multimodal approaches that integrate characterization with processing and performance evaluation.
By highlighting common challenges and opportunities across diverse material systems, the workshop aims to foster cross-disciplinary discussions and inspire new collaborations among researchers developing the next generation of materials for engineering, manufacturing, and healthcare applications.
Biomaterials in Pediatrics: From Discovery to Clinical Translation at Seattle Children’s
Location: Seattle Children’s Research Institute
Ticket Fee: TBD
This immersive workshop will provide attendees with an inside look at how biomaterials research is translated from laboratory discovery toward therapies for pediatric diseases at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Hosted at the Building Cure research facility, the workshop will include a guided tour highlighting the research infrastructure supporting interdisciplinary pediatric science, followed by a tour of the GMP manufacturing facility at Seattle Children’s Therapeutics to demonstrate how discoveries progress toward clinical-grade therapeutic development. A scientific session will introduce the research mission and translational ecosystem at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and feature presentations from three postdoctoral researchers applying biomaterials and bioengineering approaches to pediatric disease. Speakers will highlight emerging technologies, scientific challenges unique to pediatric translation, and opportunities for biomaterials scientists to address unmet needs in children. The workshop will connect fundamental biomaterials research, pediatric disease biology, translational science, and clinical manufacturing within a single integrated experience.
Future Biomaterials Faculty Workshop
Location: Seattle Convention Center
Ticket Fee: TBD
This workshop will focus on applying for faculty positions and how to get started in an academic career. It is geared towards those applying for a faculty position in <1-3 years. We will describe the application and interview process (where to look for positions, components of the application package, typical interview schedule/questions), how to stand out/network and land that position, and what to do now that you have gotten an offer (negotiating). Current junior faculty will also describe their experience and advice for getting started in a new academic position (how to set up and manage your lab, how to recruit and mentor students, etc.). There will be opportunities to network with fellow participants and panelists. In the months following the workshop, workshop attendees that are applying for academic positions in the coming academic year, will be offered an opportunity to receive feedback from current biomaterials faculty on one of the most daunting and often nebulous aspects of the faculty interview – the “chalk” talk.
Hands on Generation of Microgels: A Simple, User-Agnostic Platform for Scalable Microgel Generation
Location: Seattle Convention Center
Ticket Fee: TBD
Granular hydrogels and their microgel building blocks have gained significant attention due to their inherent structure–function properties, including the ability to form microporous materials when packed together. These materials have broad utility as injectable platforms for wound healing and tissue regeneration, tissue engineering scaffolds, and bioprinting applications. However, one barrier to adopting a desired biomaterial into a granular hydrogel platform is the lack of simple, user-friendly tools for reproducibly generating monodisperse droplets microgels at scale.
This workshop will:
- Introduce participants to microfluidic droplet-generation platforms, with an emphasis on scalable droplet production
- Provide a hands-on demonstration of on-the-spot, calibration-free, flow-insensitive polymer droplet generation for microgel production using a single-input droplet generator
- Offer a synopsis of how to design these systems and implement them in your own lab.
LOVAMAP Software for Analyzing Porosity in Granular Biomaterials
Location: Seattle Convention Center
Ticket Fee: TBD
It's not a straightforward or reproducible task to quantify features of porosity in a granular biomaterial.
We share how to analyze pore space using LOVAMAP.com, which allows users to easily pre-process microscope images and run automated analysis.
Outputs include over 40 standardized metrics that span pore size and shape, path information, and pore-ligand availability.
Recent Advances in 3D Printing of Biomaterials and Medical Devices
Location: Seattle Convention Center
Ticket Fee: TBD
Biomaterials researchers in academia, government, and industry have examined the use of 3D printing technologies to overcome the limitations associated with conventional manufacturing processes. These technologies involve the fabrication of three-dimensional structures via the joining of materials in a layer-by-layer manner. This workshop will provide an update on recent developments in 3D printing technologies for processing biomaterials into artificial tissues, biosensors, drug delivery devices, medical instruments, medical models, and food products. Several topics related to 3D printing, including processing of radiographic images, development of computer models, novel 3D printing technologies, and novel materials for use in 3D printing, will be discussed. This workshop will support discussion among the many groups involved in the development and use of 3D printing technologies, including biomaterials scientists, medical device manufacturers, and clinicians. We anticipate that this workshop will facilitate future research activities, including industry-university collaborations, involving 3D printing of biomaterials for use in medicine, dentistry, and surgery.
Shaping the Living Blueprint through Advanced Biomaterials
Location: Seattle Convention Center
Ticket Fee: TBD
Cutting-edge advancements in biomaterials are revolutionizing healthcare, enhancing patient outcomes, and driving economic growth globally. This workshop, organized by the Chinese Association for Biomaterials, aims to bring together leading experts to discuss key elements of successful biomaterial technology development, biomedical applications, and clinical and industrial translation. It seeks to bridge the gap between innovation and practical, impactful solutions in healthcare. The workshop will also provide an excellent platform for networking and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among participants, including academic researchers, clinicians, industry professionals, and students. Experts at various career stages, from early-career investigators to established leaders, will be invited to share their insights and experiences from academic, industrial, and clinical perspectives.
For additional questions please reach out to the SFB Meetings Department at info@biomaterials.org