1F: Immunomodulatory Biomaterials 1

Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Time: 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Room: Hanover FG
Session Type: Concurrent Session 1

Description

This session will highlight recent advances in the design and application of biomaterials that actively shape immune responses for therapeutic benefit. These biomaterials will span natural and synthetic materials engineered to modulate both innate and adaptive immunity in contexts including tissue repair, regenerative medicine, autoimmune disease, allergies, cancer immunotherapy, and transplantation. Topics will include, but are not limited to, the delivery of immunomodulators and imaging agents, antigen delivery, scaffolds for immunomodulation, microbiome modulation, combination therapies, cell-based therapies, and hydrogels for driving immune cell recruitment and polarization.

Moderators:

Dr. Brian Kwee
Assistant Professor
University of Delaware

Yaoying Wu
Assistant Professor
Biomedical and Chemical Engineering
Syracuse University

  • 1:30 PM. 34. Chirality-Driven Modulation of Macrophage Phenotype in Microporous Annealed Particle Scaffolds.Jeremy Thomas, B.S.1, Alejandra Suarez-Arnedo1, Yining Liu, PhD1, Pablo Cordero1, April Chavez Espinoza, B.S.1, Tatiana Segura, PhD1 1Duke University

  • 1:45 PM. 35. Macroporous Scaffolds For Fibroblastic Reticular Cell Delivery and T Cell Immune Regulation in Type 1 Diabetes.Leonor Teles, BS1, Quintin Spey, BS, MS1, Chris Li2, Lucy Ho, BS1, Ana Hernandez, BS3, Camillo Bechi Genzano, MD4, Remi Creusot, PhD4, Alice Tomei5 1University of Miami, 2Unviersity of Miami, 3University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 4Columbia Center for Translational Immunology, 5University of Miami, Diabetes Research Institute

  • 2:00 PM. 36. Immune Checkpoint–Conjugated Granular Hydrogels Promote Treg-Mediated Control of Psoriatic Inflammation.Kenneth Kim1, Arielle D'Elia2, Lindsay Hager, MS2, Christopher Rodell, Ph.D.2 1Drexel University College of Medicine, 2Drexel University

  • 2:15 PM. 37. Localized versus Systemically Delivered Immunomodulation for Treatment of Psoriasis.Jennifer Simonovich, PhD1, Madeline Fuchs1, Sabrina Macias, PhD1, Arun Wanchoo, PhD1, Dorina Avram, PhD2, Gregory Hudalla, PhD1, Benjamin Keselowsky, PhD1 1University of Florida, 2Moffitt Cancer Center

  • 2:30 PM. 38. Commensal bacteria-derived sugar nanoparticles encapsulating glycosylated antigen for treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.Zhenyu Wang, M.S.1, Nicole Crow1, Jamal Lewis, Ph.D.1, Jada Brown1, Amber Nguyen1, Tracy Chen1 1University of Florida

  • 2:45 PM. 39. Development of an Injectable Alginate Hydrogel for Enhanced MSC Viability and Targeted Delivery in Rat Intervertebral Disc Repair.Mohammadjafar Hashemi, PhD in chemical engineering1, Julia Victore1, Charlotte Chen1, Sade Williams Clayton1, Simon Tang1, Lori Setton1, Nathaniel Huebsch1 1Washington University in St. Louis

  • 3:00 PM. 40. Overcoming Regulatory T Cell Immunosuppression via Metal-Organic Framework Delivery.Mayayi Izzo1, Meredith Davis1, Ezra Cho1, Fanrui Sha, PhD2, Julian Magdalenski3, Omar Farha, PhD3, Michelle Teplensky, PhD1 1Boston University, 2AbbVie, 3Northwestern University

  • 3:15 PM. 41. Immune Activating Nanoparticles for Treatment of Glioblastoma.Alexander Kwiatkowski, PhD1, Jacob Schulman, BS1, Hayden Pagendarm, BS1, Mia Woodruff, BS1, John Wilson, PhD1 1Vanderbilt University