Today and tomorrow. [blackwelder] School of Chemical Engineering Kelly Lectures 50th Anniversary Dr. Nicholas A. Peppas Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering University of Texas at Austin "Multiresponsive Nanogels for the Delivery of Small Interfering RNA and Advanced Protein Therapeutic Agents" Tuesday, April 28, 2015 9:00-10:15 a.m. FRNY G140 Reception at 8:30 a.m. in Henson Atrium Abstract. Engineering the molecular design of intelligent biomaterials by controlling structure, recognition and specificity is the first step in coordinating and duplicating complex biological and physiological processes. Recent developments in siRNA and protein delivery have been directed towards the preparation of targeted formulations for protein delivery to specific sites, use of environmentally-responsive polymers to achieve pH- or temperature-triggered delivery, usually in modulated mode, and improvement of the behavior of their mucoadhesive behavior and cell recognition. We address design and synthesis characteristics of novel crosslinked networks capable of protein release as well as artificial molecular structures capable of specific molecular recognition of biological molecules. We have been successful in synthesizing novel protein-binding molecules based on non-covalent directed interactions. We have also developed structurally superior materials to serve as effective carriers for siRNA delivery to combat Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis. "Intelligent Polymer Hydrogels: From Obscure Molecular Structures to Useful Multifunctional Systems" Wednesday, April 29, 2015 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. FRNY 3059 Abstract. Cross-linked polymeric networks with diverse characteristics and properties have been in the center of polymer physics research over the past 40 years. We examine how the field started in the early 1930s and how chemical engineers and chemists set the fundamentals of molecular structures and theories for the Gaussian and non-Gaussian behavior of these networks. We address the highly non-ideal thermodynamic behavior of such systems and present the latest theories of solute diffusion through them. We address the so-called "intelligence" of such networks in physiological and other solutions. We conclude with directions for future research in this field. Bio. Nicholas A. Peppas is the Cockrell Family Regents Chaired Professor in the Departments of Chemical, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacy, Chairman of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Institute of Biomaterials, Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine of the University of Texas at Austin. His work in biomaterials, polymer physics, drug delivery and bionanotechnology follows a multidisciplinary approach by blending modern molecular and cellular biology with engineering principles to design the next-generation of medical systems and devices for patient treatment. Over the past 40 years he has set the fundamentals and rational design of drug delivery systems and developed models of drug and protein diffusion in controlled release devices and biological tissues. A significant portion of this work was performed at Purdue University (1976-2002) where Peppas was Professor of Chemical Engineering as well as the Showalter Distinguished Professor Biomedical Engineering. In 2012 he received the Founders Award of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), the highest recognition of the Academy, for these contributions to the field. Peppas is a member of the NAE, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, National Academy of Inventors, the National Academy of France, the Royal Academy of Spain, the Academy of Athens and the Academy of Texas. He has been recognized with awards from AIChE (Founders Award, William Walker Award, Institute Lecture, Jay Bailey Award, Bioengineering Award, Materials Award), the Biomedical Engineering Society (Distinguished Scientist Award), the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (Galletti Award), the Society for Biomaterials (Founders, Clemson and Hall Awards), the Controlled Release Society (Founders, Heller and Eurand Awards) and other societies. In 2008, AIChE named him on of the One Hundred Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era. He is President of the International Union of Societies of Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Chair of the Engineering Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Past-Chair of the Council of BME Chairs. Previously, he served as President of SFB and the Controlled Release Society. He is a fellow of AAAS, AIChE, APS, ACS, MRS, SFB, BMES, AIMBE, CRS, AAPS, and ASEE. He has supervised the research of 100 PhDs and about 180 postdocs and graduate students. Peppas holds a Dipl. Eng. from the NTU of Athens (1971), a Sc.D. from MIT (1973), and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Ghent, Parma, Athens, Ljubljana and Sichuan.
