{"682011":{"#nid":"682011","#data":{"type":"event","title":"Immunoengineering Trainee Seminar","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFeatured Speakers\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u201c\u003Cstrong\u003EStudying Early-stage Epithelial Responses to Infection using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy\u003C\/strong\u003E\u201d - \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/athenachien.com\/\u0022\u003EAthena Chien\u003C\/a\u003E, Ph.D. Student, Forest Lab\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbstract\u003C\/strong\u003E:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EEpithelial tissues serve as critical barriers that regulate the transport of ions, nutrients, waste products, and pathogens. Electrophysiological measurements offer valuable insights into epithelial barrier function by capturing electrical properties linked to permeability\u2014essential for studying both healthy and diseased states, evaluating therapeutic interventions, and ensuring quality control in in vitro models. Transepithelial resistance (TER) is widely used as the gold standard to assess epithelial maturity and barrier integrity; however, TER values reported in the literature often vary significantly, even under similar conditions, and rely on oversimplified assumptions. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS\/ECIS), though less commonly employed, provides a richer understanding of epithelial transport dynamics, membrane-specific properties, and more precise assessments of membrane integrity. Beyond TER, EIS enables measurement of transepithelial capacitance (TEC) and a novel parameter we define as the membrane ratio\u2014a ratio of electrical time constants reflective of cellular and subcellular dynamics. We apply this technique to investigate rapid immune responses, including changes in permeability and capacitance associated with neutrophil migration under hyperglycemic conditions, as well as immune responses triggered by the bacterial component, lipopolysaccharide (LPS).\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0022\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEngineering Lymphatic Transport of Nanoparticles by Their Emulsion Polymerization\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0022- \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/alexanderheiler\u0022\u003EAlexander Heiler\u003C\/a\u003E, Ph.D. Student, Thomas Lab\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbstract\u003C\/strong\u003E:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EA library of established lymphatic-targeting poly(propylene sulfide) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using copolymers that comprise the NP exterior at various concentrations and with different properties. Copolymer and concentration effects on the resulting NP properties were explored, as were the transport behaviors of the NP formulations using in vitro assays modeling diffusion through the skin interstitium and permeability across and uptake into lymphatic endothelial cells that predicted their in vivo lymphatic transport and uptake. Tuning the properties of the copolymer surfactants used during NP synthesis thus enables control over both the NP characteristics and transport properties, enabling the design of lymphatic-targeting drug delivery vehicles and imaging agents with varying behaviors.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Immunoengineering Training Seminar Series is supported by the\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/immunoengineering.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECenter for Immunoengineering at Georgia Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAthena Chien (Forest Lab) and Alexander Heiler (Thomas Lab) presenting.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Athena Chien (Forest Lab) and Alexander Heiler (Thomas Lab) presenting."}],"uid":"35486","created_gmt":"2025-04-24 19:22:28","changed_gmt":"2025-04-25 16:02:25","author":"Christina Wessels","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2025-05-02T09:30:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2025-05-02T10:30:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2025-05-02T10:30:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2025-05-02 13:30:00","gmt_time_end":"2025-05-02 14:30:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2025-05-02 14:30:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Petit Biotech Building (IBB), Suddath Seminar Room 1128, 315 Ferst Drive","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"},{"id":"189814","name":"go-researchevents"},{"id":"126601","name":"go-ImmunoEngineering"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"177814","name":"Postdoc"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}