Sidi Bencherif,
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering,
Northeastern University
Professor Sidi A. Bencherif joined Northeastern University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering in 2016. Prior to coming to Northeastern University, he was a research associate at the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. Since 2015, he has been awarded the prestigious CNRS CR1 title (senior researcher) at the largest French governmental research organization and is currently appointed as an adjunct professor at the University of Technology of Compiègne in France. Prof. Bencherif received two First Class Honors Masters degrees in Physics and Chemistry (2000) and then in Materials and Technology Engineering (2002) from Montpellier II University in France. Prof. Bencherif moved to the United States in 2002 and worked for the US Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a guest researcher in the Polymer Division. In 2005, he joined the Department of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University where he received in 2009 a Master’s degree in Polymer Science and a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry under the supervision of Profs. Matyjaszewski and Washburn. Following his PhD, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Mooney at Harvard University and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. His research interests include developing minimally invasive and naturally derived cryo-treated biomaterials useful for a number of bio-related applications. His work on the development of injectable preformed scaffolds with shape memory properties (the first large-scale 3D porous scaffold to be successfully injectable trough a standard syringe) has produced bioscaffolds suitable for tissue engineering applications, controlled cell/drug delivery, cell reprograming, and more recently cancer immunotherapy. Prof. Bencherif has authored and co-authored over 50 journal articles in top journals (Science, PNAS, Nature Materials, Nature Communications, etc.), international conference proceedings, reviews and patent applications, and is the recipient of several fellowships, honors and awards.
Engineering Cryogel Scaffolds to Reconstruct Aspects of the Tumor Microenvironment
Tuesday, 18 August 2020 at 08:30
Add to Calendar ▼2020-08-18 08:30:002020-08-18 09:30:00Europe/LondonEngineering Cryogel Scaffolds to Reconstruct Aspects of the Tumor Microenvironment3D-Printing and Biofabrication 2020 in Boston, USABoston, USASELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
Hypoxia, defined as low oxygen tension, is a characteristic feature of solid tumors and a hallmark of aggressive cancers. Metabolic adaptation to hypoxia leads to tumor cell growth and invasion, resistance to apoptosis, and multi-drug resistance. For decades, a number of solid tumor models have been engineered to emulate key aspects of tumor biology such as hypoxia. However, challenges with tumor formation and reproducibility, inadequate biomechanical cues and 3D microenvironmental features provided to cells, and uncontrolled oxygen depletion among other limitations led to non-physiological tumor cell responses and inaccurate clinical predictions to anti-cancer drugs. To model solid tumors more accurately, we have recently developed an innovative approach using macroporous cryogel scaffolds to induce rapid oxygen depletion while enabling cellular rearrangement into spherical-like cell aggregates within a 3D polymer network. Our preliminary data suggest that our engineered cryogel scaffolds are capable of inducing local hypoxia while promoting tumor cell remodeling and aggressiveness, leading to anti-cancer drug resistance. Tumor-laden cryogels may mimic key aspects of the native tumor microenvironment, making these advanced cellularized scaffolds a promising platform for drug screening and potentially advancing drug development and discovery.
Add to Calendar ▼2020-08-17 00:00:002020-08-18 00:00:00Europe/London3D-Printing and Biofabrication 20203D-Printing and Biofabrication 2020 in Boston, USABoston, USASELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
Add to Calendar ▼2020-08-18 08:30:002020-08-18 09:30:00Europe/LondonEngineering Cryogel Scaffolds to Reconstruct Aspects of the Tumor Microenvironment3D-Printing and Biofabrication 2020 in Boston, USABoston, USASELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
