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UID:bmeg-seminar-series-newark-2026@getjobtools.com
DTSTAMP:20260929T202031Z
DTSTART:20261002T143000Z
DTEND:20261002T153000Z
SUMMARY:BMEG Seminar Series
DESCRIPTION:Hannah Zierden\, PhD\n\nDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecul
 ar Engineering \n\nUniversity of Maryland\n\n \n\nSeminar: Engineering Ba
 cterial Extracellular Vesicles as Next-Generation Therapeutics for Women'
 s Reproductive Health\n\nThe composition of the vaginal microenvironment 
 has significant implications for gynecologic and obstetric outcomes. Wher
 e a Lactobacillus-dominated microenvironment is typically considered opti
 mal\, a polymicrobial environment is associated with increased risk for f
 emale reproductive diseases. Recent work has examined bacterial extracell
 ular vesicles (bEVs) as an important mode of microbe-host communication i
 n the female reproductive tract\, with bEVs exhibiting unique species-and
  strain-level functions that may influence women’s health outcomes. We 
 hypothesize that the physical properties of bacterial extracellular vesic
 les enable their mobility through cervicovaginal mucus and permit interac
 tions with upper female reproductive tract tissues. As the first line of 
 defense against bacteria and pathogens\, cervicovaginal mucus protects ag
 ainst infection in the female reproductive tract through steric\, hydroph
 obic\, and electrostatic interactions with foreign pathogens. We demonstr
 ate that the barrier properties of mucus prohibit the diffusion of whole 
 bacteria through mucus\, but that bEVs from common vaginal microbes diffu
 se more freely. Leveraging these endogenous barrier-crossing abilities of
  bEVs\, we engineer bEVs as drug delivery carriers to deliver therapeutic
  proteins to the female reproductive tract. Our work demonstrates the abi
 lity of bEVs to mediate female reproductive diseases and highlights their
  potential as therapeutic modalities for treating dysbiosis and dysbiosis
 -associated diseases in the female reproductive tract. \n\nDr. Hannah Zie
 rden joined the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at th
 e University of Maryland in 2022. Prior to joining UMD\, Dr. Zierden earn
 ed her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Johns Hopkins Universi
LOCATION:Ammon Pinizzotto Biopharmaceutical Innovation Center\, 140\, New
 ark\, DE\, United States
URL:https://events.udel.edu/event/bmeg-seminar-series
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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