Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Seminar: Wet, Tough Adhesion for Merging Human-Machine Interface

Jiawei Yang, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow

Kock Institute for Integrative Cancer Research

Wet, Tough Adhesion for Merging Human-Machine Interface

Abstract: Medical devices implanted and functioned inside the human body offer a revolutionary tool to treat diseases and restore organ functions. Whereas human organs are mostly soft, wet, and bio-active, these artificial machines are typically hard, dry, and bio-inactive. Integrating machines and humans is of great significance to build human-machine intelligence inside the body for medical innovations. Examples include bioelectronics, organ replacement, regenerative medicine, and drug delivery. However, the intrinsically distinct properties between biological tissues and implanted materials make the integration extremely challenging. Biological tissues are structurally similar to hydrogels, consisting of a sparse polymer network and a large amount of water molecules. The abundance of water in the hydrogel poses a particular challenge to its adhesion to other materials. In this talk, I will show wet adhesion can be made tough, by eliciting the synergy of chemistry of bonds, mechanics of dissipation, and topology of connection. I will describe a variety of designs of molecular topology to integrate biological tissues, hydrogels, and many other materials, discuss the fundamental understanding and engineering of adhesion, and demonstrate several emerging medical applications. I will conclude with our recent efforts to develop immunomodulatory implantable devices and adhesives for long-term implantation-based therapeutics.

Dr. Jiawei Yang is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a research fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital. He received B.E. and D.Eng. from Tongji University in 2009 and 2015, and M.S. and Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University in 2016 and 2019. His research interests lie at the junction of mechanics, materials, and medicine, particularly focusing on the fundamental understanding, engineering, and translational application of soft materials and biomaterials, materials intelligence, and implantation biotechnology. His research mission is to advance science and biotechnology of human-integrated intelligent implants and systems for addressing grand challenges in health.

Please contact Hind BenGagr for Zoom information.