Kárman Conference – Materials for Life
HomeKárman Conference – Materials for Life
2nd Theodore von Kármán – Discussion Conference on Materials for Life
Bioinspired and Biomimetic Hydrogels
April 15-18 2018 at Bensberg Germany
The conference will bring together leading scientists from the fields of bioinspired materials engineering and molecular biology to discuss the question: “How far can we proceed in the construction of fully synthetic and biohybrid tissue to engineer biomimetic systems and biomedical materials?” The highly adaptive complexity of natural tissue remains a challenge, not only regarding the scientific understanding of the signaling pathways and the involved processes, but also for the bioinspired engineering and design of synthetic substitutes and novel active materials.
Natural tissue consists of living cells and an extracellular matrix. Within this network, the activity of the cells is regulated by the topological structure, the transmission of mechanical clues, and the exchange of molecular signals. Synthetic advances in the engineering of hydrogels have provided the means to replace the extracellular matrix or components thereof by artificial hydrogels. The micro and meso-structure as well as the mechanical properties of such hydrogels can be tailored to provide the ligands and signals required for hybridization with living cells and the direction of cell behavior in a controlled manner. Thereby, they offer the advantage of presenting a reduced complexity compared to the natural extracellular matrix and prevent undesired biological reactions intrinsic to the multi-functionality of natural components. Within this concept, bringing together the advanced knowledge on designing hierarchically structured hydrogels to understand and mimic the mechanical and chemical signals is a particulate challenge. In addition, mastering spatiodynamic behavior is crucial to design controlled adaptive properties. Therefore, it is highly desired to combine advanced knowledge on the molecular cell signaling mechanisms on one side and synthetic skills, as well as physical understanding of the hydrogel properties on the other side.
The conference is organized within the tasks of the Marie Skłodowska Curie International Training Network Biogel. Besides participants of this network, invited speakers are scientists who contribute to the benchmarking of this quickly emerging topic.
DOWNLOAD OUR FLYER HERE!
DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAM HERE!
SESSIONS
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CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
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Dennis Discher
Biophysical Engineering Lab, University of Pennsylvania
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Dror Seliktar
Biomedical Engineering, Technion University, Israel
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Benjamin Geiger
Molecular Cell Biology , Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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Joachim Spatz
New Materials and Biosystems, Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme, Stuttgart, Germany
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Jürgen Groll
Department for functional materials in medicine and dentistry, University of Würzburg
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Alan Rowan
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, Australia
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Paul Kouwer
Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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José Carlos Rodríguez Cabello
BIOFORGE, University of Valladolid
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Virgil Percec
Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania
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Mitsuru Akashi
Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University
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Takuzo Aida
Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, University of Tokyo
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Aránzazu del Campo Bécares
Dynamische Biomaterialien, INM – Leibniz-Institut für Neue Materialien
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Carsten Werner
Institute of Biofunctional Polymer Materials, Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V.
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Sergei Sheiko
Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina
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Hua Ye
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oxford
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Peter Seeberger
Max-Planck-Institut für Kolloid- und Grenzflächenforschung
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Tatiana Segura
Pratt School of Engineering Duke University, Durham, NC
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Sarah Christine Heilshorn
Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University
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Matthias Lutolf
Laboratory of Stem Cell Engineering, Switzerland
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Esther Amstad
Soft Materials Laboratory SMAL, EPFL Lausanne
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Ovijit Chaudhuri
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford, California, USA
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Sanjay Kumar
University of California, Berkeley, USA
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Britta Trappmann
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Münster, Germany
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Cole DeForest
Chemical Engineering, University of Washington, USA
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Avi Schroeder
Chemical Engineering, Technion University, Israel
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Martin Möller DWI
Leibniz Institute for Interaktive Materials e.V., Aachen Germany
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Wilfried Weber
BIOSS and Institute of Biology II (Biochemistry), University Freiburg, Germany
The Conference is organisez by:
Martin Möller
DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials & RWTH Aachen University
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Stefan Jockenhövel
Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering & Institut für Textiltechnik & RWTH Aachen University | University Hospital Aachen
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Laura De Laporte
DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials & RWTH Aachen University
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Marie Skłodowska Curie International Training Network Biogel
VENUE
Kardinal Schulte Haus, Overather Straße 51 | 51429 Bergisch Gladbach | Stadtteil Bensberg, GERMANY
https://tagen.erzbistum-koeln.de/ksh/
TRAVELLING
The closest airports are Cologne-Bonn, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt. Then take a train to Cologne Main Station and change to the suburban train 11 (S-Bahn) to Bergisch-Gladbach. After reaching Bergisch-Gladbach you take the bus 227 towards Overath / Moitzfeld. Get off at the bus stop ‚Thomas-Morus-Akademie‘.
Taxi from Cologne Main Station: 40 – 50 €; Taxi from Bergisch-Gladbach Train Station: ~20 €
CONTACT
+Dr. Laura De Laporte
Tel.: +49 (0)241-80233-40
E-Mail: delaporte@dwi.rwth-aachen.de
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Dr. Elisabeth Heine
Tel.: +49 (0)241-80233-48
E-Mail: heine@dwi.rwth-aachen.de
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Lydia Moosche
Tel.: +49 (0)241-80233-03
E-Mail: moosche@dwi.rwth-aachen.de
Information for Poster presenters:
– Poster size: standard vertical poster analogous e.g. to A0 size.
– There will be numbers and mounting materials at the poster walls.
– Posters can be mounted on Sunday, 15th April 2018 from 2 pm, and should be removed on Wednesday, 18th April 2018, after 1 pm
We will award 4 selected poster abstracts for a Travel Fellowship of 520 €. If you would like to apply, please provide us with a brief motivation on why you are the best candidate to receive this price and why you would like to join this conference.
(max 1,500 characters including spaces, converted in PDF).
Registration is now opened!
Due to great interest in the Biogel conference, all single rooms are now booked, we only have double rooms available. The single room option is now only available for speakers! When you register, the organization will find a nice partner for you. This will only increase scientific exchange.
Fill your registration form here:
The registration fee includes symposium participation, accommodation at the venue and meals (afternoon of April 15 – lunch on April 18, 2018).
Registration fee incl. single room: 550,22 €
Registration fee incl. double room: 450 €
