Conference: DMR-NIBIB Planning Workshop: Leveraging data-driven design and synthetic biology to enable next-generation active biomaterials

Non-technical Abstract: This award will support a planning workshop at the University of Oregon entitled “Leveraging data-driven design and synthetic biology to enable next-generation active biomaterials” as part of a new collaboration between the National Science Foundation’s Division of Materials Research (DMR) and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). Biomaterials have evolved from ‘off the shelf’ materials to materials that actively interact with biological systems such as the human body. This “next generation” of biomaterials have tunable properties for numerous biological applications, including tissue engineering, integrative biology, and drug delivery. These scientific contributions have shown great promise in advancing biology and human health; however, a major gap exists in converting these exciting advances in materials science into feasible approaches tailored toward pressing biomedical problems. This workshop will be a forum to highlight and explore the recent developments in the field and facilitate the development of a multidisciplinary plan to bridge the gap to clinical translation. This workshop will focus on 4 topics integral to developing and translating next-generation biomaterials: data-driven methods for biomaterials design, synthetic biology-enabled biomaterials, smart/responsive biomaterials, and biofabrication and biointerfaces. The objectives of the workshop are to: I. Showcase recent advances in the next generation biomaterials; II. Facilitate a dialogue between polymer scientists, chemists, bioengineers, and biologists to further the design and application of biomaterials and to bridge the gap to clinical translation; and III. Broaden the (1) scope of biomaterials research to match the diversity of patient populations (ethnicity, gender, etc.) and (2) participants, especially from historically marginalized groups, to drive creative and unique approaches to biomaterials research. Technical Abstract: This award will support a planning workshop at the University of Oregon entitled “Leveraging data-driven design and synthetic biology to enable next-generation active biomaterials” as part of a new collaboration between the National Science Foundation’s Division of Materials Research (DMR) and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). Biomaterials have evolved from implanted ‘off the shelf’ materials to rationally designed materials that interact with and instruct biological systems to achieve desired biological outcomes. This “next generation” of biomaterials are currently being developed to meet the growing demand for materials with tailored and tunable properties for numerous biological applications, including tissue engineering, integrative biology, and drug delivery. These scientific contributions have shown great promise in advancing numerous biomaterials-based applications. However, a major gap exists in converting these exciting advances in materials science to feasible approaches tailored toward pressing biomedical problems, including achieving robust tissue regeneration after injury/disease, tuning localized and on-demand drug delivery, and enabling real-time biosensing. This workshop will be a forum to highlight and explore the recent developments in the field and facilitate the development of a multidisciplinary plan to bridge the gap to clinical translation. This workshop will focus on 4 integrated science drivers integral to developing and translating next-generation biomaterials: data-driven methods for biomaterials design, synthetic biology-enabled biomaterials, smart/responsive biomaterials, and biofabrication and biointerfaces. The objectives of the workshop are to: I. Showcase recent advances in the various science drivers’ topics of next-generation biomaterials; II. Facilitate a dialogue between polymer scientists, chemists, bioengineers, and biologists to further the design and application of biomaterials and develop a multidisciplinary plan to bridge the gap to translation; and III. Broaden the (1) scope of applications of translational biomaterials to match the diversity of patient populations (ethnicity, gender, etc.) and (2) participants, especially from historically marginalized groups, to drive creative and unique approaches. Highlighting the advances of interdisciplinary investigators from diverse backgrounds is vital to providing nucleation of these forward-looking research avenues. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.