10/23 – Matthew Bochenek, Harvard Medical School
Biomedical Engineering Seminar
October 23, 2026
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location
BME Seminar in SEO 236
Address
851 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL 60607
Calendar
Download iCal FileSpeaker:
Matthew Bochenek, Ph.D.
Instructor
Harvard Medical School
Title: Living Therapeutics: engineering immune-protected cell therapies for long-term protein delivery
Abstract:
Encapsulated cell therapies have the potential to treat chronic disease without repeated clinic visits or systemic immune suppression. The cells can be primary, stem cell derived, genetically engineered, allogeneic or xenogeneic, and once transplanted they secrete a therapeutic protein on demand to regulate the disease. A semi-permeable barrier excludes immune cells that would otherwise destroy the foreign cell graft, while allowing nutrients into the device and the therapeutic protein and waste products out.
In this talk I will discuss the challenges these technologies face, and the methods we have developed to address them. The foreign body response to the encapsulation material drives fibrotic overgrowth that limits nutrient diffusion and leads to therapeutic cell death. We have developed a series of immunomodulatory material strategies that mitigate this response, including chemically modified alginate derivatives, biocompatible polycationic polymer coatings of hydrogels, ATRP small molecule coatings of plastics, and slow-release crystallized drug formulations. Each locally modulates the immune response to the encapsulation material and prolongs function of the cells.
Oxygen availability is a second constraint. Encapsulated cells rely largely on passive diffusion, and we have examined methods to improve oxygenation of the cells. This can be augmented by choosing an appropriate transplantation site, which is especially important when translating from rodents to large animal models more similar to humans. Here, we have found that microencapsulated hydrogel spheres benefit from transplantation into the omental bursa within the peritoneal cavity while macrodevices benefit by direct contact with the highly vascularized liver parenchyma. In another strategy, we targeted improving the subcutaneous site, which is highly desirable for patient acceptance but is poorly vascularized, and leads to severe hypoxia. As a solution, we developed a bioelectronic macrodevice that harvests power wirelessly and electrochemically generates oxygen in situ by water splitting, and showed that it reverses diabetes in rodents for up to three months after subcutaneous islet transplantation.
Lastly, I will cover clinical manufacturing as another major barrier to patient access, and the steps we are taking to promote success through regulatory processes.
Host: Dr. David Eddington
Date posted
Sep 21, 2026
Date updated
Sep 21, 2026