Exploring high-affinity “Chemical antibodies”: From discovery to transformational applications

Abstract: Nucleic acid aptamers (aptamers) are single-stranded synthetic oligonucleotides with the ability to bind target molecules with high affinities and specificities comparable to antibodies. Thus, aptamers are commonly referred to as “chemical antibodies” or “synthetic antibodies” and have been widely studied in virtually all areas where antibodies are designed. However, it is time-consuming and labor-intensive to discover functional aptamers with good quality. This presentation will cover three topics: 1) discussing a new method recently developed in the lab – HAS for one-step aptamer discovery; 2) introducing the application of aptamers for the development of the biomimetic extracellular matrix (ECM); and 3) discussing potential applications of the biomimetic ECM such as protein delivery and regenerative medicine.

Biography: Dr. Wang is a professor in Biomedical Engineering (BME) and currently holds the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Cell Medicine. Dr. Wang received a BS degree in Environmental Chemistry from Jilin University in 1995, and a MS degree in Chemical Engineering from the Chinese Academy of Sciences 1998. Dr. Wang got his Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in 2004. After two years of postdoctoral training at the Duke University Medical Center, Dr. Wang took a faculty position at the University of Connecticut in 2006. Dr. Wang was early promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2011 and was approved for promotion to Full Professor at Penn State in 2016. He received a CAREER Award and an INSPIRE Award from NSF. Dr. Wang is Fellow of AIMBE. Dr. Wang enjoys different sports. Now Dr. Wang spends most of his leisure time playing soccer with his son.