Dr Tushar Kumeria - Smart porous materials for biomedical applications
Speaker
Dr Tushar Kumeria
Abstract
Porous nano-biomaterials are revolutionizing the field of drug delivery and tissue engineering. A number of porous materials including porous silica nanoparticles, porous/tubular titanium, porous silicon and others have been synthetically prepared extensively explored in these fields. This is made possible due to their ultrahigh surface area and large open pore volume that enables loading and controlled release of a range of therapeutics. Furthermore, the ability to modify the pore structure and surface chemistry allows for loading of difficult drugs (i.e. with poor aqueous solubility, stability, and permeation) and even proteins-based therapeutics. Recently, porous nano-biomaterials have specifically become popular for localized release of proteins and growth factors for tissue regeneration due to their ability to preserve protein/growth factor bioactivity under harsh conditions. This talk will focus on recent advances in synthesis of novel porous nano-biomateirals, and their use in drug delivery and tissue engineering.
Speaker bio
Dr Tushar Kumeria is an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Early Career Fellow at the School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. He has co-authored 54 high impact journal publications in various internationally renowned journals in the field of nanomaterials, biomaterials, sensing, and drug delivery. He completed my Ph.D. in 2015 from the University of Adelaide with a Doctoral Thesis Medal and Dean’s Commendation Letter. In 2015, he moved to the USA and spent two years at University of California-San Diego (UCSD) as a postdoc at Prof. M. J. Sailor’s group. His current research focus is on:
1. Porous silicon based delivery systems for highly efficient and targeted delivery of protein/biologics via oral or other administration route.
2. Porous silicon/Polymer composite and porous titanium dioxide based scaffolds/implants that enable local release of therapeutics and growth factors for accelerated bone regeneration,
3. Porous silicon or porous alumina photonic crystals based point-of-care sensors for diagnostics and environmental applications.
About Seminar Series
The School of Pharmacy Seminar Series involves regular formal presentations of high-quality scholarly work with broad appeal.
The wider School community is invited to attend, including academic and professional staff, special guests, visitors, as well as HDR, postgraduate, masters and honours students.