Biomaterials Science Blog

It is with great pleasure that we announce Eric Appel (Stanford University) as the recipient of the 2023 Biomaterials Science lectureship.

This award, now in its tenth year, honours an early-career researcher who has made significant contribution to the biomaterials field. The recipient is selected by the Biomaterials Science Editorial Board from a list of candidates nominated by the community.

Eric A. Appel is an Associate Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at Stanford University. He received his BS in Chemistry and MS in Polymer Science from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA. Eric performed his MS thesis research with Dr Jim Hedrick and Dr Robert Miller at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, CA. He then obtained his PhD in Chemistry with Prof. Oren A. Scherman at the University of Cambridge. For his PhD work, Eric was the recipient of the Jon Weaver PhD prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Graduate Student Award from the Materials Research Society. Upon graduating from Cambridge, he was awarded a National Research Service Award from the NIBIB and a Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Fellowship to work with Prof. Robert Langer at MIT. Eric’s research at Stanford focuses on the development of biomaterials that can be used as tools to better understand fundamental biological processes and to engineer advanced healthcare solutions. His research has led to more than one hundred publications and 30 patents. While at Stanford, Eric has been awarded young faculty awards from the Hellman Foundation, American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society, and PhRMA Foundation. He also recently received the IUPAC Hanwha-TotalEnergies Young Polymer Scientist Award in 2022 and the Society for Biomaterials Young Investigator Award in 2023. He can be found on Twitter at @AppelGroup.

Read Eric’s latest article in Biomaterials Science “Subcutaneous delivery of an antibody against SARS-Cov-2 from a supramolecular hydrogel depot” and his other publications in Biomaterials Science for FREE until 30 June. These and articles from our previous lectureship winners can be found in our lectureship winners collection.

Read our interview with Eric below:

How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article?

My early research focused on chemical design, synthesis and characterization of supramolecular polymeric materials. My lab’s research now focuses similarly on the development of these types of materials, but we also conduct extensive translational work to leverage these materials as tools to better understand fundamental biological processes and to engineer advanced solutions to big healthcare challenges.

What excites you most about your area of research and what has been the most exciting moment of your career so far?

One thing that really excites me about our area of research is the opportunity to develop new technologies to make protein drugs better. One of the major hurdles in the development of protein-based drug products is the limited number of excipients available to solve issues with stability, biodistribution, and exposure kinetics. We hope that some of the technologies we’re building can lead to better drugs. One of the most exciting moments of my career so far has been watching my first graduate students give killer defense talks.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in your field of research?

There is so much biology yet to be understood, which is both an opportunity and a challenge for engineers. We like to have targets and solid biological hypotheses that we can engineer for, but often not quite enough is known to build the ideal therapy. But there is an opportunity to use controlled delivery technologies to ask new and/or better questions to uncover important biology. The spatiotemporal control over exposure of different molecules can help figure out where, when, how hard and for how long certain pathways should be suppressed or activated for a desirable outcome.

How do you feel about Biomaterials Science as a place to publish research on this topic?

Biomaterials Science is a terrific journal at the interface between Chemistry and Bioengineering that uniquely highlights the role of robust chemical design in creating new opportunities in biomedicine.

Which of your Biomaterials Science publications are you most proud of and why?

Our most recent Biomaterials Science publication entitled “Subcutaneous delivery of an antibody against SARS-CoV-2 from a supramolecular hydrogel depot” (Biomater. Sci., 2023, 11, 2065-2079) is one of my favorite papers reporting on a long-running project we’ve been pursuing towards improving approaches to passive immunity to infectious disease. This work was highly interdisciplinary, requiring materials development, characterization of antibody encapsulation and release (including burst release, which is a major challenge with other injectable hydrogel platforms), preclinical studies in mice, and pharmacokinetic modeling to explore the requirements for scaling potential treatments to humans.

In which upcoming conferences or events (online or in person) may our readers meet you?

I’ll be at the GRC on Polymers in June, the GRC on Biomaterials in July, the ACS Fall Meeting, and the ESB2023 meeting.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with early career scientists?

Work on building a solid network of mentors, both senior mentors and peer mentors (those about 2-3 years ahead of you so that they still remember well what you’re going through). This takes a lot of energy, early and often, but it is super important to build a team of trustworthy people around you to cheer you on and provide advice when needed.

How do you spend your spare time?

My wife and I have three kids and we are a pretty active bunch. We love the outdoors, including hiking and camping. Two of my favorite hobbies are skiing in the winter and mountain biking in the summer. My two boys are also very into soccer these days, and so I spend my spare time either playing soccer with them or watching them play soccer with their teams, while my daughter loves to read and wrestle.

We would like to thank everybody who nominated a candidate for the 2023 Biomaterials Science Lectureship. The Editorial Board had a very difficult task in choosing a winner from the many excellent and worthy candidates.

Please join us in congratulating Eric on winning this award!

It is with great pleasure that we announce Yizhou Dong (Ohio State University) as the recipient of the 2022 Biomaterials Science lectureship.

This award, now in its ninth year, honours an early-career researcher who has made significant contribution to the biomaterials field. The recipient is selected by the Biomaterials Science Editorial Board from a list of candidates nominated by the community.

Yizhou Dong is an Associate Professor in the Division of Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy at The Ohio State University (OSU). He is also a member of multiple globally recognized research initiatives, such as the Translational Therapeutics Program, the Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology, the Center for Cancer Engineering, and the Center for Cancer Metabolism at the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Dong received his B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences from Peking University, Health Science Center and M.S. in organic chemistry from Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry. In 2009, he received his Ph.D. degree in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) under the supervision of Professor K.-H. Lee. From 2010 to 2014, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professors Robert Langer and Daniel Anderson at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr. Dong’s research focuses on the design and development of biotechnology platforms for the treatment of genetic disorders, infectious diseases, and cancers. He has authored over one hundred papers and patents. Several of his inventions have been licensed and are currently under development as drug candidates for clinical trials. Dr. Dong is the recipient of numerous awards, such as the Young Innovator in Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering from the Biomedical Engineering Society, the Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), the Ohio State Early Career Innovator of the Year, and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Emerging Leader Award. In 2022, he was elected as a fellow of The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).

Read Yizhou’s latest article in Biomaterials Science “Harnessing lipid nanoparticles for efficient CRISPR delivery” and his other publications in Biomaterials Science for FREE 22 July. These and articles from our previous lectureship winners can be found in our lectureship winners collection.

Read our interview with Yizhou below:

How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article?

I have been passionate about research in drug discovery and delivery. My first article was in synthetic methodology, which laid a solid foundation for my knowledge and skills in chemical synthesis. In our recent studies, we and our collaborators integrate our specialty in pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics, biomedical engineering, materials formulation, and animal studies for developing diverse therapeutic medicines.

What excites you most about your area of research and what has been the most exciting moment of your career so far?

It is very exciting to see important discoveries in biomaterials and biotechnologies to help understand fundamental sciences and solve real-world problems. I am most excited when I talk with students and postdocs about new ideas to address various medical needs.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in your field of research? 

What is an effective and efficient strategy to connect preclinical and clinical data? In another word, what types of preclinical results can improve the success rate for clinical translation of experimental agents? On the other hand, could we create a system to better interpret clinical findings and guide the design of next-generation therapeutic agents?

How do you feel about Biomaterials Science as a place to publish research on this topic?

Biomaterials Science is a leading journal in the field of biomaterials, which covers broad topics such as molecular design, drug delivery, and biointerface studies. It is a wonderful platform to share new findings and results in Biomaterials Science. Also, the journal offers various opportunities including special issues, blogs, and conferences to authors and readers.

Which of your Biomaterials Science publications are you most proud of and why?

We recently published a review article entitled “Harnessing lipid nanoparticles for efficient CRISPR delivery” on Biomaterials Science. With the breakthrough of lipid nanoparticle-mRNA vaccines approved for the prevention of COVID-19, there is more and more research interest in lipid nanoparticles. We are excited to highlight the advances of lipid nanoparticles for genome editing and share our perspectives with broad readers of Biomaterials Science.

In which upcoming conferences or events (online or in person) may our readers meet you?

I plan to attend the 32nd Annual Conference of the European Society of Biomaterials in September 2022 at Bordeaux. I look forward to meeting you there.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with early career scientists?

There are many challenges in a research career. Be persistent in your research interest.

How do you spend your spare time?

I like swimming and reading during my spare time. I also enjoy traveling with family and friends.

We would like to thank everybody who nominated a candidate for the 2021 Biomaterials Science Lectureship. The Editorial Board had a very difficult task in choosing a winner from the many excellent and worthy candidates.

Please join us in congratulating Yizhou on winning this award!

 Do you know an early-career researcher who deserves recognition for their contribution to the biomaterials field?

Biomaterials Science is pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for its 2022 Lectureship award and will close on 31 December 2021. This annual award was established in 2014 to honour an early-stage career scientist who has made a significant contribution to the biomaterials field.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the lectureship, candidates should meet the following criteria:

• Be an independent researcher, PhD students postdoctoral research associates are not eligible
• Be actively pursuing research within the biomaterials field, and have made a significant contribution to the field
• Be at an early stage of their independent career (this should typically be within 12 years of attaining their doctorate or equivalent degree, but appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break, work in systems where their time period to independence may vary or who followed an alternative study path)

How to nominate

Nominations must be made via email to biomaterialsscience-rsc@rsc.org, and include the following:

• The name, affiliation and contact details of the nominee, nominator and referee
• An up-to-date CV of the nominee (1 – 3 A4 page maximum length)
• A letter of recommendation from the nominator (500 words maximum length)
• A supporting letter of recommendation from a referee (500 words maximum length). This could be from the nominee’s postdoc, PhD supervisor or academic mentor for instance
• The nominator must confirm that to the best of their knowledge, their nominee’s professional standing is as such that there is no confirmed or potential impediment to them receiving the Lectureship

Please note:

• Self-nomination is not permitted
• The nominee must be aware that he/she has been nominated for this lectureship
• Previous winners and current Biomaterials Science Editorial Board members are not eligible
• As part of the Royal Society of Chemistry, we have a responsibility to promote inclusivity and accessibility in order to improve diversity. Where possible, we encourage each nominator to consider nominating candidates of all genders, races, and backgrounds. Please see the RSC’s approach to Inclusion and Diversity.

Selection

• All eligible nominated candidates will be assessed by a judging panel made up of the Biomaterials Science Editorial Board, any Editorial Board members with a conflict of interest will be ineligible for the judging panel.
• The judging panel will consider the following core criteria:
  • Excellence in research, as evidenced in reference to originality and impact
  • Quality of publications, patents or software
  • Innovation
  • Professional standing
  • Independence
  • Collaborations and teamwork
  • Evidence of promising potential
  • Other indicators of esteem indicated by the nominator
• In any instance where multiple nominees are judged to be equally meritorious in relation to these core criteria, the judging panel will use information provided on the nominee’s broader contribution to the chemistry community as an additional criterion. Examples of this could include: involvement with RSC community activities, teaching or demonstrating, effective mentorship, service on boards, committees or panels, leadership in the scientific community, peer reviewing, promotion of diversity and inclusion, advocacy for chemistry, public engagement and outreach.

Previous winners

2021 – Nasim Annabi, UCLA, USA

2020 – Kanyi Pu, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

2019 – April Kloxin, University of Delaware, USA

2018 – Zhen Gu, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill & North Carolina State University, USA

2017 – Zhuang Liu, Soochow University, China

2016 – Fan Yang, Stanford University, USA

2015 – Joel Collier, Duke University, USA

2014 – Suzie Pun, University of Washington, USA

2011 – Michael J. Solomon, University of Michigan, USA

Nominations deadline: 31 December 2021