The UF student chapter of the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) will be hosting its seventh annual Biomaterials Day on February 23, 2018, at the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom. The theme this year is “Breaking Barriers in Biomaterials Research” to reflect both the innovation in the field and diversity in the workplace that will be showcased at the event. This one-day symposium will include a keynote lecture and four invited talks by leading biomaterial engineers. Oral presentations from both academic, clinical and industrial researchers will showcase ongoing research and promote collaboration and knowledge exchange between institutions and industry. In addition, a student poster session will provide a venue for student research presentations and networking.

BME alumnus Dr. Jamal Lewis, assistant professor at the University of California Davis, will present at this year’s event. His talk will focus on different particulate systems, currently under development in the Immunomodulatory Biomaterials Lab, which attempts to control critical cellular and humoral mediators that engender conditions such as type 1 diabetes, RA and autoimmune autism.

Before his professorship, Lewis was a senior scientist at OneVax, LLC and a post-doctoral associate in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, where he also received a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering in 2012. Lewis completed his B.S. in chemical engineering from Florida A&M University in 2004, and M.S. in biomedical engineering in 2007 from North Carolina State University. His research, educational and entrepreneurial efforts have been supported by the NIH. His honors and awards include the prestigious NIH MIRA, BMES Career and Innovation Award, and the Society for Biomaterials STAR Award.

The purpose of Biomaterials Day is to create a network of regional universities and companies actively involved in the biomaterials field. This event achieves this goal by bringing professors from different universities and industry representatives from biotechnology companies to discuss advances in biomaterials in the engineering and medical fields. The UF student chapter of SFB focuses on promoting the interaction between students, leading scientists and developers to move the field forward.