Thomas J Webster

Title : Nanomedicine and the Brain: A Perfect Combination ?

Abstract:

Nanotechnology has revolutionized numerous industries, particularly medicine. Nanoparticles, nanotubes, drug delivery nanoparticles, and nanotextured neural probes are just several of many examples where nanomedicine is positively impacting neuroscience. This presentation will summarize some of the more prominent studies where nanomedicine has been used to treat various neurological disorders. Specifically, it will cover in vivo studies which have demonstrated a faster and greater return of motor function to stroke induced rats when implanted with stem cells and carbon nanotubes. Further, it will cover the design of nanoparticles that can penetrate the blood brain barrier to more effective deliver drugs to treat Parkinson’s disease. New self-assembled nanomaterials will also be covered which can kill bacteria in the brain. This presentation will also present what studies are needed for the field of nanomedicine to continue to positively impact neurological diseases

What will audience learn from your presentation?

• How nanomedicine is being used to treat a wide range of neurological disorders
• Examples of nanomaterials and their attractive properties for medicine
• Disadvantages of nanomaterials and their use in the brain as well as what future directions are needed for the field to grow

Biography:

Thomas J. Webster’s (H index: 113; Google Scholar) degrees are in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh (B.S., 1995; USA) and in biomedical engineering from RPI (Ph.D., 2000; USA). He has served as a professor at Purdue (2000-2005), Brown (2005-2012), and Northeastern (2012-2021; serving as Chemical Engineering Department Chair from 2012-2019) Universities and has formed over a dozen companies who have numerous FDA approved medical products currently improving human health.  He is currently helping those companies and serves as a professor at Hebei University of Technology, Saveetha University, Vellore Institute of Technology, UFPI, and others.  Dr. Webster has numerous awards including: 2020, World Top 2% Scientist by Citations (PLOS); 2020, SCOPUS Highly Cited Research (Top 1% Materials Science and Mixed Fields); 2021, Clarivate Top 0.1% Most Influential Researchers (Pharmacology and Toxicology); 2022, Best Materials Science Scientist by Citations (Research.com); and is a fellow of over 8 societies.