Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging as powerful mediators of intercellular communication and promising tools for next-generation diagnostics and therapeutics. This symposium will highlight recent advances in EV biology, EV mimics, tissue engineering, and clinical translation, focusing on their roles in tissue regeneration, immune modulation, and disease monitoring. We will discuss innovations in EV isolation, functionalisation, and delivery using biomaterials and 3D bioprinting, alongside key challenges in standardisation, scalability, and regulatory pathways. The session aims to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue and accelerate the translation of EV-based technologies from bench to bedside.
Osteoarthritis (OA) remains a leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting 600 million people, yet disease-modifying therapies and early diagnostic tools remain limited. This symposium will showcase emerging technologies that are redefining how OA is understood, diagnosed, and treated, highlighting cross-disciplinary advances at the interface of biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine. Possible topic areas of interest may include: (1) AI-driven phenotyping and predictive modelling, integrating multi-omics, imaging, and wearable-derived biomechanical data to stratify patients and identify actionable endotypes; (2) Joint-on-a-chip platforms that recapitulate the mechanical–inflammatory microenvironment of the osteochondral unit for drug screening and mechanistic studies; (3) Advanced molecular tools, such as single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, CRISPR-based functional screening, and nucleic acid therapeutics for targeting inflammatory and senescence-associated pathways; (4) Nano-enabled and smart therapeutics or delivery systems, such as extracellular vesicles or hybrid carriers and stimuli-responsive nanoparticles for precision intra-articular therapy. By bringing together engineers, biologists, and clinician-scientists, this symposium will highlight emerging and translational technologies with the potential to enable earlier diagnosis, patient-specific intervention, and disease-modifying strategies in OA. These enabling technologies will also be applicable for researchers working on other types of musculoskeletal or chronic diseases.
Understanding and controlling cellular behaviour with high precision is fundamental to advancing modern biomedicine, from early disease detection to personalised therapeutics. However, conventional cell handling methods often lack the resolution, throughput, and microenvironmental control needed to capture the complexity of biological processes. Microfluidic technology has emerged as a powerful platform for precise and dynamic control of cells, enabling manipulations that were previously impossible with conventional laboratory tools. By leveraging precise microscale fluid flow, engineered microenvironments, and integrated sensing, microfluidics allows unprecedented manipulation of single cells, rapid phenotypic profiling, and highly efficient biochemical assays. This symposium explores recent advances that expand the capabilities of microfluidics for cell manipulation, stimulation, monitoring, and analysis. Topics include single cell handling, label free biophysical phenotyping, organ on chip platforms, integrated diagnostic systems and clinical applications. By bringing together researchers from engineering, life sciences, and clinical domains, this session aims to highlight how microfluidics is reshaping our ability to interrogate cellular function and accelerate biomedical innovation. The symposium will provide insights into emerging applications and inspires future directions for translating microfluidic systems into impactful research and clinical tools.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as critical mediators of intercellular communication, with significant potential as biomarkers and therapeutic agents. However, their small size, heterogeneity, and complex biogenesis present substantial challenges for isolation, characterization, and functional analysis. This special symposium will highlight cutting-edge technological advances in EV isolation, advanced imaging and single-vesicle analysis techniques that are transforming EV research across disciplines. By bringing together experts in engineering, biology, and clinical translation, this session aims to provide a comprehensive overview of emerging tools that are accelerating EV discovery and enabling their application in diagnostics and therapeutics.
Biological systems achieve extraordinary performance through hierarchical organization across nano-, micro-, and macro-scales, seamlessly integrating structure, function, and adaptability. Translating these principles into engineered materials offers unprecedented opportunities in therapeutics, biomaterials, and regenerative medicine. This symposium explores how bioinspired and biomimetic strategies can create multifunctional materials with tunable mechanics, integrated sensing, actuation, and controlled therapeutic delivery. We invite contributions that advance the design, synthesis, and assembly of hierarchical materials, including those inspired by plant- and animal-derived motifs, nanoscale interfaces, and architected systems. Research highlighting innovative biohybrid or additive manufacturing approaches, scalable assembly strategies, and integration of multiple functionalities is particularly encouraged. By bridging biology, nanotechnology, and materials engineering, this symposium aims to showcase how multiscale design principles can generate transformative solutions across regenerative medicine, soft robotics, sustainable biomaterials, and energy systems. We seek submissions that push the boundaries of structure–function engineering, demonstrate novel therapeutic or biomaterial applications, or reveal new design strategies that harness nature’s principles.
The digital twin is rapidly evolving from a conceptual framework into a practical cornerstone of personalised healthcare, driven by breakthroughs in AI and digital health. This symposium explores how AI-powered virtual replicas of patients can employ real-world patient-specific data (medical imaging, wearables, electronic health records, etc) to simulate disease trajectories, predict treatment outcomes, and enable clinicians to test therapeutic strategies in silico before a single prescription is written. We will examine the convergence of AI algorithms with immersive technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, to create intuitive, interactive platforms where clinicians can visualise and manipulate patient-specific models in real time. From optimising chronic disease management to planning complex interventions, these intelligent digital twins promise to shift healthcare from reactive to predictive and participatory. Join us to discuss the engineering challenges, clinical validations, and ethical dimensions of deploying AI-driven digital twins at scale, ushering in a new era of truly personalised, technology-enabled care.
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