(603a) Immunomodulatory Biomaterials: The Quest for Fundamental Design Rules

Research over the past few decades has revealed the incredible potential biomaterials possess to be utilized for immunological applications. Whether they function as traditional vaccines, cancer immunotherapeutics, autoimmune disease treatments, or transplant rejection prevention medications, immunomodulatory biomaterials have made tremendous impacts in both the laboratory and the clinic. While exciting advancements have been made, significant effort has focused on parsing out minute differences among materials platforms instead of concentrating on the underlying phenomena that govern materials immunology. Through discussing some recent efforts in this area, I hope to highlight the potential we have as a community of immunomodulatory biomaterials researchers to come together to uncover fundamental design rules that will dramatically enhance our scientific and clinical impact.