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Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar Series

(Drug DELIVERY Specific Seminar)

• Song Li, PhD
• University of California, Los Angeles

Mechano-Immunoengineering for Cancer Therapy

Immune cells are sensitive to mechanical cues in the microenvironment, but how to harvest this potential for cell engineering and disease therapy remains to be addressed. Here we develop a scalable microfluidic platform to fabricate microspheres as synthetic viscoelastic activating cells (SynVACs) with programmable mechanical and chemical properties. We demonstrate that the viscoelastic nature of SynVACs significantly impacts T cell functionality. Compared to rigid or elastic microspheres, SynVACs induce superior T cell expansion with higher CD8+/CD4+ T cell ratio, enhanced tumor killing capability, high efficiency of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) introduction into T cells, and significant increase in T memory stem cells. These engineered CAR-T cells are more efficient in eliminating tumor cells, not only in a human lymphoma mouse model but also in an ovarian xenograft mouse model, and persist in vivo for longer time periods to suppress tumor growth and recurrence. These findings underscore the crucial role of mechanical signals in T cell engineering and highlight the potential of SynVACs in CAR-T therapy and immunoengineering applications. In addition, based on this platform, we have developed a biomimetic “charging station” that incorporates chemotactic and activation signals to facilitate the recruitment, activation, and expansion of CAR-iNKT cells, which significantly enhances tumor infiltration, strengthens long-term immune memory, and demonstrates superior efficacy over conventional CAR-iNKT therapies in solid tumor models.

About the Speaker:
Dr. Song Li is a Chancellor’s Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Associate Dean of the Samueli School of Engineering at UCLA. He chaired the Department of Bioengineering from 2016 to 2024 and directed the Bioengineering Institute for California from 2022 to 2025. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and on the Governing Council of the International Academy for Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE).

Dr. Li’s research centers on cell engineering and mechanobiology, with notable contributions to understanding how biophysical cues influence stem cell differentiation and cell reprogramming. He has pioneered multidisciplinary strategies to engineer biomaterials, stem cells, and immune cells for tissue regeneration and therapeutic applications. Dr. Li is also the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Med-X Journal.

His achievements have earned him numerous awards and honors, including the Global Biomaterials Leadership Award from the Chinese Association of Biomaterials, and election as a Fellow of AIMBE, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and IAMBE.

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