Meet The Jury: Shrikrishnan Sankaran on “Living Therapeutic Materials – Bacterial hydrogels for smart drug delivery”

Protein-based therapeutics are among the most potent tools we have for treating complex diseases, from antibiotic‑resistant infections to cancer. Yet despite remarkable advances in protein engineering, the high costs of protein production, stabilization, and delivery often limit their real-world accessibility. We are working towards changing this by developing Living Therapeutic Materials – soft, biocompatible hydrogels embedded with engineered probiotic microbes that act as on‑site biofactories for sustained and affordable drug delivery. These hydrogels are engineered to protect the microbes within the host, maintain predictable drug‑production behavior, and securely contain the engineered bacteria. Most interestingly, they can be fabricated in formats like fibers, micro-capsules or contact lenses that enable living therapeutics to be applied even in sensitive organs. Taking this one step further, we are embedding remote control over therapeutic release by programming the probiotic microbes to respond to external stimuli such as light, heat, or food‑grade small molecules. This enables on‑demand control of drug‑release profiles, offering new strategies to manage diseases with episodic or dynamic symptoms while reducing the risks of resistance and off‑target effects.

TERUG NAAR OVERZICHT

PRAKTISCHE INFO

  • DATUM
    29 september, 2026
  • LOCATIE
    icon

    3001 Heverlee
  • DOELGROEP
    PhD postdoc ZAP
  • TAAL EVENEMENT
    ENGELS

ONZE UNIVERSITEITEN