BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:0-7829@eng.ufl.edu DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251103T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251103T160000 DTSTAMP:20251201T182101Z URL:https://www.eng.ufl.edu/news-events/events/bme-postdocs-seminar-amanda -juraski-wasif-khan/ SUMMARY:BME Postdocs Seminar: Amanda Juraski &\; Wasif Khan DESCRIPTION:Dr. Amanda Juraski: "Porous Anisotropic N\,O-Carboxymethyl Chit osan/Alginate Scaffolds For Neural Tissue Applications"\nDr. Wasif Khan: " Circadian Timing and Dose of Physical Activity are Differentially Associat ed with Cognition and Structural Brain Aging"\n--\n\nAmanda Juraski\, PhD\ nPostdoctoral Associate\, Schmidt Lab\nBiomedical Engineering\, University of Florida\n\n"Porous Anisotropic N\,O-Carboxymethyl Chitosan/Alginate Sc affolds For Neural Tissue Applications"\n\nAbstract: Complex tissue lesion s such as peripheral nerve injuries often result in disrupted tissue archi tecture\, mechanical properties\, and gene expression. In the case of peri pheral nerve injuries\, there is also limited spontaneous axonal regenerat ion due to the low regenerative capacity of adult neurons. To overcome the se challenges\, innovative strategies combining scaffolds and gene therapi es that modulate inflammation offer a promising route for regeneration. An isotropic scaffolds\, which mimic the natural tissue architecture\, are pa rticularly promising for enhancing tissue differentiation and promoting ne rve regeneration. Unidirectional freeze-drying is an effective\, cost-effi cient method for fabricating these scaffolds\, enabling the production of tunable\, porous structures. In this study\, we explored the use of carbox ymethyl chitosan (N\,O-CMCS) and alginate\, both biopolymers with distinct physicochemical properties\, in the fabrication of anisotropic scaffolds for peripheral nerve regeneration via unidirectional freeze-drying. The sc affolds were characterized by their morphological\, physicochemical\, and biological properties\, including their ability to support fibroblast and neuronal cell survival in vitro. The scaffolds had linearly aligned pore s tructure and were stable under simulated physiological conditions. Moreove r\, the presence of protonated amino groups on N\,O-CMCS promoted optimal neuronal cell viability. To show the scaffold's application as a gene deli very system\, DNA molecules were adsorved and then released by N\,O-CMCS/A lginate scaffolds\, with all DNA molecules released in one hour of immersi on. The results suggest that N\,O-CMCS/Alginate scaffolds hold significant potential for peripheral nerve regeneration\, offering insights into mate rial interactions with cells and to the design of combinatorial therapies aimed at enhancing neural tissue engineering applications.\n\nBio: Dr. Ama nda de Castro Juraski is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Schmidt Lab at the University of Florida\, where she's developing hydrogel-mediate d delivery devices for exosome therapy in spinal cord injury. She earned h er Ph.D. from the University of Sao Paulo\, Brazil\, with a dissertation f ocused on porous scaffolds for gene delivery and regenerative medicine in neural tissue applications. Dr. Juraski has extensive experience in biomat erials\, including creating a bioink for 3D printing of neural tissue mode ls and developing ibuprofen-loaded chitosan films for drug delivery in pri mary spinal cord neurons. She has given numerous presentations at conferen ces\, is part of the LatinXinBME community\, and was the founder and presi dent of the first Student Chapter of the Brazilian Society of Biomedical E ngineering. Beyond her research on neural tissue engineering\, her seconda ry expertise lies in the exciting field of creating baked goods that her l ab mates can't stop talking about.\n--\n\nWasif Khan\, PhD\nPostdoctoral A ssociate\, Fang Lab\nBiomedical Engineering\, University of Florida\n\n"Ci rcadian Timing and Dose of Physical Activity are Differentially Associated with Cognition and Structural Brain Aging"\n\nAbstract: Physical activity is increasingly recognized as a modifiable factor for healthy brain aging . Yet\, the influence of activity dose below guideline levels\, as well as the timing of activity across the day\, on cognition and brain aging rema ins unclear. In this talk\, I will present findings from our analysis of 4 5\,892 older adults in the UK Biobank with accelerometer-derived physical activity\, cognitive assessments\, and structural brain MRI. By examining moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)\, we evaluated associations with cognitive domains and regional brain volumes. Our results reveal that higher MVPA is linked to improved performance in reasoning\, memory\, exe cutive function\, and processing speed\, alongside structural differences in subcortical and cortical regions critical for emotion\, working memory\ , and perceptual processing. Importantly\, we identify that the timing of activity—particularly during the midday-afternoon and evening—carries distinct implications for cognitive and brain health. These insights refin e the understanding of dose-response and circadian effects of activity on the aging brain and highlight the potential of circadian-informed exercise prescriptions as strategies to promote cognitive resilience in later life .\n\nBio: Dr. Wasif Khan is a Postdoc Associate at SMILE Lab in J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of F lorida. Dr. Khan is working in SMILE lab at the BME and Wong lab the Norma n Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases\, University of Florida. His r esearch sits on the nexus of cognitive aging\, neuroimaging\, and artifici al intelligence to identify modifiable lifestyle and neural factors to pre vent and slow down cognitive aging and neurodegeneration. He focuses parti cularly on modifiable lifestyle factors\, especially physical activity (PA )\, and their relationship to neuroimaging biomarkers and systemic health measures\, which influence the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related d ementias (ADRD). By integrating large-scale population datasets with multi modal neuroimaging\, Dr. Khan aims to characterize the biological and beha vioral signatures of cognitive resilience and vulnerability in aging popul ations. This interdisciplinary approach is motivated by a strong commitmen t to improving brain health outcomes among individuals at elevated risk fo r neurodegeneration. His recent work on medical foundation model was featu red in UF Health News. CATEGORIES:Seminars LOCATION:Communicore Room C1-7\, 1249 Center Dr.\, Gainesville\, FL\, 32610 \, United States GEO:29.640849;-82.34479 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=1249 Center Dr.\, Gainesvil le\, FL\, 32610\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Communicore Roo m C1-7:geo:29.640849,-82.34479 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251102T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR