2021 Virtual MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit provided the latest in cutting-edge research

Abstract

vivo. It was found that when cells developed into a barrier, endocytic markers were expressed to different levels, and had a lower nanoparticle uptake as compared to standard cell cultures. This indicates that the organization of the cells influences how nanoparticles are processed. Another model comprises precision-cut tissue slices—it was shown that precision-cut liver slices reproduced the preferential accumulation of nanoparticles by Kupffer cells as observed in vivo. This highlights how these models can be leveraged to better understand cellular internalization of nanomedicines occurring in vivo and optimize the design of nanomedicines. During the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous reports have explored the particular difficulties women in academia have been experiencing. Surprisingly, the panelists in the Women in Materials Science & Engineering Keynote Presentation: Perspectives and Take-Aways from the Global Pandemic provided tremendously optimistic views. This began with opening comments by Joanne Etheridge of Monash University in Australia when she said, “I think it’s science that is guiding a path for us to humanity after this whole pandemic.” She emphasized the expertise of scientists that has gotten the world through the pandemic, and that invented, designed, and developed vaccines within 12 months. “What a triumph of human achievement,” she said. “It motivates me actually to be a scientist.” Payel Chatterjee at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology agreed: “Science can save humanity, 2021 Virtual MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit provided the latest in cutting‐edge research