The 5th Stevens Conference on Bacteria-Material Interactions

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Nontechnical abstractThis project supports a research conference called the Stevens Conference on Bacteria-Material Interactions. This two-day Conference will be held in June 2019 on the campus of the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, very close to New York City. The 2019 Conference is the 5th in a series of Conferences that started in 2011, and this series is recognized as a key national and international venue for pushing the limits of scientific understanding about how bacteria interact with man-made surfaces. Bacterial-material interactions is an important scientific subject because of the devastating impact that bacterial colonization of man-made biomedical devices, such as hip or knee implants, can have on patient outcomes. Such infection can lead to long and painful hospital stays that can culminate in compromised function, chronic disease, or death. This project is helping graduate research students, post-doctoral research fellows, and early-career Faculty members to attend the conference and develop their expertise and professional careers in this important emerging field.Technical abstractUnderstanding the fundamental science underlying how bacteria interact with biomaterials surfaces and how those surfaces can be modified to resist colonization is at the heart of an emerging new sub-field within Biomaterials Science and Engineering, namely, infection-resisting biomaterials. While the idea of creating antifouling surfaces that resist bacterial colonization has been known for decades, antifouling surfaces are not useful in many key clinical applications, because their ability to resist bacterial colonization also prevents the desirable tissue interactions associated with healing. The scientific challenge thus focuses on creating surfaces that are differentially interactive and can simultaneously promote favorable tissue-cell interactions while also inhibiting bacterial interactions. To deeply explore this subject, the 5th Stevens Conference is focused on the scientific fundamentals addressing: (i) antimicrobials and antimicrobial action; (ii) infection models; (iii) bacterial response to a surface; and (iv) surface modification. The Conference features fifteen invited lectures by recognized topical experts from around the world. Significantly, the Conference also involves the perspectives of highly expert clinicians who can help keep fundamental scientific advances aligned with critical societal needs. This project is providing partial financial support that enables graduate research students, post-doctoral research fellows, and early-career Faculty members to attend the Conference. These young scientists and engineers consequently have the opportunity to present their own research findings, network with and learn from internationally recognized experts in the field, as well as develop their professional careers to help impact this important emerging field in the future.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.