Faculty Investigator, IRG 1

We study and develop dynamic polymer systems to engineer complex biological microenvironments. In processes such as disease or tissue development, there is an active interplay between cells, the extracellular matrix, and precise chemical and physical signals that change over time. Engineered materials that capture these dynamic properties can shed insight to biological mechanisms and address problems in human health. Using principles from chemical engineering, materials science, and biology, we pursue the following research goals:

• Fundamental understanding of polymer structure-property relationships, especially biomimetic and stimuli-responsive polymers
• Development of synthetic hydrogels that actively probe cell-matrix interactions
• Engineering new material platforms for disease models