Core Faculty
Ning Wang
Director, Institute for Mechanobiology
Professor, Bioengineering
The Wang Lab conducts research in the areas of cell mechanics, mechanotransduction, mechanobiology, and mechanomedicine using novel experimental technologies and theoretical analyses. The specific areas of interest include stem cell mechanobiology, cancer cell mechanobiology, developmental mechanobiology, and cell nuclear mechanobiology.
Rouzbeh Amini
Associate Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Associate Professor, Bioengineering
The Laboratory for Soft Tissue Biomechanics conducts studies to understand how mechanical loading and structural properties at difference scales affect the normal responses of soft tissue. We use experimental techniques to quantify the mechanical and microstructural properties of soft tissues and multi-scale computational models of tissue biomechanics and mechanobiology.
Chiara Bellini
Associate Professor, Bioengineering
Associate Chair for Graduate Studies, Bioengineering
The Bellini Lab strives to decipher the dialogue between natural aging and cardiovascular diseases. Our three primary areas of interest are (1) cardiovascular toxicity of inhaled pollutants, (2) cardiovascular toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents, and (3) vascular dysfunction associated with the development of thoracic aortic aneurysm. Motivated by the growing body of literature that advocates for the use of biomechanics to interrogate the cardiovascular system, we combine experimental and computational tools to identify pivotal changes in the structure and mechanical behavior of the heart and vasculature.
Max Bi
Associate Professor, Physics
The Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics Group is interested in understanding collective and emergent behavior in out-of-equilibrium and disordered systems. Our research employs methods in theoretical and computational condensed matter physics and applies to a wide range of biological systems, such as mechano-sensing in wound healing, embryogenesis, and the origin of jamming and fluidity in epithelial tissues.
Srirupa Chakraborty
Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering
Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Affiliated Faculty, Physics
The Simulation of Bimolecular Systems lab studies glycoproteins. We use molecular modeling techniques to explore the critical role of glycans in the biological processes, particularly disease and therapeutics.
Erin Cram
Affiliated Faculty, Bioengineering
Professor, Biology
Associate Dean for Research, College of Science
The Cram Lab uses the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans as an in vivo system to explore how mechanical forces are sensed and interpreted by cells. We are collaborating with Dr. Hari Parameswaran’s group in Bioengineering to understand how cells in a tissue communicate and coordinate their contractility.
Guohao Dai
Professor, Bioengineering
The Dai lab develops bioengineered blood vessels and applies them to understanding vascular diseases and for the tissue engineering. We are interested in how the vasculature influences tumor infiltration and stem cell differentiation, and how the biomechanical forces influence blood vessel structure and function. We are also developing elastic hydrogel to enable better biomechanical environment for soft tissue engineering.
Eno Ebong
Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering
Associate Professor, Bioengineering
Affiliated Faculty, Biology
The Ebong Laboratory studies the structure and function of the endothelial cell surface glycocalyx (sugar coat) that directly interfaces with flowing blood and sheds in the presence of atherosclerosis. Our lab uses in vivo studies to determine which glycocalyx components can be targeted to prevent, diagnose, or treat atherosclerosis (which underlies a number of cardiovascular conditions), metastatic cancer, and leaky blood-brain barrier issues related to neurodegenerative diseases.
Cynthia Hajal
Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Bioengineering
The Therapeutics Understanding through Microfluidic Organ-on-chip Research (TUMOR) lab specializes in the design of microfluidic, tissue-engineered tumor models. Our focus lies in investigating the profound role that microenvironmental components, specifically the surrounding vasculature, play in cancer progression and drug delivery. Our lab has a keen interest in understanding the impacts of fluid flows within the context of drug delivery and the effects of chemotherapy exposure on the tumor niche and cancer invasiveness.
Sara Hashmi
Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Chemistry and Chemical Biology
The Hashmi Complex Fluids Lab explores how complex fluids and soft materials flow through small spaces to understand fundamental fluid dynamic phenomena. We are inspired by a variety of biological problems, especially those which occur in vessels or involve transport through interstitial spaces. Examples include blood clotting/embolism, vascular occlusion, tumor transport, and delivery of injected liposomes and other particles containing pharmaceuticals. We couple experimental fluidic approaches in model systems with rheology and other characterization techniques to understand the impact of mechanical properties. We then use theoretical approaches and/or simulations to extract fundamental fluid dynamics principles.
Hyeonyu Kim
Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Bioengineering
The Human Organ Engineering Lab develops personalized organ models using human induced pluripotent stem cells. Our primary focus is on creating models for a variety of human organs, including the heart and skeletal muscle. We recreate the essential mechanical and biochemical environments in 4D (3D and time) to engineer organ models. Our objective is to provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between mechanical stresses and genetic factors using precision medicine strategies.
Herbert Levine
University Distinguished Professor, Physics
University Distinguished Professor, Bioengineering
The Levine Lab develops physical models of cancer progression, metastasis and intervention with the immune system. Most recent interests include the role of metabolic plasticity in these processes and the co-evolution of the tumor and the adaptive immune system. Other areas include spatial organization of the actin cytoskeleton the mechanics of collective cell motility, and the analysis of genetic circuits involved in cell fated decisions.
Maijia Liao
Affiliated Faculty, Bioengineering
Assistant Professor, Physics
The Liao lab works on quantitative neuroscience, cell mechanics, cytoskeleton in neurons, biotransport, advanced imaging method, and physics of living matter.
Frank Loth
Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Professor, Bioengineering
The Loth Lab studies biological flows using experimental and computational simulation tools as well as medical image processing to determine the relationship between biofluid mechanics and disease. The lab is particularly interested in cerebrospinal fluid motion with respect to Chiari malformation and syringomyelia.
Steve Lustig
Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering
Our work seeks to design and manipulate molecular/materials chemistry and structure for new property discovery, new functionality and technology development by combining theory, high performance computing and experimental methods.
Jessica Oakes
Associate Professor, Bioengineering
The Respiratory Innovation and Simulation Team (RESIST) combines state-of-the-art experimental and numerical methods to investigate respiratory structure/function relationships following chronic inhalation of airborne toxins (e.g. e-cigarettes, wildfire smoke). Our lab also develops and applies physiologically-based modeling tools to optimize inhaled drug delivery to treat respiratory diseases.
Hari Parameswaran
Associate Professor, Bioengineering
The Breathe Lab studies cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in the airway to understand the fundamental mechanisms that regulate airway caliber and why they fail in diseases like asthma.
Jeff Ruberti
COE Distinguished Professor, Bioengineering
Affiliated Faculty, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
The Extracellular Matrix Research Lab engineers load bearing tissues and develops mechanotherapeutics. We employ bioreactors, multi-scale mechanochemistry, statistical mechanics, energetics, live-cell microscopy, and biopolymer self-assembly in our investigations.
Josh Stefanik
Associate Professor, Physical Therapy, Human Movement, and Rehabilitation Sciences
The Musculoskeletal Epidemiology and Biomechanics Lab works to better understand risk factors, mechanisms, and pathomechanics related to lower extremity musculoskeletal disorders, especially knee osteoarthritis (OA). The ultimate goal of the laboratory is to provide evidence for and to design rehabilitation treatments for knee OA. Methods in the lab include three-dimensional motion analysis as well as epidemiologic methodology using data from large cohort studies.
Sandra Shefelbine
Associate Dean of Space and Special Initiatives, Office of the Dean
Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Professor, Bioengineering
The Multiscale Mechanics and Musculoskeletal Mechanobiology Lab explores the mechanics of bone tissue and the adaptation of bone and cartilage to mechanical loading. The lab uses a combination of in vivo animal experiments, computational modeling and clinical observation.
Amir Vahabikashi
Assistant Professor, Bioengineering
The Vahabikashi Lab conducts research at the intersection of multiscale mechanobiology and soft bioelectronics. Our primary focus is on integrating engineering, physics, and biological approaches to understand the role of the microenvironment, cytoskeleton, and nucleoskeleton in mechanobiology of ocular and neuromuscular systems. Furthermore, we focus on engineering compliant multimodal bioelectronic interfaces that facilitate mechanobiology studies at the organoid and tissue scale with projections for advanced regenerative engineering and therapeutics.
Lei Wang
Assistant Professor, Bioengineering
Assistant Professor, Biology
The Wang Lab develops mammalian synthetic biology tools to advance cancer cellular therapy, regenerative medicine, and microfluidic human organ models.
Becky Willits
Professor and Chairperson, Chemical Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Bioengineering
The Materials for Tissue Engineering lab designs 3D scaffolds that control cell behavior in applications including neural, bone, and cardiovascular tissue.