Congratulations to Jason Gregory, Dylan Neale, and Laura Saunders for defending their PhD dissertations!

Jason Gregory defended his PhD dissertation entitled “Engineering Multifunctional Nanoparticles: Applied Nanoscale Therapeutics” on December 16, 2021. Jason was involved in numerous collaborative, interdisciplinary projects during his time in the Lahann Lab and has been instrumental in developing our lab’s protein nanoparticle technology. Jason recently accepted a job as a senior engineer at Laronde in Boston.

Dylan Neale defended his PhD dissertation entitled “Scalable Networks of Engineered Extracellular Matrix as Biomimetic Tissue Culture Models with Defined Heterogeneity” on December 14, 2021. Dylan’s thesis focused on the engineering and deployment of well-defined, 3D, fibronectin-based extracellular matrix tissue models for the study of cell migration and tumor microenvironment biology. Dylan has accepted a position in the inaugural cohort of Innovation Fellows in the Biointerfaces Institute at the University of Michigan.

Laura Saunders defended her PhD dissertation entitled “Systematic Improvement of Quantification and Formulation of Synthetic Protein Nanoparticles for Gene Delivery” on December 17, 2021. Laura’s work focused on the quantitative optimization of our lab’s protein nanoparticle technology for gene therapy applications. She developed several new methods for the biophysical and in vitro characterization of these particles. Laura recently accepted a job as a scientist at Tessera Therapeutics in Boston.

Our warmest, heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Gregory, Dr. Neale, and Dr. Saunders!

Congratulations to Nahal and Ayse for successfully defending their PhD dissertations!

Nahal Habibi defended her PhD dissertation entitled “Engineered Nanoparticle Systems to Overcome Biological Barriers for Nanomedicine” on September 9, 2021. She has been instrumental in developing our lab’s protein nanoparticle technology and has recently accepted a job as a scientist in the Delivery and Formulation Sciences division at Laronde in Boston.

Ayse Muniz defended her PhD dissertation entitled “Engineering Complex Biological Systems via Extracellular Niche Biomimicry” on June 2, 2021. Ayse pioneered the use of data science and machine learning to advance our research group’s understanding of how polymeric scaffolds recapitulate the biology of the extracellular matrix. She is currently working as an associate at Flagship Pioneering in Boston.

Congratulations Dr. Muniz and Dr. Habibi! We are so proud of your accomplishments and will miss you dearly.

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Congratulations to Danny for successfully defending his PhD Disseration!

Congratulations to the newly-minted Dr. Quevedo for successfully defending his PhD Disseration “Design, Applications, and Processing of Synthetic Protein Nanoparticles”! This work helped push the field of nanomedicine closer to the clinic by enabling the delivery of therapeutic enzymes using synthetic protein nanoparticles. Danny has accepted a consulting job in Boston and will be missed. Best of luck Dr. Quevedo!

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Prof Lahann receives chaired Professorship

Congratulations to Prof. Lahann for receiving the Wolfgang Pauli Collegiate Chaired Professorship of Chemical Engineering! His new appointment was recognized during a formal reception on October 9, 2019. Collegiate professorships provide resources to reward and retain outstanding faculty throughout engineering. These are reserved for faculty members of national and often international stature who have earned highly distinguished records of teaching, research, and publication. Prof. Sharon Glotzer oversaw the ceremony with remarks given by Prof. Nicholas Kotov, Prof. Ronald Larson, Ph.D. candidates Nahal Habibi and Ayse Muniz. Dean Alec Gallimore presented Prof. Lahann with a medal and physical chair. Prof. Lahann emphasized the importance of teamwork and collaboration in achieving this recognition during his lecture, "Materials, Surfaces, and Converging Interfaces."

 
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Anke, Ayse and Dylan publish in Advanced Materials

Together, Anke Steier (PhD Candidate, KIT Lab), Ayse Muniz (PhD Candidate, Macromolecular Sciences and Engineering) and Dylan Neale (PhD Candidate, Chemical Engineering) have just published their review on using information-driven engineering to design complex biological systems.

Congrats Anke, Ayse and Dylan!

Figure from paper showing the workflow of engineering artificial tissue using information driven design for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Figure from paper showing the workflow of engineering artificial tissue using information driven design for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.