(2ar) Designing Granular Hydrogels for Bioengineering Applications

Microgels are tiny hydrogel microparticles on the size scale of 10’s to 100’s of microns in diameter. Microgels can be assembled into a jammed state to form granular hydrogels. A great visual is to imagine the granular structure of sand, but the grains are made of Jell-O. These soft, porous materials combine properties of hydrogels (high water content, tunable chemistry, tissue-like mechanics) with granular materials (flowability and adaptability, building-block nature, microscale porosity). Many bioengineering applications benefit from the advantageous properties of granular hydrogels, including injectable tissue repair, in vitro cell culture, 3D bioprinting, and soft robotics.

My research program will center on designing granular hydrogels for bioengineering applications. The Muir Lab will have expertise in exploring the granular hydrogel design space across multiple size scales to engineer materials for bioengineering innovation. This includes tuning material properties at the 1) molecular scale: the polymer network and types of crosslinkers both within and between microgels, 2) microscale: the size and shape of microgels, 3) mesoscale: the local pore characteristics (i.e., pore size & shape, tortuosity), and 4) macroscale: overall properties such as porosity, mechanical moduli, flowability, and structural stability.

My independent research program builds off my expertise from both my PhD and postdoctoral studies to explore new and exciting directions. As an NSF Graduate Research Fellow under the advisement of Prof. Jason A. Burdick at University of Pennsylvania, I developed hyaluronic acid granular hydrogels for extrusion printing inks, in vitro spheroid culture, and injectable tissue repair for in vivo treatment of degenerative disc disease. I also gained expertise in multiple microgel fabrication methods as well as chemical modification of polymers to increase the range of hydrogel material properties. As a Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow under the advisement of Prof. Sujit Datta at Princeton University, I am using granular hydrogels, embedded 3D printing, and confocal imaging to create model porous microenvironments to study interactions of multiple microbial communities in real-time.

As a principal investigator, I am excited to explore new directions, including 1) characterizing fundamental properties of granular hydrogels from a chemical engineering perspective (i.e., fluid flow, mass transport), 2) incorporating spatiotemporally controlled chemical features into granular hydrogels to enhance material properties, and 3) creating in vitro models for mimicking native, diseased, and injured environments. In addition to materials fabrication and cell culture, my lab will utilize additional tools including real-time imaging techniques, custom microelectronic devices, and 3D printing to expand granular hydrogels for bioengineering applications. I envision future directions including investigating gynecological disease treatments, musculoskeletal injury, and antimicrobial technologies. Lastly, I am excited about collaborative directions ranging from computational modeling of soft granular media to in vivo translation of granular hydrogel therapies.

Teaching Interests:

I have significant experience in university teaching, and I am excited to contribute to my department as a strong educator and mentor. As a PhD candidate, I completed a Graduate Teaching Certificate through Penn’s Center for Teaching and Learning, which entailed taking multiple courses on university teaching, being a teaching assistant for three graduate courses, and delivering multiple full lectures with subsequent detailed feedback from faculty. In 2020, I received the highest recognition for graduate teaching at Penn, the Penn Prize for Excellence in Graduate Teaching. In addition, I have been a mentor to four undergraduate and graduate students in the Burdick Lab, and I have participated in formal coursework in effective mentoring.

I am well-prepared to teach much of the undergraduate coursework in chemical engineering fundamentals, including introduction to chemical engineering, fluid dynamics, and heat & mass transfer. In addition, I have the skillset and strong interest to teach laboratory- and design-based courses (e.g., junior lab, senior design). Building on my experience both in university teaching and mentoring others in the lab, I am well-prepared to guide students through experimental design, analysis, and presentation, as well as effective approaches to tackle large projects. Further, I would also be interested in teaching graduate coursework in biomaterials, tissue engineering, and soft matter. Lastly, I am interested in developing a graduate course in granular materials for chemical engineering applications.

*Figure schematics made with biorender.com.