Biological engineering unites experimentation with theory and modeling to decipher the complexity of biological systems. Chemical engineers apply expertise in kinetics, thermodynamics, and transport to model biological interactions across multiple length scales (e.g. single cell to organism), with applications to human health, sustainability, and bioproduction.

Research Themes:

Nanomedicine

Transport of biomolecules into tissues; novel methods using external forces and biomaterials for drug delivery applications; how physical properties of nanoparticles affect biological transport. Engineered protein nanoparticle vaccines.

Diagnostic Tools & Biodiscovery

Designing proteins and peptides for medical diagnostic and therapeutic applications; study of non-model microbes for biochemical production, such as biofuels, commodity chemicals, and therapeutics.

Systems & Synthetic Biology

Complex microbial communities that decompose and recycle carbon biomass; designing synthetic microbial partnerships; understanding systems for designing new antimicrobials. Engineering proteins and protein assemblies for waste degradation

Biomolecular Interactions

Coupled folding, self-assembly, and self-organization processes in peptides and small proteins; state of the art biophysical characterization of membrane-protein interaction and dynamics; protein and lipid membrane interactions; characterization of proteins for biomedical applications; study of forces between biological macromolecular and biomaterials, biomembranes, and biosurfaces; nanoparticles for transport of therapeutics across cell membranes. High-throughput screens for experimental evaluation of key protein-biomolecule interactions; study of protein-driven phase separation