Our lab’s research lies at the interface of soft (bio)materials and biology. We seek to understand and control the interactions between soft (bio)materials and biological systems, with the mission to address critical challenges in human health, energy, and sustainability.
We achieve this through a combination of experimental, theoretical, and machine learning approaches. Our core expertise includes polymers and soft matter, biomaterials, voxel bioprinting, and additive manufacturing of soft and composite materials; complementary expertise includes chemical synthesis, advanced characterization, instrument engineering, animal and translational studies. Our research program is highly collaborative and interdisciplinary..
Our research is highly interdisciplinary and collaborative. We work closely with experts from different fields to identify and solve problems of both fundamental importance and practical value. Members of our group often start with one area of research and gradually broaden their horizon spanning from physics, chemistry, biology, engineering to medicine.
Current research is divided into four areas: (1) polymers and soft matter/self-driving lab (SDL); (2) advanced (bio)manufacturing; (3) biomaterials; (4) bioengineering. Along with these research thrusts, in parallel to efforts toward practical applications, we seek to answer four fundamental scientific questions:
- What are the molecular mechanisms for nonlinear (mechanical, electric, magnetic, and optical) properties of soft materials under large deformations?
- How do soft (bio)materials interact with biological objects?
- Can we use soft matter principles to understand the rules of life?
- Can we exploit AI/machine learning to discover new, fundamental principles in soft matter?