Current Members
Faculty
Joel Collier
Theodore Kennedy Professor of Biomedical Engineering
joel.collier@duke.edu
Research Interests: The design of biomaterials for a range of biomedical applications, with a focus on understanding and controlling adaptive immune responses.
Research Scientists
Yaoying Wu
yw195@duke.edu
Research Interests: Studying the immunological mechanism of supramolecular platforms Designing self-assembling vaccine platforms for enhanced cancer immunotherapy Developing protein delivery systems to amplify immune cell functions
PhD Students
Pablo Cordero-Alvarado
BME Doctoral Student
p.cordero@duke.edu
Research Interests: Understand the design rules of biomaterials to elicit immune responses that can control and improve wound healing in animal models that mimic biological processes in humans.
Benjamin Cossette
BME Doctoral Candidate
benjamin.cossette@duke.edu
Research Interests: Engineering self-assembling peptide vaccines for the treatment of allergy and autoimmune diseases
Elizabeth Curvino
BME Doctoral Candidate
Elizabeth.Curvino@duke.edu
Research Interests: Designing nanofiber immunotherapies for inflammatory bowel disease Developing supramolecular platforms for oral delivery
Helena Freire Haddad
BME Doctoral Student
helena.freire.haddad@duke.edu
Research Interests: Engineering mucus-penetrating materials for mucosal vaccine delivery Active immunotherapies to mitigate inflammatory diseases
Rachel Katz
BME Doctoral Candidate
rachel.r.katz@duke.edu
Research Interests: Reductionist synthetic hydrogels for modeling the tumor microenvironment
Kat Lazar
BME Doctoral Student
kat.lazar@duke.edu
Research Interests: Peptide synthesis and glatiramoids
Emily Roe
BME Doctoral Candidate
emily.roe@duke.edu
Research Interests: Sublingual delivery of peptide nanofibers to prevent sexually transmitted infections Conjugation of proteins to self-assembling peptide nanofibers
Shamitha Shetty
BME Doctoral Candidate
shamitha.shetty@duke.edu
Research Interests: Engineering active immunotherapies for anti-inflammatory applications. Leveraging material platforms to enhance wound healing.
Masters Students
Peiying Liu
Research Interests: Characterizing peptide for autoimmune disease and reduce inflammation
Undergraduates
Gavin Foley
BME Undergraduate Student
gavin.foley@duke.edu
Research Interests: Characterizing polypeptides and understanding how they interact with the immune system.
Christopher Lloyd
BME Undergraduate Student
christopher.lloyd@duke.edu
Research Interests: Designing hydrogel and self-assembling nanofiber scaffolds to modulate adaptive immune responses to wounds
Therapeutic Pet-tides
Zuzu Collier
Research Interests: Currently studying leporine psychology, secretly wishing it was leporine gastronomy.
Theo Cordero
Research Interests: Theo's interests range from finding hidden toys to following trails of little treats. In his free time, he enjoys going to dog parks and making new friends.
Appa Freire
Research Interests: Propagating sound waves in nocturnal conditions
Essi Katz
Research Interests: Essi’s project focuses on finding the maximum number of places to hide the bodies of cockroaches she has sac’ed. In her free time, she enjoys chasing spots of light, parkour, and making biscuits.
Benny Roe
Research Interests: Bennys interests include studying the behavioral patterns of the eastern gray squirrel and the optimal disassembly of stuffed animals. In his free time he enjoys napping and hiking with his mom.