Experience

University of Arizona

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Associate Professor

  • Jul 2023 - Present

  - Department of Materials Science and Engineering- Department of Biomedical Engineering- The BIO5 Institute

• Assistant Professor

  • Jul 2016 - Jun 2023

  - Department of Materials Science and Engineering- Department of Biomedical Engineering- The BIO5 Institute



Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Postdoctoral Associate

  • Jul 2012 - Jun 2016

  • Invented first artificial protein polymer hydrogel that acts as a selective biomolecule filter - Conceptualized and developed a method to selectively sequester biological warfare agents - Developed scale-up synthesis process using synthetic biology (~70-fold higher than natural hydrogel analogue) - Earned first rank evaluation at annual review meeting in Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) headquarters (2014) • Invented simple and safe formulation for decontamination of chemical warfare agents on aircraft surfaces - Discovered the self-assembly of inexpensive, commercially available amphiphilic block copolymers onto the organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH) enzyme, which detoxifies neurotoxic nerve agents; developed a co-assembly procedure which enhances enzyme activity (up to 40 %) and stability in various environments (organic solvents, high temperature, lifetime) - Developed high yielding OPH synthesis process • Determined the effect of electrostatics on the self-assembly of protein-polymer block copolymers for material design - Synthesized bioconjugates of 5 fluorescent proteins and one synthetic polymer (Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM)) using a combination of protein synthesis, reversible addition-fragmentation polymerization (RAFT), and thiol-maleimide chemistry; characterized their self-assembly behavior using synchrotron small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) • Published four first author publications, wrote one successful DTRA grant proposal and proposals for synchrotron SAXS time at the National Synchrotron Light Source Show less



Duke University

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Postdoctoral Associate

  • May 2011 - Jun 2012

  Design of Artificially Engineered Biopolymers and Nanoscale Biopolymer Physics

• Research Assistant

  • Sep 2006 - Apr 2011

  • Designed protein-based polymeric materials with advanced properties including muscle toughness and red blood cell reversible deformability - Discovered a new class of proteins with nanospring mechanical behavior using custom-built AFM-based single molecule force spectroscopy- Developed a route to controllably construct protein polymer architectures by utilizing self-assembled biopolymer complexes as material joints - Invented protein-based force probes to precisely measure the strength of self-assembled biopolymer complexes to identify strong crosslinkers for use in materials design - Designed and developed biosynthesis process of shock absorber and nanospring protein polymers• Effectively collaborated with the Chilkoti group in Biomedical Engineering to capture the real-space images of stimulus-responsive biopolymer micelle structures relevant to drug delivery• Published four first author publications (7 total) Show less

• Research Assistant

  • Sep 2004 - Aug 2006

  Research Topic: Analysis of the mechanical properties of single cells via atomic force microscopy (AFM) and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM)



8th U.S. ARMY, 2nd Infantry Division, 44th Engineer Battalion, S4 (Logistics)

• Camp Howze, S. Korea

• Non-Commissioned Officer (Sergeant), KATUSA

  • Aug 1998 - Aug 2000

  • Coordinated military vehicle movements and managed logistics within the battalion as interim section leader • Reduced the budget for the battalion (valued over $50k) by searching out, negotiating, and coordinating vendors for all locally procured items • Supervised U.S. and Korean soldiers • Coordinated military vehicle movements and managed logistics within the battalion as interim section leader • Reduced the budget for the battalion (valued over $50k) by searching out, negotiating, and coordinating vendors for all locally procured items • Supervised U.S. and Korean soldiers