Lei Cai |
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email: leicai AT
stanford DOT edu
Ph.D.
Polymer Engineering,
University of Tennessee
B.S. Polymer Science & Engineering,
Zhejiang University
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Genetically engineered peptides and proteins have demonstrated
great promise for regenerative medicine. These materials often contain
ECM mimics, multi-functional bioactive domains, and sequences that
induce biorecognition-driven self-assembly. Meanwhile, synthetic and
biodegradable polymers display enhanced tunability of tailor-made
physiochemical properties. My research is focused on synergistically
combining peptide or protein motifs with synthetic macromolecules to
accomplish a higher level of smart and self-assembled hybrid hydrogels.
Specific goals include the design of novel hybrid hydrogels that
achieve multiple well-defined degradation rates, stimuli sensitivity,
folding-unfolding transitions, and cell-programmable responsiveness to
control the delivery of soluble factors, therapeutics, and cells for
various tissue engineering applications.
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