My research focuses extensively on interdisciplinary research projects aimed at combining inorganic nanomaterials with biological materials and living cells to create novel solutions to problems in public health, agriculture, and the environment. My original work centered on the development of artificial matrices to enhance cell viability for use in biosensors for low-resource environments, which was well received has led to a consistent publication record in high-impact journals. This has generated considerable IP as well as funded proposals which seek to create new materials for a wide variety of cell-based devices for applications ranging from extreme-environment sensing and energy production to investigations of cell signaling pathways and collective cellular behavior. Originating from these initial materials, my research has branched out in several directions. One thrust has been to use living cells to create novel hierarchical multiscale materials by combining self- assembly and lithography with lipids, ion channels, surface receptors, and nanoparticles for biological and materials applications.
