About Mayank
- Advisor: Craig Hawker
- Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Campus: UCSB
- BioPACIFIC MIP Research: SET 3 - Functional Biomimics
What is your research focus?
Biocomposites such as bones and leaves adapt to dynamic environmental stimuli while performing sustenance and repair functions. This multifunctionality in biological vascular structures is enabled by heat and mass transport through a network of interconnected hollow conduits that is partially or completely embedded inside these materials. In my PhD, I explored rapid and energy efficient manufacturing of bioinspired microvascular composites for rigid aerospace and automotive structures. However, creating soft structures with hierarchical architectures for selective fluid exchange, biomolecule synthesis, and mechanical actuation in response to environmental stimuli remains a grand challenge in biomedical applications. As a postdoctoral scholar collaborating with Prof. Craig Hawker and Prof. Angela Pitenis in the Materials department at UCSB, I am exploring additive manufacturing of functional biomimics that demonstrate a change in mechanical and/or chemical properties in response to various environmental stimuli (photo, thermal, ionic). This project aligns well the SET 3 of the BioPACIFIC MIP program. In particular, we’ll are interested in using digital light projection (DLP) and extrusion-based direct ink writing (DIW) techniques for making complex 3D architectures of hydrogels containing optogenetic proteins that reversibly crosslink during irradiation from a blue-light source. I will be using the additive manufacturing instruments located in CNSI to print hydrogel networks with different concentrations of these blue-light-responsive biomolecule additives. Survival of the active moieties and their influence on reversible switching of mechanical properties in the printed geometries will reveal the suitable material-process-function relationships for high-throughput fabrication of such versatile biomaterials.
What excites you about NSF BioPACIFIC MIP?
The BioPACIFIC MIP Fellows and Affiliates program will enable me to seek the desired mentorship to execute my interdisciplinary research vision during postdoc at UCSB, and provide numerous professional development opportunities for a future career in research and outreach. Creating an Individual Development Plan (IDP) with guidance from faculty mentors would ensure timely feedback on achieving and evolving project milestones. Attending various research and professional development meetings will help me build a network of supportive peers for improving my research communication. I am excited to share my expertise for helpful discussions with my peers and seek expertise when I encounter knowledge gaps in my own projects. BioPACIFIC MIP Summer School professional development workshops would be a great resource for connecting with academic and industrial partners, and learn more about long-term research career trajectories. I hope to bring my curiosity and skillset to this program’s mission, and benefit from the diverse experiences of fellows and mentors.
