We design hydrogel biomaterials and biofabrication platforms to study cell behavior and create functional living materials.
See more about our current projects and research directions below.
Designing Materials to Study Cell Movement: How do cells, especially microbes, navigate complex biological environments, individually or collectively? By designing structured materials, we investigate microbial movement and its implications for biomedical and environmental challenges.
Creating Microenvironments to Study Host-Pathogen Interactions: How do environmental properties, like porosity, stiffness, and degradability, shape host-pathogen dynamics? We explore how bacteria interact with bacteriophages in complex environments to uncover principles that influence phage-based engineering strategies across medicine and agriculture.
Biofabrication for Soft and Living Materials: How can we precisely organize cells and materials in 3D to mimic the architecture of tissues or microbial habitats? How can we scale up the production of structured living materials while maintaining fine spatial control? Can we develop low-cost or open-source biofabrication tools for accessible living materials research? We use biofabrication techniques to construct materials that combine soft matter with living cells, enabling dynamic systems for biomedical and environmental applications.
We are grateful to the funding organizations that make our scientific research possible!
DCMR NIH COBRE 5P20GM139760-04
Pilot Project Award
New Faculty Hire Start-up
Delaware Bioscience Center for Advanced Technology
Ideas - High-return, Innovative, Transformative (iHIT) Award
University of Delaware College of Engineering and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
New Faculty Start-up Funding
The Muir Lab Facilities
Agilent BioTek Epoch 2 Microplate Spectrophotometer
Analytical balance
Biosafety cabinet (1300 Series Class II, Type A2) for microbes
Biosafety cabinet (1300 Series Class II, Type A2) for microbe, mammalian cell, and bacteriophage
Centrifuge
Chemical hoods (4x)
Chromebooks with charging station for ELNs
CO2-controlled mammalian cell incubator
Drying oven
Discover Echo Revolve Microscope (coming soon)
Instant Pot
Keyence BZX-800 widefield fluorescence microscope with Tokai Hit stage top incubator
Liquid nitrogen cell storage tank
Lulzbot Bioprinter
Microbiological incubator, 100L (2x)
Microbiology Mini Refrigerator (2x)
Microwave oven
Mini shaking incubators (2x)
OmniCure S1500 Spot UV Curing System
Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K SLA
Phrozen UV Curing Station
Refrigerator/freezer combo (2x)
Refrigerated microcentrifuge
Sony digital camera and LED light fixtures
Syringe pump (2x)
TA Instruments HR-20 Discovery Hybrid Rheometer
Tokai TPiE-SPE Aluminum Warming Pad
Tokai TPi-UNIX Warming Plate (coming soon)
Ultra-low temperature freezer
Vacuum pump
Vortex mixer (2x)
Water bath (2x)
University of Delaware Core Facilities
The scientific ecosystem at UD thrives on collaboration and translational research, supported by an outstanding research infrastructure that includes extensive resources, state-of-the-art facilities, advanced equipment, and core services. UD's soft matter, biomaterials, microbiology, and materials science research communities are renowned for their interdisciplinary approach, prominence, and strong emphasis on collaboration. As a few examples, our lab members work with equipment, resources, and fellow researchers in the following core facilities, centers, and institutions on campus for scientific research and professional development opportunities:
