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Ankur Singh
Biography
Ankur Singh is an Assistant Professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. Dr. Singh has strong expertise in the engineering of biomaterials-based platforms for cell and immune modulation, cell-biomaterial interactions, cell adhesion, stem cell engineering, and vaccines. He received his postdoctoral training at Georgia Tech where he employed engineering and molecular cell biology principles to understand human stem cell reprogramming and differentiation, stem and mature cell adhesion, force response and mechanotransduction. Dr. Singh received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. His research has established multi-modal, biomaterials-based functionalized hydrogel and microparticle to enhance the potency of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Hepatitis vaccines.
Research Interests
Dr. Singh's "Immunotherapy and Cell Engineering Lab (ICEL)" focuses on engineering immune and therapeutic cells by integrating innovative materials and core concepts of cell immunology, biomechanics, and force transmission. The overall goal of ICEL is to understand the fundamentals of cell-material interactions, underlying cell mechanics, signaling, and to establish novel micro-nano-bioengineering strategies to generate therapeutic cells and engineered tissues. We will achieve this by working at the interface of biomaterials, microfluidics and microfabrication, immune cells, stem cells, and mechanotransduction, Specific research focus includes:
1. Immune-engineering: Materials and Molecular Engineering for Modulating Immunity
2. Engineering Human Stem Cells
3. Micro-Nano-Bioengineering for Cell-Matrix Interactions and understanding cell adhesion
Teaching Interests
Biofluid Mechanics -MAE 4650/4651/5650
Immuno-engineering -MAE 6630
Biofluid Mechanics and Physiological Transport -MAE 6690
Selected Publications
- 2017. "Immuno-engineered organoids for regulating the kinetics of B-cell development and antibody production." Nature Protocols 12 (1): 168-182. .
- 2015. "Integrin-specific hydrogels as adaptable tumor organoids for malignant B and T cells.." Biomaterials 73: 110-119. .
- 2015. "Ex vivo engineered immune organoids for controlled germinal center reactions." Biomaterials 63: 24-34. .
- 2015. "Adhesion strength-based, label-free isolation of human pluripotent stem cells." Nature methods 10 (5): 438-444. .
- 2015. "Light-triggered in vivo activation of adhesive peptides regulates cell adhesion, inflammation and vascularization of biomaterials." Nature Materials 14 (3): 352-360. .
Selected Awards and Honors
- 2017 Young Investigator Award from the Society for Biomaterials (Society for Biomaterials) 2017
- Department of Defense Career Award (CDMRP) 2017
- 2015 Biomaterials Outstanding Paper Award (Elsevier) 2016
- National Science Foundation CAREER Award (Division of Materials Research, Biomaterials) 2016
- 2014 Young Innovator in Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering 2014
Websites
Education
- M.Tech (Biomedical Engineering), Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, 2006
- Ph D (Biomedical Engineering), The University of Texas at Austin, 2010
- Post Doc (Mechanical Engineering (Cell Mechanics)), Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013