Federico Lancia Rubicon Fellowship

The research proposed by Dr. Lancia focuses on the development of artificial tissues formed by morphogenesis driven by supramolecular polymerization. His proposal envisions the use of modular peptide amphiphiles-DNA assemblies to reach this goal. The Stupp laboratory has pioneered the use of supra molecular peptide amphiphiles for biomaterials applications. Dr. Lancia's proposal overlaps well with our expertise and more importantly with our interest in designing smart, responsive soft materials. In particular, it fits the research platform of the Center for Bio-inspired Energy Science which I direct, where we seek to develop the next frontier in soft materials by designing structures that emulate many of the behaviors and properties we see in biological systems. Our vision is that this research will lead to artificial materials that rival living ones in the remarkable and useful ways they manage energy. Moreover, Dr. Lancia's proposal offers interesting orthogonal directions where the materials developed will also be studied in the context of regenerative medicine, a major research focus for the Center for Regenerative Nanomedicine at the Simpson Querrey Institute of which I am also Director. Dr. Lancia will benefit enormously from these connections and the expertise of his colleagues to expand his knowledge in materials science, and I see great potential for synergistic knowledge transfer ensured by our common scientific interests.