JeanneStachowiak

About
Jeanne Stachowiak is interested in the biophysical mechanisms that underlie the function of lipid membranes in cells, as well as the opportunity to create bio-inspired materials and systems that borrow these mechanisms. Her laboratory develops new lipid membrane substrates and lipid-encapsulated systems and examines them using advanced microfluidic and fluorescence microscopy tools. By reconstructing membranes from component parts, her work seeks to capture the minimal requirements of specific membrane functions.

Her work focuses on understanding how proteins and lipid domains modify the fluidity, reactivity and 3D architecture of membranes; examining how confinement within a lipid vesicle influences biochemical reactions and the spatial organization of biochemical components; and using the organizational principles of the lipid membrane to build functional systems such as assays, drug carriers and environmentally responsive materials.

She received her B.S. in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from The University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining The University of Texas at Austin, Stachowiak worked as a senior researcher with Sandia Laboratories, where she designed synthetic analogs of cellular membranes and developed microdevices used for biodetection and biomedical applications.

Educational Qualifications
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, The University of California, Berkeley
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, The University of California, Berkeley
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

Select Awards & Honors

• AIMBE fellow
• CAREER Award – National Science Foundation

Related Websites
Stachowiak Lab

Select Publications