Education

BS, Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison

PhD, Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Advisors: Drs. Robert Langer and Donald Ingber)

Post-doctoral Studies, Harvard Medical School (Advisor: Dr. Joseph Vacanti)

Recent Awards and Recognitions

• 2021: International Award, European Society for Biomaterials ; Web of Science Highly Cited Researchers

• 2019: Top 10 translational researchers in biotech (Nature Biotechnology; 37:1401-1402, 2019)

• 2018: Mid-Career Award, Materials Research Society

• 2017: National Academy of Inventors (NAI)

Dave is a leader in the fields of biomaterials, mechanotransduction, drug delivery, tissue engineering and immunoengineering. He is interested in understanding how cells sense signals in their environment and how this alters cell behavior. His laboratory develops biomaterials that exploits these signals to regulate specific cells and their function. They were the first to demonstrate in 3-D culture that the mechanical properties of a substrate regulated stem cell fate. His lab also developed the first implantable biomaterial cancer vaccine that contained biochemical cues to recruit and re-educate the immune system to destroy cancer cells. Dave’s goal is to use our knowledge of cell biology in conjunction with materials to boost therapeutic effects.

Dave is the Robert Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering in the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and a Core Faculty Member of the Wyss Institute at Harvard University. He is a member of several national academies and has won numerous awards for his research and his mentorship/teaching. He has published over 400 articles and has been issued numerous patents, several of which have been licensed to companies, resulting in successful commercial products. He is also an active member in major engineering professional societies, an editorial advisor to multiple journals, and serves on several industry and government advisory boards.