Research

In the Wang Lab /Integrated Biointerfaces Engineering Lab (IBEL), we develop micro- and nanoscale engineering platforms to study human disease and design precise therapeutic interventions. Our work is motivated by a central challenge in translational bioengineering: current experimental models often fail to capture the dynamic and mechanically active nature of human tissues, while many therapeutic systems still lack sufficient control over where, when, and how treatment is delivered. To address this gap, we use microengineered living tissues and tissue-integrated sensors to model disease progression as a functional process rather than a static endpoint. In parallel, we design material-encoded micro/nano therapeutic systems, including long-acting delivery platforms, responsive carriers, and device-based delivery systems, to control therapeutic timing, localization, and release kinetics. Together, these efforts form a connected engineering framework: build human-relevant disease models, extract mechanistic and functional readouts, and use those insights to guide the design of precision therapeutic systems. Our long-term goal is to engineer biointerfaces across scales to create translational technologies for regenerative medicine, drug delivery, and precision medicine.

Research Interests and Directions

Microengineered Living Tissues & Biointerfaces

Engineering human microtissues and tissue-integrated biointerfaces to model disease as dynamic, functional biology.

We build engineered tissue systems and screening devices that capture disease as a functional process. This area includes 3D microtissues, organ-on-chip platforms, biosensing interfaces, and stimulation systems designed to measure how human tissues contract, conduct, remodel, communicate, and respond to therapy. Current directions include cardiac, neural, and vascular models, with readouts spanning: tissue mechanics and contractile force electrophysiology and calcium dynamics multicellular coupling and tissue remodeling barrier function and transport functional phenotyping under disease and drug exposure. The goal is not to replace whole-organism biology, but to create high-information human testbeds that make discovery and translation more precise.

Related work: Wang et al., ACS Cent. Sci.; Kuzmanov & Wang et al., Nat. Biomed. Eng.; Wang et al., J. Mol. Cell. Cardiol.; Zhao & Wang et al., Trends Biotechnol.

Programmable Micro/Nano Therapeutic Systems

Designing material-encoded carriers and nanomedicine platforms that control when, where, and how therapeutics act

We engineer therapeutic delivery platforms that control timing, location, dose, and tissue exposure. This domain builds on our work in programmable release systems, including hydrogel-based delivery platforms and functionalized micro/nanocarriers. Key engineering concepts include: spatiotemporal drug release sequential and combination delivery tissue-targeted nanomedicine injectable and implantable biomaterial depots micro/nano carrier design for biologics, RNA therapeutics formulation and delivery optimization. A major focus is moving beyond passive carriers toward programmable therapeutic systems, platforms that are designed around disease kinetics, tissue architecture, and biological feedback. This work aims to create delivery technologies that can be tuned for different organs, disease stages, and therapeutic cargos.

Related work: Wang et al., Cell Biomater.; Eshaghi et al., Sci. Adv.; Yang et al., Matter; Wang et al., Biomaterials; Alsaiari et al., Sci. Adv.

Smart Microdevices & Biohybrid Robotics

Developing intelligent microdevices, self-driving screening platforms, and micro/nano robotic systems that integrate sensing, actuation, adaptive control, and precision intervention.

We develop next-generation devices that integrate materials, sensing, delivery, and tissue interfacing. This direction includes smart implants, bioelectronic interfaces, minimally invasive devices, and emerging micro/nano robotic delivery concepts. Our long-term vision is to move biomedical devices from static implants toward adaptive therapeutic systems that can localize therapy, respond to biological environments, and interface dynamically with living tissues. Areas of interest include: implantable delivery devices responsive biomaterials for on-demand release tissue-interfacing bioelectronic and mechanoresponsive systems micro/nano robotic concepts for localized therapeutic transport closed-loop device testing in engineered tissues and preclinical models computationally informed device geometry, transport, and release design. Together, these platforms aim to create a new class of biomedical systems that are programmable, minimally invasive, and biologically responsive.

Related work: Wang et al., Cell Biomater.; Han et al., Nat. Mater.; Wang et al., Biomaterials.

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