TEAM
JEFF KARP
Dr. Jeff Karp is the Distinguished Chair in Anesthesiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School in Boston. He is also a principal faculty member at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and an affiliate faculty member at the Broad Institute and at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Karp was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, Royal Society of Chemistry, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s College of Fellows, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
Jeff runs a basic research laboratory dedicated to the process of medical innovation that harnesses lessons from nature for inspiration (Bioinspiration) from creatures such as geckos spider webs, jellyfish, porcupine quills, snails to spiny headed worms. He works in the fields of drug delivery, medical devices, stem cell therapeutics, and tissue adhesives. He has published over 125 peer-reviewed papers, with >32,000 citations, and has given >300 invited lectures. He has >100 issued or pending national and international patents. Several technologies developed in his lab have led to multiple products currently in development or on the market and to the launch of ten companies that have raised over $600 million in funding. Technologies include high-tech skincare (Skintifique, products sold in pharmacies throughout EU), photocurable polymer technology for tissue reconstruction (Tissium, EU Approval in 2017) and 3D printed biomedical devices, immunomodulation with biologically responsive materials (Alivio Tx, acquired by Puretech Health in 2021), small molecule regenerative therapeutics ($FREQ – NASDAQ), cannabinoid therapeutics (Molecular Infusions acquired by Suterra Wellness in 2019), biomedical devices to improve child safety (Landsdowne Labs), needles that automatically stop at their target to deliver gene therapy (Bullseye Therapeutics, acquired by Meira Tx in 2021), a bioengineered luminal coating for controlled GI targeting (Altrix Bio), and a nasal spray to neutralize pathogens (Akita Biosciences).
Karp has received >50 awards and honors. Most recently Jeff received the highest award from the Society For Biomaterials for innovation – the Clemson Award for Applied Research. Boston Magazine recognized Karp as one of 11 Boston Doctors Making Medical Breakthroughs. The Boston Business Journal recognized him as a Champion in Healthcare Innovation and MIT’s Technology Review Magazine (TR35) also recognized Karp as being one of the top innovators in the world (three members from his laboratory have subsequently received this award). His work has been selected by Popular Mechanic’s as one of the Top 20 New Biotech Breakthroughs that Will Change Medicine. He gave a commencement speech at his high school in 2011, and a TEDMED talk in 2014 on bioinspired medical innovation, and since 2015 has been a member of the TEDMED Editorial Advisory Board. In 2015 and 2016, he received Breakthrough Awards from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and in 2015 was a commencement speaker at the University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry and Pharmacy. Karp also won an internal Shark Tank award judged by Kevin O’Leary (from ABC’s Shark Tank). In 2018 Karp gave a TEDx talk on Radical Simplicity. Furthermore in 2019 Karp was a grade 8 commencement speaker at the Talcott Mountain Academy in Connecticut.
In addition to his research goals, Karp is dedicated to developing the careers of the next-generation bioengineers at the forefront of biomedical innovation. He was selected as the Outstanding Faculty Undergraduate Mentor among all faculty at MIT and he received the HST McMahon Mentoring award for being the top mentor of Harvard-MIT students. To date, 30 trainees from his laboratory have secured faculty positions.
LAB MANAGER
Lisa joined the lab in mid 2021 and she oversees the lab administration, including fiscal/budget management, grant management, supervision of lab personnel activities, inventory management, ordering of supplies, and managing the on-boarding of new students and postdocs.
INSTRUCTORS
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CLINICAL INTERNS
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POST-DOCTORATES
James joined the lab as a postdoctoral fellow in March 2021 under the mentorship of Drs. Yuhan Lee and Jeff Karp. He completed his PhD in Biomedical Engineering at University of British Columbia in 2018. His research interests include biomaterials for drug delivery, particularly for bleeding and wound care, and clinical collaborations to develop new animal models for testing interventions. He has founded a start-up company to commercialize new hemostatic agents for the battlefield, which is supported by partnerships with the US and Canadian militaries.
Jingjing joined the lab as a postdoctoral research fellow in May 2021. She is co-mentored by Dr. Nitin Joshi and Dr. Jeffrey Karp. She completed her PhD in Chemistry at University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2019 and continued as a Postdoc for one year. Her research interests include stimuli-responsive materials for sensing and drug delivery. In the Joshi Lab, her focus is to develop drug delivery platforms and maximize their translation potential for osteoarthritis treatment. In her spare time she enjoys traveling and exploring new restaurants
Hi I joined the Karp lab as a postdoctoral research fellow in March 2021, after I obtained my Ph.D. in Seoul National University under supervision of Prof. Taeghwan Hyeon. There, I was focusing on developing stretchable bioelectronics for treating heart failure and treating reactive oxygen species related diseases using catalytic antioxidant nanoparticles. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling and walking.”
Dr. John Joseph is a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow co-mentored by Drs. Nitin Joshi and Jeffrey Karp. He has broad research interest in nanomedicine and nanotechnology with an emphasis on polymeric drug delivery systems and biomedical implants. In the Joshi Lab, Dr. Joseph’s research focuses on leveraging biomaterials to develop stimuli-responsive hydrogels and long-acting injectables. During his Ph.D in nano-bioengineering, Dr. Joseph developed novel biomaterials for vascular graft applications. This study was undertaken at Amrita Centre for Nanoscience, India, in collaboration with the University of Bristol, UK.
Sohyung joined the lab as a postdoctoral research fellow in April 2022 right after she completed her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at UCLA under the mentorship with Prof. Dino Di Carlo. She is co-mentored by Dr. Nitin Joshi and Dr. Jeffrey Karp. Her research interests broadly include developing micro/nano-fabrication methods for biomedical applications. During her Ph.D. she worked on 3D bioprinting and microfluidics for tissue engineering and single cell analysis. Currently, her focus is to develop drug delivery platforms for long-lasting drug release to treat chronic pain and substance use disorder. In her free time, she enjoys watching images and videos of cute animals and she likes walking in warm weather.
Hi! I joined the Karp lab as a postdoctoral research fellow in September 2019, shortly after I received my Ph.D. in Chemistry from Emory University with Prof. Khalid Salaita. There, I developed DNA mechanotechnology tools to study mechano-regulation of immune cell signaling. In the Karp lab, I hope to invent simple biomedical approaches for the treatment of diseases. In my spare time, I enjoy playing musical instruments, travelling, and hanging out with friends and my family.
Caitlin joined the lab as a postdoctoral fellow in September 2021 under the mentorship of Drs. Yuhan Lee and Jeff Karp. Caitlin completed her PhD in Bioengineering at Stanford University with Prof. Eric Appel where she focused on using polymeric excipients to modify the stability and pharmacokinetics of insulin formulations. Her research interests broadly include developing biomaterials for translational medical applications.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Shonit is an MD/PhD student who joined the Karp Lab in January 2022, co-advised by Dr. Jeffrey Karp, Dr. Yuhan Lee, and Dr. Katharina Ribbeck. He is pursuing graduate school at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Department of Biological Engineering) and medical school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Carle Illinois College of Medicine). His PhD research focuses on designing innovative medical devices, biomaterials, and bioinspired strategies to improve oral drug delivery. Outside of the lab his hobbies include piano, soccer, and Rubik’s cubes.
RESEARCH TECHNICIANS
Lan Xin (Nancy) joined the Karp lab as a research assistant in November 2021 after graduating from the University of Toronto, where she specialized in Human Biology: Health and Disease with a major in Physiology. Nancy is working with Dr. Victor Ma on retinal cell regeneration. Outside of the lab, she enjoys swimming and exploring Boston.
UNDERGRADUATES
Shumaim is currently an undergraduate student at McMaster University pursuing a degree in Engineering Technology with a specialization in Biotechnology and a minor in Business Management. Shumaim joined the lab in June 2022 as a research intern and will be working with Dr. Sohyung Lee. Her research interests include novel drug delivery methods, immunopharmacology, nanomedicine, and genome editing. In her spare time she enjoys baking, exercising and exploring new restaurants.
Sean joined the Karp lab as an undergraduate research intern in December 2021. While at the lab, he worked with Dr. Victor Ma on the retinal cell regeneration project. Sean attends Harvard University where he is concentrating in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology with a secondary in Computer Science. Outside of the lab, Sean likes to rock climb and make music.
Kabir is currently an undergraduate student pursuing a B.S in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. His current research interests are in HCI, neural interfaces, computer vision for medical imaging diagnoses and assistive robotics. He joined the group in January 2021 as a research intern, and his work focuses on computational modeling for biomedical applications.
ALUMNI