Optical Characterization and Nanophotonics Laboratory

Catherine M. Klapperich Collaborator Boston University Assistant Professor 15 Saint Mary's Street Boston, MA 02215 Office: (617) 358-0253 Email: catherin http://www.klapperichlab.org/

Biography

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

CURRENT FOCUS:

The Biomedical Microdevices and Microenvironments Laboratory (BMML) is focused on the design and engineering of manufacturable, disposable microfluidic systems for low-cost point-of-care molecular diagnostics.We are currently working on devices for the detection of infectious diarrhea, influenza and MRSA.

We are also studying interactions between cells and synthetic microenvironments. Specifically, we are interested in building culture systems in vitro that mechanically mimic the physiological environment. These synthetic microenvironments are intended for use in diagnostics, high throughput drug screening, and to enable previously impossible basic science studies. Currently we have projects aimed at recapitulating the microenvironments of the breast, cochlea and neural tissue.

Dr. Catherine Klapperich joined the faculty of the Boston University College of Engineering in 2003. She is the director of the Biomedical Microdevices and Microenvironments Laboratory in the Departments of Biomedical and Manufacturing Engineering. She is also a member of the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at BU. Before coming to Boston, Dr. Klapperich was a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in the lab of Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi, and was a Senior Research Scientist at Aclara Biosciences in Mountain View, CA. She earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2000 from the University of California, Berkeley; her M.S. in Engineering from Harvard University and her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern.