Leon M. Bellan
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Overview:
Materials with micro- or nanofabricated features can respond in intelligent ways to external stimuli and can serve to mimic living systems. However, the vast majority of techniques used to produce such materials are either derived from the semiconductor industry or are based on rapid prototyping approaches, hindering the development and widespread use of patterned smart materials. Because these conventional techniques were developed to fabricate devices, they are not necessarily well suited to produce materials. Devices typically require precise placement of functional elements and do not necessarily extend significantly in all three dimensions, whereas materials (which often must have significant extent in all three dimensions) often depend more on feature density and patterns, and not necessarily perfectly reproduced structures. A major focus of our lab is to develop non-traditional fabrication techniques that are well-suited to producing such microfluidic materials.Awards:
• NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, 2011-present
• NIH F32 Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Fellowship, 2010-2011
Selected Publications:
iPSC-Derived Brain Endothelium Exhibits Stable, Long-Term Barrier Function in Perfused Hydrogel Scaffolds. Faley, SL; Neal, EH; Wang, JX; Bosworth, AM; Weber, CM; Balotin, KM; Lippmann, ES; Bellan, LM, STEM CELL REPORTS, 12, 474-487 , (2019) View Abstract
A simple microfluidic platform for rapid and efficient production of the radiotracer [F-18] fallypride. Zhang, X; Liu, F; Knapp, KA; Nickels, ML; Manning, HC; Bellan, LM, LAB ON A CHIP, 18, 1369-1377 , (2018) View Abstract
Composites Formed from Thermoresponsive Polymers and Conductive Nanowires for Transient Electronic Systems. Zhang, X; Bellan, LM, ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES, 9, 21991-21997 , (2017) View Abstract