Brendan A. Harley

About

Brendan A. Harley is the Robert W. Schaefer Professor in the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois. He serves as the Program Leader for the Cancer Center at Illinois and is a Theme Leader at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. Professor Harley earned his S.B. in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University in 2000 and his Sc.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 2006. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Children's Hospital Boston in 2008. His professional recognitions include being named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2014, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2018, and the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) in 2021. He has received several awards such as the Young Investigator Award in 2014, the Clemson Award for Basic Research in 2021, and the NSF CAREER award in 2013. Professor Harley's research focuses on engineering cellular microenvironments and microstructures, contributing to advancements in biomaterials and tissue engineering, particularly in cancer and regenerative medicine.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Biology
• Medicine
• Biomedical engineering
• Materials science
• Cell biology
• Political Science
• Chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Anatomy

Selected publications

• Precise control of synthetic hydrogel network structure via linear, independent synthesis-swelling relationships

  Science Advances · 2021 · 117 citations

  Hydrogel physical properties are tuned by altering synthesis conditions such as initial polymer concentration and polymer-cross-linker stoichiometric ratios. Traditionally, differences in hydrogel synthesis schemes, such as end-linked poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate hydrogels and cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels, limit structural comparison between hydrogels. In this study, we use generalized synthesis variables for hydrogels that emphasize how changes in formulation affect the result…

  DOI

• Angiogenic biomaterials to promote therapeutic regeneration and investigate disease progression

  Biomaterials · 2020 · 65 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Tough and tunable scaffold-hydrogel composite biomaterial for soft-to-hard musculoskeletal tissue interfaces

  Science Advances · 2020 · 64 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Tendon inserts into bone via a fibrocartilaginous interface (enthesis) that reduces mechanical strain and tissue failure. Despite this toughening mechanism, tears occur because of acute (overload) or degradative (aging) processes. Surgically fixating torn tendon into bone results in the formation of a scar tissue interface with inferior biomechanical properties. Progress toward enthesis regeneration requires biomaterial approaches to protect cells from high levels of interfacial strain. We repor…

  DOI

• Biomaterial design strategies to address obstacles in craniomaxillofacial bone repair

  RSC Advances · 2021 · 52 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Biomaterial design to repair craniomaxillofacial defects has largely focused on promoting bone regeneration, while there are many additional factors that influence this process. The bone microenvironment is complex, with various mechanical property differences between cortical and cancellous bone, a unique porous architecture, and multiple cell types that must maintain homeostasis. This complex environment includes a vascular architecture to deliver cells and nutrients, osteoblasts which form ne…

  DOI

• Inclusion of a 3D-printed Hyperelastic Bone mesh improves mechanical and osteogenic performance of a mineralized collagen scaffold

  Acta Biomaterialia · 2020 · 50 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

Recent grants

• Catch and Release: Biomolecular Ligation and Cleavage Strategies for Generating Instructive and Dynamically Responsive 3D Biomaterials

  NSF · $450k · 2011–2014

• Label-free interrogation of heterogeneities in HSC fate decision signatures

  NIH · $420k · 2015–2019

• CAREER: Building bone marrow

  NSF · $400k · 2013–2018

Frequent coauthors

• Justine C. Lee

  University of California, Los Angeles

  53 shared

• Marley J. Dewey

  University of Pittsburgh

  42 shared

• Xiaoyan Ren

  Chengdu Medical College

  41 shared

• Daniel W. Weisgerber

  University of California, San Francisco

  39 shared

• Qi Zhou

  34 shared

• Sara Pedrón

  Illinois College

  31 shared

• Timothy A. Miller

  26 shared

• Ji Sun Choi

  26 shared

Labs

• Harley Research LabPI

  Engineering cellular microenvironments and microstructures

Education

• Ph.D., Bioengineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  1997

• M.S., Bioengineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  1993

• B.S., Bioengineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  1991

Awards & honors

• NSF CAREER award (2013)
• Young Investigator Award from the Society for Biomaterials (…
• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sc…

Similar researchers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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• Yi Luh-117
• Stephen Bopparth-98