Sean Palecek

About

Sean Palecek is the Milton J. and A. Maude Shoemaker Professor at the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focuses on cellular signaling networks, particularly mechano-transduction pathways, and how quantitative changes in signal flow control various cellular processes. He studies how cell-cell adhesive interactions influence disease pathogenesis and how adhesive and mechanical signals, combined with chemical signals, regulate stem cell fate choices. His work includes investigating how cell adhesion affects disease mechanisms, using genetic screens to identify adhesion receptors in the human pathogen Candida albicans, and characterizing their roles in biofilm formation, virulence, and interactions with materials used in medical devices. Palecek also studies how physical cues such as adhesive forces and mechanical strain impact the self-renewal and differentiation of human embryonic stem cells, aiming to develop methods for scalable stem cell culture and differentiation strategies. His contributions advance understanding in cellular engineering, tissue engineering, and stem cell biology, with applications in disease treatment and biomaterials design.

Research topics

• Neuroscience
• Biology
• Medicine
• Pathology
• Computational biology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Cell biology
• Computer Science
• Genetics
• Cancer research

Selected publications

• Transcriptomic comparison of human and mouse brain microvessels

  Scientific Reports · 2020 · 159 citations

  The brain vasculature maintains brain homeostasis by tightly regulating ionic, molecular, and cellular transport between the blood and the brain parenchyma. These blood-brain barrier (BBB) properties are impediments to brain drug delivery, and brain vascular dysfunction accompanies many neurological disorders. The molecular constituents of brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) and pericytes, which share a basement membrane and comprise the microvessel structure, remain incompletely chara…

  DOI

• A human three-dimensional neural-perivascular ‘assembloid’ promotes astrocytic development and enables modeling of SARS-CoV-2 neuropathology

  Nature Medicine · 2021 · 145 citations

  DOI

• Commentary on human pluripotent stem cell-based blood–brain barrier models

  Fluids and Barriers of the CNS · 2020 · 121 citations

  In 2012, we provided the first published evidence that human pluripotent stem cells could be differentiated to cells exhibiting markers and phenotypes characteristic of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In the ensuing years, the initial protocols have been refined, and the research community has identified both positive and negative attributes of this stem cell-based BBB model system. Here, we give our perspective on the current status of these models and their use in the BBB community, as well as…

  DOI

• The need for an organoid manufacturing, preservation, and distribution center

  Stem Cells Translational Medicine · 2025-06-19 · 6 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Organoids, which are tiny, lab-grown 3D structures that mimic some organizational and functional properties of human organs, are slowly transforming the face of systems and developmental biology, biomedical research, pharmaceutical testing, environmental toxin testing, and healthcare. Significant investments are essential for the mass production, preservation, and distribution of organoids, with the aim to accelerate innovation and progress across multiple fields-much like the investments made i…

  PublisherDOI

• Regional heterogeneity of the blood-brain barrier

  Nature Communications · 2025-08-08 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  The blood-brain barrier (BBB), formed by specialized endothelial cells (ECs), regulates the extracellular composition of the central nervous system (CNS). Little is known about whether there are regional specializations of the BBB that may control the function of specific neural circuits. We use single cell RNA-seq to characterize ECs from nine CNS regions in male mice: cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, spinal cord, striatum, thalamus, hypothalamus, midbrain, and medulla/pons. Although there is a…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Prevention of Candida biofilms by localized delivery of aurein analogues

  NIH · $421k · 2016–2018

• EAGER: Biomanufacturing: Engineering Cell-Intrinsic Control of Cardiomyocyte Differentiation in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

  NSF · $300k · 2015–2018

• A Multi-Omics Approach to Discover Metabolic Critical Quality Attributes for Cardiomyocyte Biomanufacturing

  NIH · $1.5M · 2019–2025

Frequent coauthors

• Eric V. Shusta

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  70 shared

• Timothy J. Kamp

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  65 shared

• Xiaojun Lian

  Pennsylvania State University

  60 shared

• James A. Thomson

  Morgridge Institute for Research

  55 shared

• Gisela F. Wilson

  54 shared

• Andrew G. Soerens

  University of Minnesota Medical Center

  54 shared

• Jianhua Zhang

  54 shared

• Junying Yu

  53 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Chemical Engineering

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1998

• M.S., Chemical Engineering

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  1995

• B.S., Chemical Engineering

  University of Delaware

  1993

Awards & honors

• Kellett Mid-Career Award (2023)
• Syracuse University, Stevenson Lecture (2023)
• R. Byron Bird Excellence in Research Publication Award (2021…
• Honored Instructor Award (2017)
• Fellowship, American Institute for Medical and Biological En…

Similar researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison

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• Justin Williamsh-72
• William Murphyh-66