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As the gateway for cellular entry and communication, the surface of the cell holds the answers to critical questions in biology and medicine, while simultaneously providing inspiration for engineered materials and systems. Thousands of distinct protein species reside on cellular membranes, yet functional membrane protein complexes can form within seconds in response to diverse stimuli. Traditionally, structured protein assemblies have been thought to organize membrane surfaces. In contrast, our recent work has shown that a flexible network of intrinsically disordered proteins helps to catalyze the assembly of endocytic structures and cytoskeletal filaments at the plasma membrane. Specifically, we find that an intermediate strength of interaction between these proteins, which leads to liquid-like properties at the macro-scale, maximizes the efficiency of protein assembly. More broadly, our lab seeks to understand and mimic the ability of biological membranes to spontaneously reorganize in response to diverse cues. This remarkable capacity for self-organization, which is largely absent in man-made materials, holds great promise for the design of responsive, cell-like therapeutic systems.

Prof. Jeanne Stachowiak completed her undergraduate education in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin in 2002. She completed her doctoral work in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley in 2008, under the supervision of Arun Majumdar and Daniel Fletcher. She served as a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories from 2008 to 2011, where her independent research program explored basic biophysical questions and practical applications of lipid membrane materials and systems. She has served as a faculty member at  the University of Texas at Austin since January 2012, in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2018 and Full Professor in 2023. Through quantitative molecular-scale measurements and the design of biomimetic materials, her research program aims to elucidate the physical basis of cellular membrane organization and to design biologically-inspired materials and systems for biomedical applications. In 2022 she was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers. She currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Biophysical Journal and Science Advances.