Aaron Baker

Aaron Baker serves as Professor and holds the W.A. (Bill) Cunningham Professorship in Engineering within the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Engineering. His laboratory focuses on cardiovascular biology with emphasis on devices and interventional technologies to prevent atherosclerosis and restenosis.

Dr. Baker's research spans four core areas:

• Vascular Mechanotransduction: Investigating how vascular cells sense mechanical forces through glycoproteins
• Therapies for Ischemia: Developing novel protein/cell-based treatments for myocardial and peripheral ischemia
• Atherosclerotic Plaque Research: Studying glycoprotein roles in plaque formation/rupture
• Medical Device Innovation: Improving vascular implants through molecular techniques

His publication record demonstrates strong focus on glycobiology applications in vascular disease, with recent work highlighting syndecan/glypican-based therapeutics for angiogenesis and wound healing. Key collaborators include MIT's Edelman Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute.

Scientific recognition includes the W.A. (Bill) Cunningham Professorship. His laboratory maintains active NIH funding supporting research on vascular drug delivery systems and ischemic disease mechanisms.

Dr. Baker mentors numerous graduate students, postdocs, and undergraduates, with alumni including Anthony Monteforte (Ph.D.) and Subhamoy Das (Ph.D.). His research team collaborates with multiple institutions including Massachusetts General Hospital and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.