Andrea D. Merg

Andrea D. Merg is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry within the School of Natural Sciences at the University of California, Merced. He leads the Merg Lab, which focuses on the design and fabrication of nanoscale materials derived from the self-assembly of sequence-programmable biomolecules including peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids. Dr. Merg received his B.S. in Chemistry from Winthrop University in 2010, completed his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh in 2017 working on peptide-based methods for directing gold nanoparticles, and conducted postdoctoral research at Emory University until 2020.

His research spans multiple disciplines including peptide chemistry, materials chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, materials science, and bioengineering. The Merg Lab develops rational approaches for creating bionanomaterials with predetermined physical and chemical properties, with applications in biosensors, drug delivery, and catalysis. Their work addresses the outstanding challenge of developing supramolecular architectures with hierarchical physical and chemical control across length-scales.

Analysis of Dr. Merg's recent publications reveals a strong focus on peptide-based nanomaterials, particularly collagen-mimetic structures and coiled coil peptide assemblies. His research demonstrates expertise in creating programmable biomolecular building blocks that enable precise control over nanoscale architecture formation. The work combines synthetic chemistry, biophysical characterization, and computational modeling to understand and design novel biomaterials.

• NSF grant CHE-2316870 for fundamental research
• ARO grant W911NF-23-1-0365
• NSF grant for developing aCMP frameworks
• NSF-CREST fellowship supporting graduate student Anthony R. Perez

Dr. Merg actively mentors graduate and undergraduate students, with Anthony R. Perez being the first Ph.D. student to successfully defend his dissertation in the Merg Lab. The lab maintains strong outreach efforts, including visits to local high schools to promote STEM careers. Current research directions include developing mesoporous peptide frameworks, expanding the coiled coil assembly toolkit, and engineering shape-shifting peptide nanomaterials with responsive properties.