Beth L. Pruitt

Beth L. Pruitt is a Professor and Chair of the Bioengineering Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and also holds a joint appointment as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. She directs the NSF Research Training Program in Data Driven Biology and the NIH T32 Training Program in Quantitative Mechanobiology. Her research focuses on mechanobiology, particularly the role of mechanical forces in cell signaling, cardiomyocyte function, and touch sensation in C. elegans. Dr. Pruitt earned her S.B. from MIT, M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University, and served in the U.S. Navy as an engineering officer before joining UCSB in 2018. She is an elected Fellow of BMES, AIMBE, ASME, and a Senior Member of IEEE, recognized for awards like the NSF CAREER Award and DARPA Young Faculty Award.

Her lab develops microfabricated tools to study mechanobiology in stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, epithelial mechanics, and somatosensory neuron function. Notable projects include engineering microenvironments to mature hiPSC-CMs and investigating how substrate stiffness and cell shape affect cardiac contractility. The Pruitt Lab’s interdisciplinary approach integrates biomechanical measurements, molecular biology, and computational modeling to address cardiovascular diseases and mechanosensory disorders. Current lab members include PhD students, undergraduates, and postdocs working on projects ranging from touch receptor neuron mechanics to cardiomyopathy modeling.

• Education: S.B. Mechanical Engineering (MIT), M.S. Manufacturing Systems Engineering (Stanford), Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering (Stanford)
• Funding: NSF, NIH, AHA, CIRM, and DARPA grants supporting mechanobiology and stem cell engineering.
• Awards: NSF CAREER, DARPA YFA, Denice Denton Leadership Award, and fellowships from BMES, AIMBE, and ASME.

Her work emphasizes translational applications, including drug screening platforms using hiPSC-CMs and tools to study disease mutations in cardiomyocytes. The lab also prioritizes diversity and equitable hiring practices in academia, as highlighted in recent publications on faculty recruitment strategies.