Britney Pennington

Britney Pennington is a Project Scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), affiliated with the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) department within the College of Letters and Science. She holds adjunct faculty roles at Westmont College, teaching Cell Biology, and has been an instructor for the CSEP program and an Associate Instructor at UCSB. Her research focuses on developing stem cell-based therapies for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), particularly cryopreservation of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

• Education:
• Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UCSB (2014)
• B.S. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Florida Institute of Technology (2008, summa cum laude)

Her work emphasizes xeno-free manufacturing protocols for clinical-grade RPE implants, advancing translational medicine. Pennington has contributed to Phase I/IIb clinical trials for AMD and streamlined Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) processes at Regenerative Patch Technologies. She actively mentors undergraduate students and engages in STEM outreach, including presentations at local schools and science councils.

Awards:

• CIRM Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award (2014)
• Multiple fellowships including Beckman Institute and Sigma Xi grants

Grants & Collaborations: Clegg Lab collaborations, industry partnerships with Regenerative Patch Technologies, and outreach initiatives with organizations like SciTrek and the Santa Barbara Braille Institute Auxiliary.

Labs/Teams: Principal investigator in cryopreservation research within the Clegg Lab, leading projects on RPE cell therapies and stem cell engineering.