معرفی
Cole A. DeForest is a Weyerhaeuser Endowed Professor and Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington, where he also serves as Associate Chair for Graduate Studies. Additionally, he holds appointments as Associate Professor in Bioengineering and Adjunct Associate Professor in Chemistry, and is the Director of Education at the Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute and a Core Faculty member at the Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine.
Dr. DeForest earned his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2011 and completed postdoctoral training at Caltech before joining the UW faculty in 2014. His research focuses on developing user-programmable hydrogels with tunable biochemical and biophysical properties, utilizing cytocompatible bioorthogonal chemistries, particularly those initiated with light. His work spans several key areas including User-Programmable Biomaterials for Directing Dynamic Stem Cell Fate, Biomolecular and Tissue Engineering, Controlled Delivery of Therapeutics to Treat Disease, and Tool Development for Enhanced Proteomic Studies.
His publication record demonstrates consistent high-impact contributions to biomaterials science, with numerous papers in Nature family journals, JACS, and Advanced Materials. His research approach integrates principles of rational design with fundamental concepts from material science, synthetic chemistry, and stem cell biology to create next-generation materials addressing health-related problems.
- UW College of Engineering Junior Faculty Award (2020)
- Society for Biomaterials Young Investigator Award (2020)
- Society for Biomaterials Mid-Career Award (2025)
- NSF CAREER Award (2017)
- UW Presidential Distinguished Teaching Award (2016)
- 35 Under 35 Award, AIChE Bioengineering Category (2017)
Dr. DeForest has mentored numerous graduate students, postdocs, and undergraduates, many of whom have received prestigious fellowships including NSF GRFP, NIH F30, and HHMI Gilliam Fellowships. His lab has secured significant funding including collaborative grants from the Institute for Translational Health Sciences, the Institute for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine, and the Allen Institute for Brain Science. His educational leadership extends to directing the MolES Education program and teaching courses including Biological Frameworks for Engineers and Biomaterials Seminar.
