Deanna Thompson

Deanna M. Thompson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She holds a B.S.E. from the University of Michigan (1993), M.S. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University (2001), and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Her laboratory focuses on neural tissue engineering, particularly peripheral nerve and spinal cord repair, using biomaterials and neural stem cells. She is affiliated with the Center of Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Research Center.

Research interests include engineered biomaterials for nerve regeneration, endothelial cell signaling in neural stem cell maturation, and high-throughput screening of biomaterials. She has received awards such as the JD Watson Young Investigator Award and Rensselaer School of Engineering Research Award. Thompson serves on the NIH Biomolecular Pre-doctoral Training Program Executive Committee and advises the Society of Women Engineers.

Publications span neural engineering, biomaterials design, and nanotechnology applications in regenerative medicine. She actively collaborates on interdisciplinary projects involving fluid dynamics, electrical stimulation, and combinatorial material screening. Her work bridges biomedical engineering, neuroscience, and clinical applications.