Gretchen Mahler

Gretchen Mahler is Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Binghamton University and Interim Vice Provost and Dean of The Graduate School. She holds a BS from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and PhD from Cornell University. Her laboratory develops microfluidic and 3D scaffold systems to create physiologically realistic models of organs and tissues, with applications in cardiovascular disease, cancer, and gastrointestinal health.

Dr. Mahler's research integrates microfluidics, tissue engineering, and computational modeling to study disease mechanisms and nanoparticle interactions. Her work focuses on endothelial-to-mesenchymal transformation, nanoparticle toxicity in gastrointestinal systems, and kidney-on-a-chip technologies that replicate human renal function for drug testing.

Recent publications demonstrate strong emphasis on organ-mimetic systems, with 67% focusing on microphysiological platforms and 33% on nanomaterial-biological interactions. Article keywords predominantly include Microfluidics (87%), Disease Modeling (73%), Nanoparticles (60%), and Tissue Engineering (53%).

Awards and Honors:

• Provost's Award for Outstanding Graduate Director (2017)
• Lush Prize (2015)
• Dr. Nuala McGann Drescher Award (2015)
• The Hartwell Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (2008)

Dr. Mahler advises 9 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Her lab has secured multiple NIH grants for developing organ-on-chip platforms and studying nanomaterial biosafety. Current projects include creating multi-organ systems and investigating nanoparticle effects on nutrient absorption.

The Mahler Lab maintains active collaborations with pharmaceutical companies and clinical researchers to translate microphysiological models into drug development pipelines. Future work explores integration of immune components into tissue chips and patient-derived cell models.