Kara McCloskey

Kara McCloskey is a Professor and Department Chair in Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of California, Merced's School of Engineering. Her research focuses on tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, particularly using stem cells to develop cardiovascular therapies.

• Education: Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (2001) from Ohio State University and Cleveland Clinic Foundation; M.S. (1999) and B.S. (1996) in Chemical Engineering from Ohio State University.

McCloskey's work addresses challenges in deriving and characterizing pure stem cell populations for regenerative applications, comparing their function to mature in vivo cells. She explores engineered cardiac tissue, vascular development, and mechanical interactions in multicellular networks.

Her recent publications emphasize tissue engineering trends such as endothelial cell heterogeneity, mechanical signaling in vascular networks, and bioprinting with concentration gradients. These studies integrate biomechanics, stem cell biology, and biomaterials design.

Her academic service includes leadership in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering and affiliations with the Quantitative and Systems Biology and Materials and Biomaterials Science and Engineering graduate groups.