Marina Feric

Marina Feric is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Penn State University, with a courtesy appointment in Chemistry. She holds the Robert and Peggy Schlegel Early Career Professorship. Her research focuses on understanding how biophysical interactions across molecular, organellar, and cellular scales govern cellular organization and contribute to age-related diseases. Her lab employs advanced microscopy and quantitative analysis to study biomolecular condensates, particularly in mitochondrial transcription and cellular aging.

Education: B.S. in Chemical Engineering (University of Maryland, 2010), M.A. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (Princeton University, 2012-2016). Postdoctoral research at NIH/National Cancer Institute under Tom Misteli, supported by a NIGMS PRAT Fellowship.

Research Interests: Biomolecular phase transitions, condensate dynamics, mitochondrial organization, super-resolution microscopy, and translational biomedical applications. Her work bridges chemical engineering principles with cell biology to uncover mechanisms behind cellular dysfunction in aging.

• Awards: Robert and Peggy Schlegel Early Career Professorship (2023–2025), NIGMS PRAT Fellowship (2018–2021).
• Affiliations: Center for Eukaryotic Gene Regulation, Center for Cellular Dynamics, and Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences.

Labs/Teams: Feric Lab (focusing on engineering cellular organization via biomolecular condensates) and collaborations across interdisciplinary centers.