Michael Diehl

Michael Diehl is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering and Chemistry at Rice University, serving as Director of Bioengineering Graduate Studies. His research focuses on synthetic biology and macromolecular systems, combining nanotechnology, protein engineering, and biophysics to study protein interactions and dynamics. He leads the Diehl Lab, which develops novel bioengineering approaches for cell therapies and molecular systems analysis.

Education: Beckman Senior Research Fellow (Caltech, 2002-2005), PhD in Physical Chemistry (UCLA, 2002), BS in Chemistry (The College of New Jersey, 1997).

Research Interests: Investigating protein assembly dynamics, developing biosynthetic techniques for nanometer-scale precision, and creating protein detection technologies. Current projects include engineering immunoactive cell therapies, implantable antibody-producing factories, and understanding organelle biogenesis and transport dysregulation.

Awards: NSF CAREER Award (2006), Welch Foundation Grant (2006), multiple Hamill Research Innovation Awards (2006, 2011, 2015), and the HSEMB Outstanding Young Scientist Award (2009).

Lab & Collaborations: The Diehl Lab collaborates on interdisciplinary projects, including cryopreservation of cell therapies, lipid deposition studies, and modeling intracellular transport. Graduate students focus on immunoengineering and synthetic biology applications.