Sapun Parekh

Prof. Sapun Parekh holds a joint appointment as Group Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) since 2012 and Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) since 2019. His research focuses on molecular organization and biophysics of soft matter using nonlinear microscopy and label-free imaging techniques. He earned his BS in Electrical Engineering (UT Austin, 2002) and PhD in Bioengineering (UC Berkeley/San Francisco, 2008). Postdoctoral work at NIST and NSF policy fellowship preceded his current roles. His group studies lipid chemistry in obesity, neurodegeneration-related granule formation, and mechanobiology of biomaterials, funded by DFG and HFSP grants.

Education:

• Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 2002
• Doctor of Philosophy, Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley/San Francisco, 2008

Research Interests:

• Molecular Imaging using coherent Raman and nonlinear fluorescence microscopy
• Biophysics of soft matter systems
• Lipid biochemistry in metabolic disorders
• Neurodegeneration mechanisms through granule formation
• Mechano-chemical control of biomaterials

Recent Work Trends:

Publications emphasize protein condensates dynamics, biomaterial stretchability, and novel imaging probes. Techniques include label-free methods with high spatial/temporal resolution to study biochemical heterogeneity in disease contexts.

Grants & Labs:

Current projects funded by German Research Foundation (DFG) and Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP). His lab integrates advanced microscopy with biophysical modeling.