Wesley R. Legant

Wesley R. Legant, PhD, is an Assistant Professor jointly appointed in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (UNC/NC State) and the Department of Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and leads the Legant Lab, which operates at the intersection of physics, engineering, and biology to develop innovative tools for studying living systems.

Research Focus: Dr. Legant's work spans three interconnected areas:

• Advanced Imaging: Development of light sheet and super-resolution microscopes incorporating adaptive optics and computational algorithms to minimize phototoxicity and enhance 3D resolution.
• Cell Mechanobiology: Quantitative mapping of mechanical forces during cancer cell migration through 3D environments to model metastasis mechanisms.
• Microfabrication: Design of photolithography-based platforms to control tissue geometry and mechanical stress in musculoskeletal models.

His lab collaborates extensively with cell biologists, physicists, and software developers. Dr. Legant actively recruits graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to join these interdisciplinary efforts.