Chancellor’s Professor, Bioengineering & Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Director, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) at UC Berkeley
Professor in Residence, Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, UCSF
Faculty Scientist, Biological Systems and Engineering, LBNL
Mailcode 1762
510-642-5833
skumar@berkeley.edu
For more information, see: https://kumarlab.berkeley.edu/
Research Interests
Our lab seeks to understand and engineer mechanical and other biophysical communication between cells and materials. In addition to investigating fundamental aspects of this problem with a variety of micro/nanoscale technologies, we are especially interested in discovering how this signaling regulates tumor and stem cell biology in the central nervous system. Recent directions have included: (1) Engineering new tissue-mimetic culture platforms for biophysical studies, molecular analysis, and screening; (2) Exploring mechanobiological signaling systems as targets for limiting the invasion of brain tumors and enhancing stem cell neurogenesis; and (3) Creating new biomaterials inspired by cellular structural networks.
Education
- 2003 M.D., Johns Hopkins University
- 2003 Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Molecular Biophysics
- 1996 B.S., University of Minnesota, Chemical Engineering
Major Awards
- 2020 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- 2016 Fellow, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
- 2015 Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
- 2012 Stem Cells Young Investigator Award
- 2011-2016 NSF CAREER Award
- 2009 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Army Research Office
- 2009 Outstanding Teaching Award (by student vote), Berkeley Bioengineering Honor Society
- 2008-2013 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award
- 2008 Hellman Family Faculty Award, UC Berkeley
- 2007 Award for Excellence in Graduate Advising, UCSF/UC Berkeley Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering
- 2006-2009 Beckman Young Investigator Award, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
- 2004-2005 National Research Service Award, National Institutes of Health (NINDS)
Professional Experience
Academic appointments:
- 2022-present Director, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) at UC Berkeley
- 2020-present Professor in Residence, Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, UCSF
- 2019-present Chancellor’s Professor, University of California, Berkeley
- 2019-2022 Chair, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley
- 2015-present Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
- 2015-2019 Associate Chair, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley
- 2014-present Professor of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley
- 2011-2014 Associate Professor of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley
- 2005-2011 Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley
- 2003-2005 NIH Research Fellow, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School
Other positions:
- 2015-2019 Standing Member, NIH Study Section on Intercellular Interactions (ICI)
- 2014 Visiting Professor, EPFL & ISREC, Lausanne, Switzerland
- 2014 Sackler Sabbatical Fellow, Brain Tumor Research Center, UCSF
- 2012-2015 Chair, UC Berkeley – UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering
- 2012-2013 Faculty Director, UC Berkeley – UCSF Master of Translational Medicine Program
- 2011-2012 Co-Chair, UC Berkeley – UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering
- 2006-present Faculty Scientist, Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory