Sanjay Kumar
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
Office Address: 108A Stanley Hall
Email: skumar@berkeley.edu
For more information, see: https://kumarlab.berkeley.edu/
Office hours: 108A Stanley, by appointment
Research areas:
Biomaterials & Nanotechnology, Cell and Tissue Engineering, Systems and Synthetic Biology
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
Experience & Training
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
Honors & 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)
2024
Cha, Junghwa; Ding, Erika A.; Carvalho, Emily M.; Fowler, Annabelle; Aghi, Manish K.; Kumar, Sanjay
Collagen VI deposition primes the glioblastoma microenvironment for invasion through mechanostimulation of β-catenin signaling Journal Article
In: PNAS NEXUS, vol. 3, no. 9, 2024.
@article{WOS:001320087800003,
title = {Collagen VI deposition primes the glioblastoma microenvironment for
invasion through mechanostimulation of β-catenin signaling},
author = {Junghwa Cha and Erika A. Ding and Emily M. Carvalho and Annabelle Fowler and Manish K. Aghi and Sanjay Kumar},
doi = {10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae355},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-09-01},
journal = {PNAS NEXUS},
volume = {3},
number = {9},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Qiao, Eric; Baek, Jieung; Fulmore, Camille; Song, Myoung; Kim, Taek-Soo; Kumar, Sanjay; Schaffer, David V.
Spectrin mediates 3D-specific matrix stress-relaxation response in neural stem cell lineage commitment Journal Article
In: SCIENCE ADVANCES, vol. 10, no. 31, 2024, ISSN: 2375-2548.
@article{WOS:001305395400015,
title = {Spectrin mediates 3D-specific matrix stress-relaxation response in
neural stem cell lineage commitment},
author = {Eric Qiao and Jieung Baek and Camille Fulmore and Myoung Song and Taek-Soo Kim and Sanjay Kumar and David V. Schaffer},
doi = {10.1126/sciadv.adk8232},
issn = {2375-2548},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-08-01},
journal = {SCIENCE ADVANCES},
volume = {10},
number = {31},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Qiao, Eric; Fulmore, Camille A.; Schaffer, David V.; Kumar, Sanjay
Substrate stress relaxation regulates neural stem cell fate commitment Journal Article
In: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, vol. 121, no. 28, 2024, ISSN: 0027-8424.
@article{WOS:001272412600004,
title = {Substrate stress relaxation regulates neural stem cell fate commitment},
author = {Eric Qiao and Camille A. Fulmore and David V. Schaffer and Sanjay Kumar},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2317711121},
issn = {0027-8424},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-07-01},
journal = {PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA},
volume = {121},
number = {28},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Amofa, Kwasi Yeboa; Patterson, Katherine Michelle; Ortiz, Jessica; Kumar, Sanjay
Dissecting TGF-β-induced glioblastoma invasion with engineered hyaluronic acid hydrogels Journal Article
In: APL BIOENGINEERING, vol. 8, no. 2, 2024, ISSN: 2473-2877.
@article{WOS:001250108300002,
title = {Dissecting TGF-β-induced glioblastoma invasion with engineered
hyaluronic acid hydrogels},
author = {Kwasi Yeboa Amofa and Katherine Michelle Patterson and Jessica Ortiz and Sanjay Kumar},
doi = {10.1063/5.0203213},
issn = {2473-2877},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-06-01},
journal = {APL BIOENGINEERING},
volume = {8},
number = {2},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Baek, Jieung; Kumar, Sanjay; Schaffer, David V.
Dynamic light-responsive RhoA activity regulates mechanosensitive stem cell fate decision in 3D matrices Journal Article
In: BIOMATERIALS ADVANCES, vol. 160, 2024.
@article{WOS:001225027500001,
title = {Dynamic light-responsive RhoA activity regulates mechanosensitive stem
cell fate decision in 3D matrices},
author = {Jieung Baek and Sanjay Kumar and David V. Schaffer},
doi = {10.1016/j.bioadv.2024.213836},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-06-01},
journal = {BIOMATERIALS ADVANCES},
volume = {160},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Garcia, Joseph H.; Akins, Erin A.; Jain, Saket; Wolf, Kayla J.; Zhang, Jason; Choudhary, Nikita; Lad, Meeki; Shukla, Poojan; Rios, Jennifer; Seo, Kyounghee; Gill, Sabraj A.; Carson, William H.; Carette, Luis R.; Zheng, Allison C.; Raleigh, David R.; Kumar, Sanjay; Aghi, Manish K.
Multiomic screening of invasive GBM cells reveals targetable transsulfuration pathway alterations Journal Article
In: JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION, vol. 134, no. 3, 2024, ISSN: 0021-9738.
@article{WOS:001158259800008,
title = {Multiomic screening of invasive GBM cells reveals targetable
transsulfuration pathway alterations},
author = {Joseph H. Garcia and Erin A. Akins and Saket Jain and Kayla J. Wolf and Jason Zhang and Nikita Choudhary and Meeki Lad and Poojan Shukla and Jennifer Rios and Kyounghee Seo and Sabraj A. Gill and William H. Carson and Luis R. Carette and Allison C. Zheng and David R. Raleigh and Sanjay Kumar and Manish K. Aghi},
doi = {10.1172/JCI170397},
issn = {0021-9738},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-02-01},
journal = {JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION},
volume = {134},
number = {3},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Subramaniam, Shankar; Akay, Metin; Anastasio, Mark A.; Bailey, Vasudev; Boas, David; Bonato, Paolo; Chilkoti, Ashutosh; Cochran, Jennifer R.; Colvin, Vicki; Desai, Tejal A.; Duncan, James S.; Epstein, Frederick H.; Fraley, Stephanie; Giachelli, Cecilia; Grande-Allen, K. Jane; Green, Jordan; Guo, X. Edward; Hilton, Isaac B.; Humphrey, Jay D.; Johnson, Chris R.; Karniadakis, George; King, Michael R.; Kirsch, Robert F.; Kumar, Sanjay; Laurencin, Cato T.; Li, Song; Lieber, Richard L.; Lovell, Nigel; Mali, Prashant; Margulies, Susan S.; Meaney, David F.; Ogle, Brenda; Palsson, Bernhard; Peppas, Nicholas A.; Perreault, Eric J.; Rabbitt, Rick; Setton, Lori A.; Shea, Lonnie D.; Shroff, Sanjeev G.; Shung, Kirk; Tolias, Andreas S.; Meulen, Marjolein C. H.; Varghese, Shyni; Vunjak-Novakovic, Gordana; White, John A.; Winslow, Raimond; Zhang, Jianyi; Zhang, Kun; Zukoski, Charles; Miller, Michael I.
Grand Challenges at the Interface of Engineering and Medicine Journal Article
In: IEEE OPEN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY, vol. 5, pp. 1-13, 2024.
@article{WOS:001176397700001,
title = {Grand Challenges at the Interface of Engineering and Medicine},
author = {Shankar Subramaniam and Metin Akay and Mark A. Anastasio and Vasudev Bailey and David Boas and Paolo Bonato and Ashutosh Chilkoti and Jennifer R. Cochran and Vicki Colvin and Tejal A. Desai and James S. Duncan and Frederick H. Epstein and Stephanie Fraley and Cecilia Giachelli and K. Jane Grande-Allen and Jordan Green and X. Edward Guo and Isaac B. Hilton and Jay D. Humphrey and Chris R. Johnson and George Karniadakis and Michael R. King and Robert F. Kirsch and Sanjay Kumar and Cato T. Laurencin and Song Li and Richard L. Lieber and Nigel Lovell and Prashant Mali and Susan S. Margulies and David F. Meaney and Brenda Ogle and Bernhard Palsson and Nicholas A. Peppas and Eric J. Perreault and Rick Rabbitt and Lori A. Setton and Lonnie D. Shea and Sanjeev G. Shroff and Kirk Shung and Andreas S. Tolias and Marjolein C. H. Meulen and Shyni Varghese and Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic and John A. White and Raimond Winslow and Jianyi Zhang and Kun Zhang and Charles Zukoski and Michael I. Miller},
doi = {10.1109/OJEMB.2024.3351717},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
journal = {IEEE OPEN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY},
volume = {5},
pages = {1-13},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}