RESEARCH INTERESTS
Christian is interested in research at the intersection of materials engineering, chemistry, and medicine. He is particularly enthusiastic about studying and developing dynamic supramolecular hydrogels suited for drug delivery.
EDUCATION
PhD, Materials Science & Engineering, Stanford University - Expected 2027
BS, Materials Science & Engineering, Northwestern University - 2022
HONORS, AWARDS, and SCHOLARSHIPS
Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2022-2025
Graduate Research Fellowship, Stanford University
GEM Fellowship, Stanford University, 2022
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Northwesthern University, Nov 2019 – Jun 2022
Research Advisor: Dr. Samuel Stupp
Christian synthesized peptide amphiphile (PAs) nanofibers that incorporate molecular photoswitches and host-guest moieties to create photo-responsive materials with applications in regenerative medicine. This work including quantifying changes in mechanical properties of mixtures of boronic acid-modified PAs and common biopolymers due to dynamic covalent bond formation using rheology
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Jun 2021 – Aug 2021
Research Advisor: Dr. Jonathan Butcher
Christian designed, coded, and printed shapes for embedded, nonplanar, 3D bioprinting and characterized print quality and morphology at various print angles above and below horizontal. He also conducted tensile strain tests on nonplanar-printed samples and analyzed mechanical testing data.
3M Company, Jun 2022 – Sept 2022
Research Advisor: Dr. Mikhail Pekurovsky
Christian designed an apparatus to visualize and record fluid flow in slot dies using tracer particles and fluids designed with varying extensional and shear properties.
ABOUT
Christian was born in New Orleans and grew up surrounded by loblolly pine trees in a northwest Houston suburb. He moved to Evanston, IL to earn his BS in materials science at Northwestern, where he fell in love with Lake Michigan and faced his first real winters. He’s grateful to be pursuing his PhD at Stanford and diving deeper into the intersection of biomaterials and medicine. Outside of research, he enjoys freestyle longboarding, hiking, stargazing, and making friendship bracelets.