Kristyn Masters

Kristyn Masters
Associate Professor
330 North Orchard Street
Madison WI 53715
Joined WID: 2012
kmasters@wisc.edu
http://openwetware.org/wiki/Masters


Education

  • BS, Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
  • PhD, Chemical Engineering, Rice University
  • Postdoc, Chemical Engineering, University of Colorado–Boulder

Research Description

Focused upon characterizing the interactions between cells and biomaterials in order to create culture environments that are capable of controlling cell function. The Masters Lab investigates how changes in the cellular microenvironment regulate the behavior of cells, paying specific attention to how various microenvironmental cues influence whether cells assume a diseased phenotype. Through these investigations, the lab hopes to not only define optimal material properties for tissue engineering applications, but also elucidate the mechanisms of many disease conditions that occur in vivo. Specific applications of our work range from developing engineered heart valve tissue for testing anti-calcific therapeutics to characterizing and predicting how dermal cells ‘decide’ what stimuli to follow during wound healing.

Honors

2010 Polygon Outstanding Professor Award
2009 UW-Madison Division of Housing Honored Instructor Award
2009 Emil H. Steiger Distinguished Teaching Award, UW-Madison
2008 Outstanding New Educator Award, ASEE North Midwest Section
2008 ASEE (National) Biomedical Teaching Award
2007 Number One “Hot Talk/Cool Paper” at Materials Research Society Fall 2007 meeting
2006 Scholar, Institute for Scholarship in Engineering Education
2006 NSF CAREER Award
2005 UW Teaching Academy Award
2005 UW Women and Science Teaching Development Award