Dr. Wei He
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Connecticut: Synthesis and Patterning of Polymers for Biomedical Application
Brief Bio
Dr. He received her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Tianjin University (China) in 1998. She then came to study in University of Connecticut and earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2003. Her dissertation research included biomaterials synthesis, surface modification, and cell-material interaction. Dr. He continued her interests in the biomedical field by conducting her postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Professor Ravi Bellamkonda in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research project focused on developing bioactive coatings to improve tissue reaction against implantable neural electrode. In the fall of 2006, she joined Professor Buddy Ratner’s group at University of Washington to develop novel biodegradable elastomeric materials for soft tissue engineering. In 2007, Dr. He was appointed as a faculty at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering at University of Tennessee. At the interface of biology and engineering, Dr. He will continue her research effort in enhancing neural implant biocompatibility, and developing new biomaterials to promote nerve regeneration.
Research Areas
» Responsive surface coating for enhanced tissue integration of neural prostheses
» Functional biomaterials for peripheral nerve regeneration
Selected Awards and Honors
2004 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) – Neural Interface Workshop Travel Award, Bethesda, MD
1997 Dow Chemical (USA) – Tao’s Scholarship Award, Tianjin, China
1996 Ministry of National Chemical Industry – Xinhua Scholarship Award, Tianjin, China
Professional Activities
» Materials Research Society
» Society of Biomaterials
» Sigma Xi
Selected Publications
He W., McConnell G.C., Schneider T.M., Bellamkonda R.V. (2007), “A novel anti-inflammatory surface for neural electrodes”, Advanced Materials (accepted).
He W., McConnell G.C., Bellamkonda R.V. (2006), “Nanoscale laminin coating modulates cortical scarring response around implanted silicon microelectrode arrays”, Journal of Neural Engineering 3 (4): 316-26.
He W., Bellamkonda R.V. (2005), “Nanoscale neuro-integrative coatings for neural implants”, Biomaterials 26 (16): 2983-90.
He W., Halberstadt C.R., Gonsalves K.E. (2004), “Lithography application of a novel photoresist forr patterning of cells”, Biomaterials 25 (11): 2055-63.
He W., Gonsalves K.E., Pickett J.H., Halberstadt C. (2003), “Synthesis, characterization, and preliminary biological study of poly(3-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone)”, Biomacromolecules 4 (1): 75-9.
Selected Patents
Kenneth E. Gonsalves, Wei He, Biocompatible resists, PCT Int. Appl. 2004 WO 2004099373, A2 20041118 (pending)
Contact Dr. He
209 Dougherty Engineering Bldg.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-2200
Tel: (865) 974-5275
Email: whe5@utk.edu