Michael Caplan

Background

About Michael Caplan

Michael Caplan was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana attending Metairie Park Country Day School and Jesuit High School. Michael was graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in May of 1996 with a B.A. in Plan II (a liberal arts honors program) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with honors. As a Whitaker Foundation Graduate Fellow, he earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the lab or Dr. Douglas Lauffenburger. Following post-doctoral research at Duke University Medical Center in Cell Biology, Michael joined the faculty of Arizona State University in 2003. Current research is Michael's lab focuses on rational design of bioactive materials. One major project seeks to develop molecules that bind tightly to cancer cells (glioblastoma multiforme - the most deadly form of brain cancer) but not to normal brain cells. The other major project in the lab attempts to understand how cells (e.g, endothelial cells that line the insides of blood vessels) interpret cues from the materials with which they interact thus changing their behaviors. Michael teaches Bio-transport Phenomena to undergraduates and Modeling for Molecular and Cellular Engineering to graduate students. Specialties: Biomaterials, Drug Delivery