Jonathan Makhoul
Seeking a PhD in biological engineering
Affiliated Lab
Professor Jason Burdick
Burdick Biomaterials and Biofabrication Laboratory
What does receiving an NSF Graduate Research Fellowships award mean to you?
I don't think I have adequate words to explain how grateful I am to the mentors that made my application possible and wrote letters of recommendation! I sincerely thank Professor Burdick for encouraging me to apply and supporting me during the writing process, Professor Jeff Hartgerink (Rice University) for continuing to believe in me after advising me as an undergraduate, and Professor James Long (Rice and CU) for igniting a passion for teaching and mentorship that undoubtedly strengthened my application. I plan to use my funding to reach and inspire younger students who are curious about the world around us to think about careers in STEM while sharing the results of my research in accessible ways.
Current research focus
My research is about creating hydrogel adhesives, soft, flexible, gel-like materials, Ìýthat can be 3D printed and safely used in the body as medical adhesives. These materials can help repair damaged tissue—like supporting the heart after a heart attack—or act as patches to stop bleeding during surgery. They can also be designed to slowly release medicines or even be injected, so they can be delivered with less invasive procedures.
Heart attack survivors have an increased risk of heart failure due to damage to the heart muscle and subsequent scarring which decreases cardiac output. With our tough hydrogel patches, we hope that we can reinforce the damaged region and prevent the remodeling of cardiac tissue that would otherwise reduce its function and necessitate a transplant. As a tool for closing wounds, hydrogel adhesives involve less trauma to tissues than sutures and can be engineered to have specific adhesive regions, helping wounds heal faster and more efficiently.