Bio:

I graduated from MIT with my BS in Biological Engineering in 2017 during which time I played on the varsity women's soccer team and worked in Prof. Alan Grodzinsky's cartilage biomechanics and tissue engineering laboratory. 

I completed my PhD at the University of Pennsylvania in the Departments of Bioengineering and Orthopaedic Surgery (Mauck Laboratory) in 2022. For my PhD, I was motivated by the complex structure of articular cartilage as well as the millions of patients worldwide suffering from osteoarthritis. And so, I sought to develop translational, non-invasive methods to better regenerate cartilage tissue. I used both magnetic fields (magnetic susceptibility-based patterning) and gravity (density-based patterning) to position cells and cell signaling molecules in 3D tissue constructs and in a surgical defect model (directly in the operating room). This led to a patent (issue date 2024), and multiple first-authored publications (Advanced Materials, Biofabrication, Trends in Biotechnology, etc.), as well as co-authored publications. My PhD was funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH) T32 and F31 Fellowships through the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). I was awarded a 2023 Solomon R. Pollack Award for Excellence in Graduate Bioengineering Research.

As a Postdoctoral Fellow in the BioFrontiers Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder (Burdick Laboratory), I dove into the fields of Biomaterials and Rheumatology to design in vitro models of the knee joint as well as injectable diagnostics of joint health. This work was made possible through key collaborations with Profs. Laurel Hind (CU Boulder) and Dr. Carla Scanzello (University of Pennsylvania), as well as funding through the Schmidt Science Fellowship and NIH T32 Fellowship (CU Anschutz Dept. Orthopaedic Surgery). My postdoctoral research led to co-authored publications (Science, Advanced Materials, JBMRA), and first-authored publications (2 submitted). I was recently recognized as a Rising Stars in Engineering Health (Columbia University / Cornell University / Boston University / Johns Hopkins University BME Departments).

I am currently applying to tenure track faculty positions. The future Zlotnick Laboratory will solve problems in clinical medicine (i.e., Orthopaedics, Rheumatology) through the application of engineering principles (i.e., bioengineering, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering). Specifically, we will design materials systems to model, monitor and treat joint diseases, such as osteoarthritis, joint infection, and rare genetic conditions.