Research in the Perry laboratory utilizes self-assembly, molecular design, and microfluidic technologies to generate biomimetic microenvironments to study and enable the implementation of biomolecules to address real-world challenges. Individually, microfluidics represents an enabling technology for high throughput analyses such as the time-resolved structural analysis of enzyme dynamics, while control over molecular interactions in self-assembling polyelectrolyte systems can be used to examine the interplay between biomolecules and the environment. Together, these capabilities can be coupled to generate artificial organelles for use in applications ranging from biochemistry to bioenergetics, biocatalysis, and biomedicine. Furthermore, this work has tremendous pedagogical potential to inspire students to work at the intersection of chemistry, biology, and engineering.
So exciting! Isaac Ramírez Marrero was selected to serve as a mentor for the Nextprof Pathfinder Future Faculty Workshop!
Congratulations to Yaozu Chen on having been awarded a Commonwealth Honors College Research Assistant Fellowship!
Mayayi Izzo presented her research on Encapsulating Protein Using Self-Assembling Peptides at the end-of summer MURALS REU poster session!
Nick Holmlund presented the work he has done developing methods to study the Microrheology of Charge-Patterned Peptide-Based Complex Coacervates at the end-of summer undergraduate research poster session!
Yaozu Chen presented his awesome work on Counter-Diffusive Protein Crystallization Using Electrically Actuated Valving as part of the end-of summer undergraduate research poster session!
Prof. Perry presented a poster on Polyelectrolyte Complex Materials at the GRC on Polymer Physics.
Congratulations to Isaac Ramírez Marrero on having been awarded a SACNAS Travel Scholarship to attend the 2022 National Diversity in STEM Conference!
Congratulations to Prof. Perry on having won the title of World Champion in her Combat Sparring Division at the ATA Martial Arts World Championships!
Prof. Perry presented on Sarthak Saha's work on High Throughput Screening of Crystallization Condition for Protein using X-ray Transparent Microfluidics at the 96th ACS Colloid and Surface Science Symposium, held in Goldon, CO.
Prof. Perry presented on Juanfeng Sun's work on Time-Alcohol Superposition of Chitosan/Hyaluronic Acid Complex Coacervates at the 96th ACS Colloid and Surface Science Symposium, held in Goldon, CO.
The review article that Prof. Perry and Prof. Charles Sing wrote on the science of complex coacervation in 2020 has been highlighted as one of the top 3% of cited articles from 2021!
"Recent Progress in the Science of Complex Coacervation," C.E. Sing, S.L. Perry, Soft Matter, (2020), 16, 2885-2914. [PDF]
Prof. Perry presented on Coacervate-driven Compartmentalization at the GRC on Systems Chemistry.
Prof. Perry had the privilege of leading the Power Hour discussion on diversity, equity, and inclusion at the GRC on Systems Chemistry!
Isaac Ramírez Marrero presented his research on Understanding the Mechanical Properties of Polyelectrolyte Complex Materials at the BASF NORA Collaboration Days Event at UMass Amherst!
Dr. Priyanka presented her work on Exploring Complex Coacervates to Regulate the Release of Agricultural Actives at the BASF NORA Collaboration Days Event at UMass Amherst!
Congratulations to Perry lab alumna Lila Durán Ruiz who just earned her M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada!
Huge news!!! Dr. Whitney Blocher McTigue will be joining the faculty in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Lehigh University this fall!
We are so excited to host Dr. Whitney Blocher McTigue back on campus to give seminar and be honored for winning the Departmental Best Dissertation Award!
Welcome to Nickolas Holmlund, a second year undergraduate who has joined the group to use microrheology to study complex coacervates!
Congratulations to Kat Nilov, who has decided to join PhD program in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University this fall!
Prof. Perry is headed to the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida to give seminar and talk about science and education with some awesome folks!
Prof. Perry had a great visit and seminar to the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton. So much amazing science around the field of coacervates and beyond! It was also a great chance to meet up with group alum Hansen Tjo!
Prof. Maria Santore gave a talk on Particle-Integrated Complex Coacervates and the Role of Surface Brushes at the Spring ACS Meeting.
Prof. Perry gave an invited talk on Polyelectrolyte Complex Materials as part of the Dillon Medal Symposium honoring Jian Qin at the APS March Meeting.
Prof. Perry gave an invited talk on The Effect of Chemistry, Sequence, and Architecture on Complex Coacervation at the APS March Meeting.
Prof. Maria Santore gave a talk on Brushing Up on Coacervates: How Chain Anchoring Can Incorporate Solid Particles into Fluid Polyelectrolyte Complexes at the APS March Meeting.
Check out our new collaborative paper with Prof. Alex Ayzner's group from the University of California Santa Cruz on conjugated complex coacervates!
"Conjugated Polyelectrolyte-Based Complex Fluids as Aqueous Exciton Transport Networks," A.R. Johnston, E. Albert-Minckler, M. Shockley, L. Matsushima, S.L. Perry, A.L. Ayzner, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, (2022), 61(20), e202117759. [PDF]
Welcome to Emily Ng, a first year undergraduate student who will be studying material properties of polyelectrolyte complexes!
Congratulations to group alumna Savannah Szemethy on her new position at TScan Therapeutics!
Check out Juanfeng Sun's latest paper on the effects of cosolvents on the phase behavior and rheology of complex coacervates!
"Linear Viscoelasticity and Time–Alcohol Superposition of Chitosan/Hyaluronic Acid Complex Coacervates," J. Sun, J.D. Schiffman, S.L. Perry, ACS Applied Polymer Materials, (2022), 4(3), 1617-1625. [PDF]
Congratulations and best wishes to Dr. Mingjun Zhou, who will be leaving us next week to start a faculty position in Chemistry at Yantai University! Dr. Zhou is the first member of the Perry group to start a faculty career!
Welcome to Henry Xu, a first year undergraduate student who will be studying the phase behavior of complex coacervates!
Welcome to Júlia Bonesso Sabadini, a visiting PhD student from the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil! Júlia is joining us for a year, and will be studying the encapsulation of proteins into coacervate-core micelles.
Congratulations to Isaac Ramírez Marrero, who was awarded an Eldridge Teaching Assistant Award for his efforts in ENGIN 110!
Check out this news story on the potential of mRNA therapeutics and the work we will be doing with Prof. Craig Martin and Prof. Shelly Peyton!
Best wishes to Alex Lawton as he starts his next phase of research in Prof. Lauren Andrews' lab!
Welcome to Arjun Iyer, a first year undergraduate student who will be studying encapsulation of proteins in complex coacervates!
Check out this awesome news story on our new collaborative project with Prof. Craig Martin and Prof. Shelly Peyton to revolutionize mRNA therapies!
See more news from 2021.