Our People
Principal Investigator
Julie Liu
Associate Professor Chemical Engineering
Joined Purdue in 2008
B.S.E. Princeton University, 2000
M.S. California Institute of Technology, 2002
Ph.D. California Institute of Technology, 2006
Post-Doctoral Research Associate University of Massachusetts Medical School, 2007
Prof. Liu received her B.S.E. in chemical engineering from Princeton University. She was awarded a Whitaker Graduate Fellowship and worked with David Tirrell at the California Institute of Technology. Her doctoral research examined the cellular response to protein-based matrices designed for small-diameter vascular grafts. After obtaining her Ph.D. in chemical engineering, she received an NIH postdoctoral fellowship to study skeletal biology with Jane Lian and Gary Stein in the department of cell biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is an associate professor of chemical engineering and biomedical engineering at Purdue University. She is currently a Purdue University Faculty Scholar. She won the 2018 Purdue Chemical Engineering Outstanding Mentor Award and is a 2019-2020 fellow in the Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering, and Sciences (ELATES) program. Her research interests include biomimetic materials, tissue engineering, stem cell differentiation, and surgical adhesives. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, American Heart Association, and a 3M Nontenured Faculty Award.
B.S.E. Princeton University, 2000
M.S. California Institute of Technology, 2002
Ph.D. California Institute of Technology, 2006
Post-Doctoral Research Associate University of Massachusetts Medical School, 2007
Prof. Liu received her B.S.E. in chemical engineering from Princeton University. She was awarded a Whitaker Graduate Fellowship and worked with David Tirrell at the California Institute of Technology. Her doctoral research examined the cellular response to protein-based matrices designed for small-diameter vascular grafts. After obtaining her Ph.D. in chemical engineering, she received an NIH postdoctoral fellowship to study skeletal biology with Jane Lian and Gary Stein in the department of cell biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is an associate professor of chemical engineering and biomedical engineering at Purdue University. She is currently a Purdue University Faculty Scholar. She won the 2018 Purdue Chemical Engineering Outstanding Mentor Award and is a 2019-2020 fellow in the Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering, and Sciences (ELATES) program. Her research interests include biomimetic materials, tissue engineering, stem cell differentiation, and surgical adhesives. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, American Heart Association, and a 3M Nontenured Faculty Award.
Graduate Students
Zachary Beickman
Graduate Research Assistant
B.S. Chemical Engineering
University of Kentucky '22
Minor: Biology
Project: Cartilage Tissue Engineering
Joined Group: Spring 2023
University of Kentucky '22
Minor: Biology
Project: Cartilage Tissue Engineering
Joined Group: Spring 2023
Sushmita Bist
Visiting From: Department of Biotechnology
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Project: Adipocyte Tissue Engineering
Joined Group: Fall 2023
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Project: Adipocyte Tissue Engineering
Joined Group: Fall 2023
Thomas Connors
Graduate Research Assistant
B.S. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of Notre Dame '24
Minor: Biomolecular Engineering
Project: Cartilage Tissue Engineering
Joined Group: Spring 2025
University of Notre Dame '24
Minor: Biomolecular Engineering
Project: Cartilage Tissue Engineering
Joined Group: Spring 2025
Marisa Egan
Graduate Research Assistant
B.S. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
The Ohio State University '22
Minor: Pharmaceutical Science
Project: In-Vitro Tissue Modeling
Joined Group: Spring 2023
The Ohio State University '22
Minor: Pharmaceutical Science
Project: In-Vitro Tissue Modeling
Joined Group: Spring 2023
Sean Murray
Pmri Fellowship
B.S. Chemical Engineering
United States Military Academy at West Point '24
Project: Protein-Based Adhesives
Joined Group: Fall 2024
United States Military Academy at West Point '24
Project: Protein-Based Adhesives
Joined Group: Fall 2024
Sree Ratna Sameera Vellore
Graduate Research Assistant
B.Tech. Chemical Engineering
NIT Raipur '20
M.S. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
North Carolina State University '23
Project: Adipose Tissue Engineering
Joined Group: Spring 2024
NIT Raipur '20
M.S. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
North Carolina State University '23
Project: Adipose Tissue Engineering
Joined Group: Spring 2024
Undergraduate Students
Grant Haldeman
Mentor: Sameera Vellore
Joined Group: Spring 2025
Joined Group: Spring 2025
Korryn Swedko
Mentor: Zachary Beickman
Joined Group: Spring 2024
Joined Group: Spring 2024
Collaborators
Aaron Mena
Graduate Research Assistant
B.S. Chemistry
University of West Florida '17
M.S. Materials Chemistry
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign '18
Project: Oyster Cement Protein Characterization
Joined Group: Fall 2022
University of West Florida '17
M.S. Materials Chemistry
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign '18
Project: Oyster Cement Protein Characterization
Joined Group: Fall 2022