Congratulations on Mechanical Engineering Postdocs Emmanouela Filippidi and Alessandro Mongera for their recent Otis Williams Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards!

Working with Prof. Megan Valentine, Dr. Filippidi studies the adhesive properties of the plaque at the end of mussel threads. By looking at mussels' plaque proteins and how they stay sticky in wet conditions, we can develop synthetic adhesives with a wide variety of uses that could be constructed using a 3-D printer. Dr. Filippidi tells UCSB Current reporter Julie Cohen, "Dentists would be able to apply braces without drying out the teeth first, doctors could use wet adhesives in surgery and engineers could more easily intstall underwater pipelines and structures."

Dr. Mongera is using a technique he helped create to looking at how the material properties of tissues can regulate massive cellular rearrangements that drive embryonic growth. As part of Prof. Otger Campas's group, he tracks embryogenesis in zebrafish and how fluidity and stiffness change as a function of time and space. During an interview with the Current, Dr. Mongera anticipates the tremendous impact on the field of cancer research: "The degree of stiffness in the environment surrounding the cancer may determine whether the tumor is benign or malignant." 

Check out UCSB's other outstanding postdoctoral fellowship winners at the Current!