The Tirrell laboratory has broad and deep expertise in creating novel, functional self-assembled structures focusing on tailored nanomaterials for basic science research and therapeutic applications. In many cases our work has involved the specific design of new molecular architectures that showcase the fundamentals of self-assembly.
The capacity to create a variety of new structures is useful in designing constructs for diagnostic and therapeutic applications where nanoparticles are able to target and home to asymptomatic and resistant pathologies. One such construct is the micellar structure formed by electrostatic complexation of ionic block copolymers, which can be an effective carrier vehicle for charged cargoes such as therapeutic drugs, proteins or nucleic acids. We also have expertise in peptide-based micellar constructs where the dense presentation of a functional peptide at the micelle surface improves the interaction of our nanomaterials with cells. We have used these strategies to great effect as antimicrobial treatments, for the detection and treatment of atherosclerosis and cancer, in regenerative medicines, and also vaccines.
We are poised to both continue the development of new nanomaterials and to drive the use of these constructs as rapidly as possible towards clinical applications. To this end, we work closely with scientific, technical, and clinical collaborators both at the University of Chicago and elsewhere.
Principal Investigator
- Fundamental Science
- Polyelectrolyte Complex Micelles
- Complex Coacervates
- Synthesis and Assembly of Designer Block Polyelectrolytes
- Polyelectrolyte Brushes
- Industrial Applications
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Aman Agrawal, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar -
Pam Cai, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher -
Lauryn Carver
Ph.D. Student -
Vishnu Dharmaraj
Ph.D. Student -
Jelena Dinic, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher -
Ed Jiang
Ph.D. Student -
Carlos Medina Jimenez
Ph.D. Student -
Ha Ram Kim
Ph.D. Student -
Huu Van Le, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
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Elaine Lee
Ph.D. Student -
Jason Lo
Ph.D. Student -
Nathan Maslowski
Ph.D. Student -
Harrison Paul
Ph.D. Candidate -
Shinya Wai
Ph.D. Student -
Siyang Wang, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher -
Brian Xi
Ph.D. Student -
Zhengjie Zhou, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Ion Specificity Influences on the Structure of Zwitterionic Brushes
Macromolecules 2023, 56, 5, 1945–1953
Sequence-Controlled Secondary Structures and Stimuli Responsiveness of Bioinspired Polyampholytes
Biomacromolecules 2022, 23, 9, 3798–3809
Harnessing the therapeutic potential of biomacromolecules through intracellular delivery of nucleic acids, peptides and proteins
Yu Tian, Matthew V. Tirrell, James L. LaBelle. "Harnessing the therapeutic potential of biomacromolecules through intracellular delivery of nucleic acids, peptides and proteins". Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2022.
Targeted polyelectrolyte complex micelles treat vascular complications in vivo
Zhengjie Zhou, Chih-Fan Yeh, Michael Mellas, Myung-Jin Oh, Jiayu Zhu, Jin Li, Ru-Ting Huang, Devin L Harrison, Tzu-Pin Shentu, David Wu, Michael Lueckheide, Lauryn Carver, Eun Ji Chung, Lorraine Leon, Kai-Chien Yang, Matthew V Tirrell, Yun Fang. "Targeted polyelectrolyte complex micelles treat vascular complications in vivo", PNAS.
Protein primary structure correlates with calcium oxalate stone matrix preference
Yu Tian, Matthew Tirrell, Carley Davis, Jeffrey A Wesson. "Protein primary structure correlates with calcium oxalate stone matrix preference". Plos One, 2021, e0257515.
Polyampholyte physics: Liquid–liquid phase separation and biological condensates
Dinic, Jelena, Amanda B. Marciel, and Matthew V. Tirrell. "Polyampholyte physics: Liquid–liquid phase separation and biological condensates." Current opinion in colloid & interface science 54 (2021): 101457.
Polymersomes Decorated with the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Receptor-Binding Domain Elicit Robust Humoral and Cellular Immunity
"Polymersomes Decorated with the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Receptor-Binding Domain Elicit Robust Humoral and Cellular Immunity". ACS Cent. Sci. 2021, 7, 8, 1368-1380.
Advances in the Structural Design of Polyelectrolyte Complex Micelles
Alexander E. Marras, Jeffrey M. Ting, Kaden C. Stevens, and Matthew V. Tirrell. "Advances in the Structural Design of Polyelectrolyte Complex Micelles". J. Phys. Chem. B, 2021, 125, 26, 7076-7089.
Physical Property Scaling Relationships for Polyelectrolyte Complex Micelles
Alexander E. Marras, Trinity R. Campagna, Jeffrey R. Vieregg, and Matthew V. Tirrell. "Physical Property Scaling Relationships for Polyelectrolyte Complex Micelles". Macromolecules, 2021, 54, 13, 6585-6594.
Effect of Solvent Quality on the Phase Behavior of Polyelectrolyte Complexes
Lu Li, Artem M Rumyantsev, Samanvaya Srivastava, Siqi Meng, Juan J de Pablo, Matthew V Tirrell. "Effect of Solvent Quality on the Phase Behavior of Polyelectrolyte Complexes", Macromolecules, 2020.
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Handan Acar, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2017) Current: Faculty member, University of Oklahoma -
Sovan Banerjee, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2022) Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Minnesota -
John Barrett, Ph.D.
PhD Student (Alumni 2017) Current: Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC -
Blair Brettmann, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2017) Current: Faculty member, Georgia Institute of Technology -
Trinity Campagna
Undergraduate Researcher -
Rex Chan
Undergraduate Researcher -
Eun Ji Chung, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni 2017) Current: Faculty member, USC -
Natalie David
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni) -
Guilhem De Hoe, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2021) Current: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub, UK -
Jacqueline Deirmenjian
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni 2017) -
Taylor Elliott
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni 2025) Current: Ph.D. program in Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Francisco -
Yan Fang
Ph.D. Student (Alumni 2025) Current: Senior Scientist, Merck -
Whitney Fowler
Ph.D. Candidate, NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Chicago Center for Teaching Fellow (Alumni 2022) Current: Faculty member, Harvey Mudd College -
David Goldfeld
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni) -
Qiming He, Ph.D.
Research professional (Alumni 2021) Current: Postdoctoral Scholar, Minnesota -
Abe Herzog-Arbeitman
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni 2019) Current: PhD Student, MIT -
Matthew Kade, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Appointee, Argonne National Laboratory Visiting Scientist, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (Alumni 2014) Current: Tricida, Inc. -
Brian Khau, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar -
Amanuel Kibrom
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni) -
Isadora Kucera
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni 2020) Current: Graduate Student, University of Minnesota -
Lorraine Leon, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2017) Current: Faculty member, University of Central Florida -
Adam Levi
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni) -
Lu Li, Ph.D.
Graduate Student (Alumni 2019) Current: Senior Research Scientist, 3M, Minnesota -
Simon Liang
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni) -
Michael Lueckheide, Ph.D.
PhD Student (Alumni 2018) Current: NRC Fellow, NIST -
Sean Mao, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Appointee at Argonne National Laboratory PME Visiting Scientist (Alumni 2019) Current: Senior Scientist, Sigma Aldrich Merck -
Amanda Marciel, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar (Alumni 2018) Assistant Professor, Rice University -
Khatcher Margossian
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni)
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Alexander Marras, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2022) Current: Faculty member, The University of Texas at Austin -
Dean Mastropietro, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory (Alumni 2021) Current: Corning -
Katie Megley, Ph.D.
PhD Student (Alumni) Current: Apic Bio, Inc. -
Michael Mellas, Ph.D.
Ph.D. Candidate (Alumni 2021) Current: Associate Scientist III, Pace Life Sciences -
Siqi Meng, Ph.D.
Ph.D. Candidate (Alumni 2019) Current: Research Chemist I, PPG -
J. Dalton Mitchell
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni 2019) -
Laurie (Drews) Mlinar, Ph.D.
PhD Student (Alumni) Current: AbbVie -
Hannah Morin
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni 2020) -
Angelika Neitzel, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2022) Current: Faculty member, University of Florida -
Sohee Park, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2022) -
Sarah Perry, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni 2014) Current: Faculty member, UMass -
Dimitris Priftis, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2015) Current: Blue Origin -
Nader Taheri Qazvini, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2018) Current: Faculty member, University of South Carolina -
Benjamin Robertson
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni 2019) Current: PhD Student, University of Minnesota -
Ravand Samaeekia
Research Specialist (Alumnus 2016) -
Mathew Schnorenberg, Ph.D.
Ph.D. MD-PhD Student (Alumni 2020) Current: MD training, Pritzker School of Medicine -
Samanvaya Srivastava, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2017) Current: Faculty member, UCLA -
Kaden Stevens
Ph.D. Student (Alumni 2024) Current: Faculty member, The University of Southern Mississippi -
Tess Teodoro
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni 2020) -
Yu Tian, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2022) Current: Senior Scientist, Merck -
Jeffrey Ting, Ph.D.
NIST-ChiMaD Postdoctoral Fellow (Alumni 2020) Current: Senior Research Scientist, 3M, Minnesota -
Anna Tropnikova
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni) -
Bret Ulery, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar (Alumni 2014) Current: Faculty member, University of Missouri -
Jeffrey Vieregg, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist -
Olivia Werba
Undergraduate Researcher (Alumni 2019) -
Hao Wu, Ph.D.
PhD Student (Alumni 2019) -
Jing Yu, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2017) Current: Faculty member, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore -
Ge Zhang, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher (Alumni 2022) Current: Research manager, Therorna Inc.