Azarin Research Group

Welcome to the Azarin Research Group Website!

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Our group studies regulation of cellular function by the healthy and diseased microenvironment. In particular, we focus on cell-cell interactions, drug delivery, and design of biomaterials for applications in molecular and cellular therapeutics and human disease modeling. Areas of interest include mechanisms of tumor progression and the development of novel treatments for metastatic cancer, molecular transport across physiological barriers, stem cell-derived models of healthy and diseased tissues, and biomanufacturing technologies for emerging cell-based immune therapies. Throughout these efforts, we integrate quantitative analysis of biological processes with tissue engineering approaches and novel biomaterial platforms. Our focus on the microenvironment extends to the scientific development of our trainees. We prioritize fostering a collaborative, equitable, inclusive, and diverse lab environment to inspire and empower all trainees to realize their scientific and professional goals.

Recent News

June 2023: Harish successfully defended his doctoral thesis. Congratulations, Dr. Venkatachalapathy!

February 2023: Congratulations to Abby and Joe for their paper in International Journal of Pharmaceutics!

November 2022: Congratulations to Paulina for winning the University-wide Three Minute Thesis Competition!

October 2022: Harish's research on how cellular noise impacts breast cancer dormancy was highlighted by the College of Science and Engineering.

October 2022: Congratulations to Paulina for winning a poster award at the Institute for Engineering in Medicine Annual Conference!

July 2022: Congratulations to Qiuge for her paper in Nature Communications! This work was also highlighted by the College of Science and Engineering.

May 2022: Qiuge successfully defended her doctoral thesis. Congratulations, Dr. Zhang!

May 2022: Congratulations to Andrew for passing his qualifying exam!