Nancy W. Karuri
Assistant Professor
Office: Perlstein Hall, Room 140
Phone: 312.567.3262
Fax: 312.567.8874
Email:
nkaruri1@iit.edu
Web:
Personal Website
Expertise
Education
- B.E. from University of New South Wales, Australia (Chemical Eng., 1999)
- Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin-Madison (Chemical Eng., 2005)
Research
Aberrant healing in injured tissues impairs biological functions such as mobility and vision. My research goal is to design biomimetic scaffolds that would be placed at the wound site and that would promote normal cell and tissue regeneration during the process of wound healing. To successfully do so, I plan to study the interplay between natural scaffolds or extracellular matrices and the surrounding cells in the context of wounding healing. This information will be used to determine optimum design conditions for artificial scaffolds systems such that normal tissue integration and regeneration is obtained after transplantation.
My research covers two main themes. These are:
Extracellular matrix interactions during wound healing:
The goal is to understand some of the early events that take place in the extracellular matrix during wound healing and to use chemical engineering tools to characterize these events. These studies involve the use of simple model systems to elucidate extracellular matrix protein interactions that are necessary during the process of matrix remodeling after wounding.
Interfacial chemistry to mimic and direct cell function:
This involves the functionalizing artificial scaffolds with domains of extracellular matrix proteins with the aim of mimicking the extracellular niche. By varying types, quantities and localization of these domains and investigating their effect on cell behavior I plan to determine optimum conditions for cell functions that are linked to enhanced tissue regeneration.
Current Projects
Awards/Honors
- T32 National Institutes of Health Training Grant, 2006
- Roland Ragatz Teaching Assistant Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2002, 2003
- Graduate Engineering Research Scholars Fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2000
- Australian Research Council Scholarship, University of New South Wales, Australia, 1999
Patents
Books
Selected Publications
Zhang, C., Karuri, N. W., “A facile and rapid method for creating polyethylene glycol hydrogels derivatized with the cell-binding domain of fibronectin”, Acta Biomaterilia, submitted May 2012.
Kshatriya, P. P., Karuri, S. W., Chiang, C., Karuri, N. W., "A combinatorial approach for directing the amount of fibronectin fibrils assembled by cells that uses surfaces derivatized with mixtures of fibronectin and cell binding domains", Biotechnology Progress, 2012, 28(3):862-871.
Chiang, C., Karuri, S. W., Kshatriya, P. P., Schwartz, J., Schwarzbauer, J. E., Karuri, N. W., "A new surface derivatization strategy for combinatorial analysis of cell response to mixtures of protein domains", Langmuir, 2012, 28: 548-556.
Karuri, NW, Lin, Z, Rye, H, Schwarzbauer, JE, "Probing the conformation of the fibronectin III1-2 domain by fluorescence resonance energy transfer", Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2009, 284: 3445 - 3452.
Karuri, NW, Porri, TJ, Albrecht, R, Murphy, CJ, Nealey, PF, "Structural organization of the cytoskeleton in SV40 human corneal epithelial cells cultured on nano- and microscale grooves", Scanning, 2008, 30: 1-9.
Karuri, NW, Albrecht, R, Murphy, CJ, Nealey, PF, "Nano- and microscale holes modulate cell-substrate adhesion, cytoskeletal organization and -b1 integrin localization in SV-40 Human Corneal Epithelial Cells", IEEE Transactions on Nanobioscience, 2006, 5: 273-280.
Karuri, NW, Nealey, PF, Murphy, CJ, Albrecht, RM, "Structural organization of the cytoskeleton in SV40 human corneal epithelial cells cultured on nano- and microscale topography", Microscopy and Microanalysis, 2005, 11: 182-183.
Karuri, NW, Liliensiek, S, Teixeira, AI, Abrams, G, Campbell, S, Nealey, PF, Murphy, CJ, "Biological length scale topography enhances cell substrate adhesion of human corneal epithelial cells", Journal of Cell Science, 2004, 117: 3153-3164.
Karuri, NW, Liliensiek, SJ, Diehl, KA, Foley, JD, Abrams,GA, Campbell, S, Nealey, PF, Murphy, CJ, "Biologic length scale topographic features modulate human corneal epithelial cell adhesion and migration", 2004, Conference Paper, 7th World Biomaterials Congress, Sydney, Australia.
Pham, QT, Karuri, NW, "A computational efficient technique for calculating simultaneous heat and mass transfer during food chilling", Proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Refrigeration, Sydney, 1999, vol IV, paper 52.
