Stephanie Bryant

Stephanie Bryant interweaves mechanics, engineering, materials science and biology in her comprehensive study of synthetic hydrogels. Dr. Bryant remains at the forefront of translational biomaterials research through her investment in interdisciplinary learning and collaboration. Bryant completed a B.S. in chemical engineering at the University of Texas, Austin and received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder. Bryant began working in tissue engineering during her graduate studies under the mentorship of BioFrontiers core faculty member Kristi Anseth. Dr. Bryant continued her study of synthetic hydrogels in a senior postdoc position with the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington. At the University of Washington, Dr. Bryant published the paper “Biomaterials: where we have been and where we are going”. This review has been fundamental in informing a new generation of “smart” biomaterials, programmed to specific biomolecular and mechanical cues to allow for revolutionary clinical applications.

Dr. Bryant returned to the University of Colorado as an Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering in 2005. Her lab designs 3D synthetic hydrogels which can serve as cell-platforms to promote regeneration of functional tissues when placed in the body. This research involves engineering biomolecular and mechanical cues, tuning hydrogel architecture and degradation, and controlling the host immune response. Such holistic investigation of hydrogels has led Dr. Bryant to extensive collaboration with faculty members from a wide range of departments, including Franck Vernerey and Virginia Ferguson (ME), Amy Palmer (BCHM), and Loren Hough (PHYS). Dr. Bryant combines her expertise in chemical engineering with materials science, and biomechanics to study hydrogels with groundbreaking depth and precision.

Dr. Bryant’s work has led to 5 U.S. patents and provided a scaffold for many other laboratories following in her innovative footsteps. She was honored as CU Boulder’s New Inventor of the Year in 2007, she received an NSF CAREER award in 2009, a Leverhulme Visiting Professorship to the UK, and she has received funding for diverse projects such as “Tissue Engineering in the Classroom”.  Dr. Bryant places great emphasis on undergraduate projects, encouraging the next generation of scientists to push boundaries and bridge disciplines. Dr. Bryant’s research has greatly advanced the field of biomaterials, as she encourages improvement of tissue scaffolds through the use of tools from many specialties.