Biomaterials for Protein Delivery and Tissue Engineering
Harnessing natural affinity interactions for precise protein delivery
Welcome to the Hettiaratchi Lab
The Hettiaratchi Lab is a new bioengineering research group in the University of Oregon’s Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact.
We are actively recruiting enthusiastic scientists and engineers to join our team!
Our Approach
We combine expertise in chemical and biomedical engineering to design biomaterials to control protein delivery to injured tissues.
Directed Evolution for Protein Delivery
Cell-Instructive Biomaterials for Bone Repair
Predictive Bio-transport Modeling
Featured Publications
- J Dorogin, JM Townsend, MH Hettiaratchi (2021). Biomaterials for protein delivery for complex tissue healing responses. Biomaterials Science.
- MH Hettiaratchi, L Krishnan, T Rouse, C Chou, TC McDevitt, RE Guldberg (2020). Heparin-mediated delivery of bone morphogenetic protein-2 improves spatial localization of bone formation. Science Advances.
- MH Hettiaratchi,* MJ O'Meara,* TR O'Meara, CJ Teal, AJ Pickering, N Letko-Khait, MS Shoichet (2020). Reengineering biocatalysts: Computational redesign of chondroitinase ABC improves efficacy and stability. Science Advances.
- MH Hettiaratchi, T Miller, JS Temenoff, RE Guldberg, TC McDevitt (2014). Heparin microparticle effects on presentation and bioactivity of bone morphogenetic protein-2. Biomaterials.
July 2021
The Knight Campus receives a second $500 million gift from Phil and Penny Knight! See more details and the video of the official announcement here.
June 2021
Congratulations to John O’Hara-Smith for being awarded a T32 fellowship through the Molecular Biology and Biophysics Training Program!
We welcome Veronica Spaulding (Chemistry) and John O’Hara-Smith as the newest graduate students in the Hettiaratchi Lab!
Congratulations to Henry Hochstatter for winning a UO SPUR summer fellowship!
Ireland Johnson is featured on the Knight Campus website as a Maybelle Clark Macdonald Scholar!
March 2021
The Hettiaratchi lab received a Medical Research Foundation New Investigator Award to develop angiogenic biomaterials!
Congratulations to Hons Rajabzadeh for winning an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program Mini-grant!
January 2021
The Hettiaratchi lab is officially 1 year old!
We published our first review paper, led by graduate student Jonathan Dorogin, in the 2021 Emerging Investigators issue of Biomaterials Science.
Congratulations to Ireland Johnson for being named a Knight Campus Undergraduate Scholar!
September 2020
September was a busy month for the Hettiaratchi lab – We moved into the new Knight Campus building!
June 2020
The Hettiaratchi Lab receives a grant from the Collins Medical Trust to develop a biomaterial strategy to improve protein delivery to large bone fractures.
January 2020
The lab officially opens its doors!
The Hettiaratchi Lab receives an UO-OHSU Collaborative Seed Grant to develop vascularized and innervated bone grafts with Dr. Luiz Bertassoni. We’re looking forward to starting this collaboration!
Our new paper on heparin-based biomaterials for protein delivery to repair large bone defects in rats is out in Science Advances. Check out the story in Around the O!