Biomaterials for Protein Delivery and Tissue Engineering
Harnessing natural affinity interactions for precise protein delivery
Welcome to the Hettiaratchi Lab
We are a bioengineering research group at the University of Oregon’s Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact.
We welcome new lab members from all backgrounds and recruit through a variety of science and engineering graduate and undergraduate programs at the University of Oregon.
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
Funding Sources
We are grateful for funding from the Collins Medical Trust, OHSU Medical Research Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance.
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.
December 2021
Our research neighborhood is featured on the Knight Campus website for recent NIH grants awarded to our lab, the Plesa lab, and the Hosseinzadeh lab.
Congratulations to Henry Hochstatter for winning an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program Mini-grant and to Yan Carlos Pacheco for winning the Knight Campus Diversity Award!
November 2021
Several lab members won awards for their presentations at the Oregon Bioengineering Symposium! Congratulations to John O’Hara-Smith (1st place, flash talk), Ireland John (2nd place, flash talk), and Henry Hochstatter (1st place, undergraduate poster)!
October 2021
The lab receives an R21 Trailblazer Award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering! This $602,000, 3-year award will fund the lab’s work in using directed evolution to identify novel binding partners for affinity-controlled protein release.
We welcome Chandler Asnes, our new lab manager, to the lab!
September 2021
Dr. Hettiaratchi wins a Faculty Research Mentor Award from the Center for Undergraduate Research & Engagement. Thanks to our undergrad researchers for the nomination!
We welcome new bioengineering graduate student Yan Carlos Pacheco and new undergraduate researchers Simon Oh and Lily Mozipo!
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 (Biology) 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 receives a Medical Research Foundation New Investigator Award to develop angiogenic biomaterials!
January 2021
We published our first review paper, led by graduate student Jonathan Dorogin, in the 2021 Emerging Investigators issue of Biomaterials Science.