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Steven Caliari

Steven Caliari

Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering

Bio & Overview

Our group engineers biomaterials to better understand the dynamic interplay between cells and their microenvironment. We apply these platforms to address fundamental human health challenges including: - Treatment of fibrotic diseases - Repair and replacement of tissues and organs

Academic Information

Department
Chemical Engineering
Academic Title
Assistant Professor

Primary Education

  • B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Floridanull
  • M.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaignnull
  • Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaignnull

Other Appointments

  • Assistant Professor, Pathology
  • Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Other Affiliations

  • MSTP
  • BIMS
  • BIMS

Research Interests

Engineering biomaterials as cellular microenvironments

Research Disciplines

  • Biotechnology
  • Cancer Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Translational Science

Research Opportunities

  • Biotechnology
  • Cancer Biology
  • Molecular Biology

PhD Programs

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Experimental Pathology

Selected Publications

2024

Rane, A., Tate, S., Sumey, J. L., Zhong, Q., Zong, H., Purow, B., . . . Swami, N. S. (2024). Open-Top Patterned Hydrogel-Laden 3D Glioma Cell Cultures for Creation of Dynamic Chemotactic Gradients to Direct Cell Migration. ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING, 10(5), 3470-3477. doi:10.1021/acsbiomaterials.4c00041

Skelton, M. L., Gentry, J. L., Astrab, L. R., Goedert, J. A., Earl, E. B., Pham, E. L., . . . Caliari, S. R. (2024). Modular Multiwell Viscoelastic Hydrogel Platform for Two- and Three-Dimensional Cell Culture Applications. ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING, 10(5), 3280-3292. doi:10.1021/acsbiomaterials.4c00312

2023

Skelton, M. L., Gentry, J. L., Astrab, L. R., Goedert, J. A., Earl, E. B., Pham, E. L., . . . Caliari, S. R. (2023). Modular multiwell viscoelastic hydrogel platform for two- and three-dimensional cell culture applications.. bioRxiv. doi:10.1101/2023.10.09.561449

Sumey, J. L., Harrell, A. M., Johnston, P. C., & Caliari, S. R. (2024). Serial Passaging Affects Stromal Cell Mechanosensitivity on Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels. MACROMOLECULAR BIOSCIENCE, 24(1). doi:10.1002/mabi.202300110

Miller, B., Wolfe, W., Gentry, J. L., Grewal, M. G., Highley, C. B., De Vita, R., . . . Caliari, S. R. (2023). Supramolecular Fibrous Hydrogel Augmentation of Uterosacral Ligament Suspension for Treatment of Pelvic Organ Prolapse. ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS, 12(22). doi:10.1002/adhm.202300086

Sumey, J. L. L., Johnston, P. C. C., Harrell, A. M. M., & Caliari, S. R. R. (2023). Hydrogel mechanics regulate fibroblast DNA methylation and chromatin condensation. BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE, 11(8), 2886-2897. doi:10.1039/d2bm02058k

Sumey, J. L., Harrell, A. M., Johnston, P. C., & Caliari, S. R. (2023). Serial passaging affects stromal cell mechanosensitivity on hyaluronic acid hydrogels.. bioRxiv. doi:10.1101/2023.03.16.532853

2022

Basurto, I. M., Muhammad, S. A., Gardner, G. M., Christ, G. J., & Caliari, S. R. (2022). Controlling scaffold conductivity and pore size to direct myogenic cell alignment and differentiation. JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH PART A, 110(10), 1681-1694. doi:10.1002/jbm.a.37418

Basurto, I. M., Passipieri, J. A., Gardner, G. M., Smith, K. K., Amacher, A. R., Hansrisuk, A. I., . . . Caliari, S. R. (2022). Photoreactive Hydrogel Stiffness Influences Volumetric Muscle Loss Repair. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, 28(7-8), 312-329. doi:10.1089/ten.tea.2021.0137

2021

Hui, E., Sumey, J. L., & Caliari, S. R. (2021). Click-functionalized hydrogel design for mechanobiology investigations. MOLECULAR SYSTEMS DESIGN & ENGINEERING, 6(9), 670-707. doi:10.1039/d1me00049g

Hui, E., Moretti, L., Barker, T. H., & Caliari, S. R. (2021). The Combined Influence of Viscoelastic and Adhesive Cues on Fibroblast Spreading and Focal Adhesion Organization. CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR BIOENGINEERING, 14(5), 427-440. doi:10.1007/s12195-021-00672-1

Miller, B., Hansrisuk, A., Highley, C. B., & Caliari, S. R. (2021). Guest-Host Supramolecular Assembly of Injectable Hydrogel Nanofibers for Cell Encapsulation. ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING, 7(9), 4164-4174. doi:10.1021/acsbiomaterials.1c00275

Grubb, M. L., & Caliari, S. R. (2021). Fabrication approaches for high-throughput and biomimetic disease modeling.. Acta biomaterialia, 132, 52-82. doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2021.03.006

Basurto, I. M., Mora, M. T., Gardner, G. M., Christ, G. J., & Caliari, S. R. (2021). Aligned and electrically conductive 3D collagen scaffolds for skeletal muscle tissue engineering. BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE, 9(11), 4040-4053. doi:10.1039/d1bm00147g

2020

Unal, D. B., Caliari, S. R., & Lampe, K. J. (2020). 3D Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels for Modeling Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cell Behavior as a Function of Matrix Stiffness. BIOMACROMOLECULES, 21(12), 4962-4971. doi:10.1021/acs.biomac.0c01164

2019

Hui, E., Girneno, K. I., Guan, G., & Caliari, S. R. (2019). Spatiotemporal Control of Viscoelasticity in Phototunable Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels. BIOMACROMOLECULES, 20(11), 4126-4134. doi:10.1021/acs.biomac.9b00965

Unal, D. B., Caliari, S. R., & Lampe, K. J. (2019). Engineering biomaterial microenvironments to promote myelination in the central nervous system. BRAIN RESEARCH BULLETIN, 152, 159-174. doi:10.1016/j.brainresbull.2019.07.013

2018

Tang, J. D., Caliari, S. R., & Lampe, K. J. (2018). Temperature-Dependent Complex Coacervation of Engineered Elastin-like Polypeptide and Hyaluronic Acid Polyelectrolytes. BIOMACROMOLECULES, 19(10), 3925-3935. doi:10.1021/acs.biomac.8b00837

Gong, Z., Szczesny, S. E., Caliari, S. R., Charrier, E. E., Chaudhuri, O., Cao, X., . . . Shenoy, V. B. (2018). Matching material and cellular timescales maximizes cell spreading on viscoelastic substrates. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 115(12), E2686-E2695. doi:10.1073/pnas.1716620115

2017

Yeh, Y. -C., Corbin, E. A., Caliari, S. R., Ouyang, L., Vega, S. L., Truitt, R., . . . Burdick, J. A. (2017). Mechanically dynamic PDMS substrates to investigate changing cell environments. BIOMATERIALS, 145, 23-32. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.08.033

2016

Cosgrove, B. D., Mui, K. L., Driscoll, T. P., Caliari, S. R., Mehta, K. D., Assoian, R. K., . . . Mauck, R. L. (2016). N-cadherin adhesive interactions modulate matrix mechanosensing and fate commitment of mesenchymal stem cells. NATURE MATERIALS, 15(12), 1297-1306. doi:10.1038/NMAT4725

Caliari, S. R., Vega, S. L., Kwon, M., Soulas, E. M., & Burdick, J. A. (2016). Dimensionality and spreading influence MSC YAP/TAZ signaling in hydrogel environments. BIOMATERIALS, 103, 314-323. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.06.061

Caliari, S. R., Perepelyuk, M., Soulas, E. M., Lee, G. Y., Wells, R. G., & Burdick, J. A. (2016). Gradually softening hydrogels for modeling hepatic stellate cell behavior during fibrosis regression. INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY, 8(6), 720-728. doi:10.1039/c6ib00027d

Caliari, S. R., & Burdick, J. A. (2016). A practical guide to hydrogels for cell culture. NATURE METHODS, 13(5), 405-414. doi:10.1038/nmeth.3839

Caliari, S. R., Perepelyuk, M., Cosgrove, B. D., Tsai, S. J., Lee, G. Y., Mauck, R. L., . . . Burdick, J. A. (2016). Stiffening hydrogels for investigating the dynamics of hepatic stellate cell mechanotransduction during myofibroblast activation. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 6. doi:10.1038/srep21387

2015

Yokohama-Tamaki, T., Otsu, K., Harada, H., Shibata, S., Obara, N., Irie, K., . . . Harley, B. A. C. (2015). CXCR4/CXCL12 signaling impacts enamel progenitor cell proliferation and motility in the dental stem cell niche. CELL AND TISSUE RESEARCH, 362(3), 633-642. doi:10.1007/s00441-015-2248-y

Caliari, S. R., Weisgerber, D. W., Grier, W. K., Mahmassani, Z., Boppart, M. D., & Harley, B. A. C. (2015). Collagen Scaffolds Incorporating Coincident Gradations of Instructive Structural and Biochemical Cues for Osteotendinous Junction Engineering. ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS, 4(6), 831-837. doi:10.1002/adhm.201400809

Weisgerber, D. W., Caliari, S. R., & Harley, B. A. C. (2015). Mineralized collagen scaffolds induce hMSC osteogenesis and matrix remodeling. BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE, 3(3), 533-542. doi:10.1039/c4bm00397g

2014

Caliari, S. R., Gonnerman, E. A., Grier, W. K., Weisgerber, D. W., Banks, J. M., Alsop, A. J., . . . Harley, B. A. C. (2015). Collagen Scaffold Arrays for Combinatorial Screening of Biophysical and Biochemical Regulators of Cell Behavior. ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS, 4(1). doi:10.1002/adhm.201400252

Caliari, S. R., & Harley, B. A. C. (2014). Collagen-GAG Scaffold Biophysical Properties Bias MSC Lineage Choice in the Presence of Mixed Soluble Signals. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, 20(17-18), 2463-2472. doi:10.1089/ten.tea.2013.0400

Caliari, S. R., & Harley, B. A. C. (2014). Structural and Biochemical Modification of a Collagen Scaffold to Selectively Enhance MSC Tenogenic, Chondrogenic, and Osteogenic Differentiation. ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS, 3(7), 1086-1096. doi:10.1002/adhm.201300646

2013

Caliari, S. R., Mozdzen, L. C., Armitage, O., Oyen, M. L., & Harley, B. A. C. (2014). Award Winner in the Young Investigator Category, 2014 Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting and Exposition, Denver, Colorado, April 16-19, 2014. JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH PART A, 102(4), 917-927. doi:10.1002/jbm.a.35058

Weisgerber, D. W., Kelkhoff, D. O., Caliari, S. R., & Harley, B. A. C. (2013). The impact of discrete compartments of a multi-compartment collagen-GAG scaffold on overall construct biophysical properties. JOURNAL OF THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS, 28, 26-36. doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2013.07.016

Caliari, S. R., & Harley, B. A. C. (2013). Composite Growth Factor Supplementation Strategies to Enhance Tenocyte Bioactivity in Aligned Collagen-GAG Scaffolds. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, 19(9-10), 1100-1112. doi:10.1089/ten.tea.2012.0497

2011

Caliari, S. R., Weisgerber, D. W., Ramirez, M. A., Kelkhoff, D. O., & Harley, B. A. C. (2012). The influence of collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffold relative density and microstructural anisotropy on tenocyte bioactivity and transcriptomic stability. JOURNAL OF THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS, 11, 27-40. doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2011.12.004

Caliari, S. R., Ramirez, M. A., & Harley, B. A. C. (2011). The development of collagen-GAG scaffold-membrane composites for tendon tissue engineering. BIOMATERIALS, 32(34), 8990-8998. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.08.035

Martin, T. A., Caliari, S. R., Williford, P. D., Harley, B. A., & Bailey, R. C. (2011). The generation of biomolecular patterns in highly porous collagen-GAG scaffolds using direct photolithography. BIOMATERIALS, 32(16), 3949-3957. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.02.018

Caliari, S. R., & Harley, B. A. C. (2011). The effect of anisotropic collagen-GAG scaffolds and growth factor supplementation on tendon cell recruitment, alignment, and metabolic activity. BIOMATERIALS, 32(23), 5330-5340. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.04.021