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Whitney L. Stoppel, PhD
William P and Tracy Cirioli Term Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering Affiliate Faculty in J. Crayton Pruitt Department of Biomedical Engineering University of Florida Contact Information
Wertheim Lab for Engineering Excellence whitney.stoppel[@]ufl.edu Stoppel Lab Funding: DoD CDMRP: W81XWH2110199 (2021-2023) NIH NIGMS: R35GM147041 (2022-2027) NSF MCB 2217159 (2022-2027) |
Dr. Whitney L. Stoppel is the William P and Tracy Cirioli Term Assistant Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Florida. Dr. Stoppel serves as the PhD Recruitment Coordinator and directs the UF ChE 1st Year PhD Peer Mentoring Program. Dr. Stoppel holds an affiliate appointment in the J. Crayton Pruitt Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida and is a member of the UF Myology Institute.
Her expertise lies at the interface between transport in biological systems, biomolecular engineering natural biopolymer characterization, biomaterials development, and tissue engineering. The Stoppel Lab’s work investigates, alters, characterizes, and utilizes natural silk fibroin-based biopolymers derived from silk producing insects. Thus, we enjoy thinking about the interplay between polymer thermodynamics and reaction kinetics as they drive biopolymer secondary and tertiary structures. We work to leverage these two completing forces within 3D material systems to develop responsive biomaterials for future applications in tissue engineering and disease treatment. The Stoppel laboratory’s research is ultimately paving the way for the development of biomaterials with an emphasis new paradigms in soft tissue repair that enable clinicians/surgeons to treat patients as a function of their clinical variables (age, biological sex, co-morbidities, immune status) using naturally sourced and degradable systems.
Through this research, Whitney is passionate about the growth, development, and success of her trainees. She is committed to helping students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels develop into confident, organized, and ethically sound researchers, engineers and scientists. Dr. Stoppel values diverse perspectives and runs her lab in a way that aims to value individual contributions through team-based efforts.
Prior to starting her independent lab at the University of Florida, Whitney was a Training in Education and Critical Research Skills (TEACRS) NIH Institutional Research and Academic Career Development (IRACDA) Postdoctoral Scholar in the Kaplan and Black laboratories in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Tufts University. Her research focused on the development and optimization of 3D biomaterials for cardiac tissue regeneration, developing methods for the inclusion of decellularized ECM into silk scaffolds and hydrogels. Whitney obtained her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2014. During her PhD studies, she was an Institute for Cellular Engineering NSF IGERT Graduate Fellow and a Chemistry-Biology Interface NIH T32 Fellow while performing research in the laboratory of Dr. Susan C. Roberts. Her work focused on understanding the mechanics and transport properties of natural biopolymer composite materials. Specifically, her collaborative work aimed to determine how the transport and kinetics of these alginate-based materials could be leveraged to alter cell function and phenotype through collaborations with Dr. Surita R. Bhatia and her team. Whitney earned her Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree from the department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Tulane University in 2008 and was part of the 2008 class of Tulane 34 Awardees.
Whitney also enjoys teaching and mentoring undergraduate students. At the University of Florida, Dr. Stoppel has taught ECH 3264 Elementary Transport Phenomena and ECH 4905 Bioprocess Engineering and Bioseparations. At Tufts University, Dr. Stoppel taught an advanced biomedical engineering elective class, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine in Spring 2017 and Spring 2018. She also taught a first-year honors student course, Artificial Organs and Prosthetics at UMass Boston in Spring 2016.
When not doing science and engineering things for work, Whitney enjoys gardening, hanging out with her family, and spoiling her pups, Mimosa and Sambuca. Whitney and Evan also tend to their flock of chickens and are avid craft beer enthusiasts, continuing to enjoy the breadth of craft beer available in Florida.
Dr. Stoppel’s CV can be obtained upon request and an up-to-date list of publications can be found on Google Scholar.
Her expertise lies at the interface between transport in biological systems, biomolecular engineering natural biopolymer characterization, biomaterials development, and tissue engineering. The Stoppel Lab’s work investigates, alters, characterizes, and utilizes natural silk fibroin-based biopolymers derived from silk producing insects. Thus, we enjoy thinking about the interplay between polymer thermodynamics and reaction kinetics as they drive biopolymer secondary and tertiary structures. We work to leverage these two completing forces within 3D material systems to develop responsive biomaterials for future applications in tissue engineering and disease treatment. The Stoppel laboratory’s research is ultimately paving the way for the development of biomaterials with an emphasis new paradigms in soft tissue repair that enable clinicians/surgeons to treat patients as a function of their clinical variables (age, biological sex, co-morbidities, immune status) using naturally sourced and degradable systems.
Through this research, Whitney is passionate about the growth, development, and success of her trainees. She is committed to helping students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels develop into confident, organized, and ethically sound researchers, engineers and scientists. Dr. Stoppel values diverse perspectives and runs her lab in a way that aims to value individual contributions through team-based efforts.
Prior to starting her independent lab at the University of Florida, Whitney was a Training in Education and Critical Research Skills (TEACRS) NIH Institutional Research and Academic Career Development (IRACDA) Postdoctoral Scholar in the Kaplan and Black laboratories in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Tufts University. Her research focused on the development and optimization of 3D biomaterials for cardiac tissue regeneration, developing methods for the inclusion of decellularized ECM into silk scaffolds and hydrogels. Whitney obtained her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2014. During her PhD studies, she was an Institute for Cellular Engineering NSF IGERT Graduate Fellow and a Chemistry-Biology Interface NIH T32 Fellow while performing research in the laboratory of Dr. Susan C. Roberts. Her work focused on understanding the mechanics and transport properties of natural biopolymer composite materials. Specifically, her collaborative work aimed to determine how the transport and kinetics of these alginate-based materials could be leveraged to alter cell function and phenotype through collaborations with Dr. Surita R. Bhatia and her team. Whitney earned her Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree from the department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Tulane University in 2008 and was part of the 2008 class of Tulane 34 Awardees.
Whitney also enjoys teaching and mentoring undergraduate students. At the University of Florida, Dr. Stoppel has taught ECH 3264 Elementary Transport Phenomena and ECH 4905 Bioprocess Engineering and Bioseparations. At Tufts University, Dr. Stoppel taught an advanced biomedical engineering elective class, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine in Spring 2017 and Spring 2018. She also taught a first-year honors student course, Artificial Organs and Prosthetics at UMass Boston in Spring 2016.
When not doing science and engineering things for work, Whitney enjoys gardening, hanging out with her family, and spoiling her pups, Mimosa and Sambuca. Whitney and Evan also tend to their flock of chickens and are avid craft beer enthusiasts, continuing to enjoy the breadth of craft beer available in Florida.
Dr. Stoppel’s CV can be obtained upon request and an up-to-date list of publications can be found on Google Scholar.
