The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry gladly welcomes Dr. Liana Soares Chafran as a tenure track Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, beginning Fall 2021. Her research lab will be on the SciTech campus. Dr. Chafran’s research lab will initially focus on the synthesis and chemical modification of biopolymers and biomaterials through homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis to obtain smart biomaterial. Among the different applications for the biomaterials, it will be possible to build smart medical devices, which can be used in the formulation and assembly of liposomal systems as testing platforms for pharmaceuticals and biomarkers discovery, in the synthesis of functionalized 3D scaffolds, and in biosensor and bioimaging applications.

In addition to the biofabrication of mimetics, 3D bioprinting technology will be used to develop microfluidics systems for drug discovery. By using optimized biopolymers and biomaterials, the research lab will be able to design and develop customized microfluidic systems for organ-on-a-chip applications, as well as provide platforms for testing drugs, bioactive agents and vaccines.

Dr. Chafran earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry (2016) from the University of Brasília (Brazil). She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in nanobiotechnology at the Brazilian National Institute of Science and Technology – Synthetic Biology (INCT -BioSyn) – EMBRAPA, then worked as a research associate (GMU) investigating polymeric nanoparticles (“on-off” switch hydrogels).