Amit Pathak
Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science
- Phone
314-935-7585 - Office
Jubel Hall, Room 303D - Lab location
Jubel Hall, Room 335
Education
PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2008B.Tech/M.Tech, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, 2002
Expertise
Studies mechanobiology of cancer metastasis and epithelial cell behaviors in complex environments
Focus
Cell migration, micro-fabrication and hydrogel synthesis, tumor microenvironment, cancer mechanobiology, and computational modeling of cell-matrix interactions
Research
Amit Pathak's research interests include mechanobiology of the cell and interactions between cells and extracellular matrices. In particular, his research aims to understand how groups of cells sense and remember the mechanical properties of their extracellular environment, with implications for development, regeneration, and cancer. His lab tackles this multi-variable problem through a multidisciplinary approach that includes tissue-mimicking matrix platforms, cell biology assays, multi-scale imaging, and predictive biophysical computational models.
Biography
Professor Pathak joined Washington University in St. Louis in January 2013 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, Mallinckrodt New Investigator Award, NIH/NIBIB Trailblazer Award, and an NIH/NIGMS MIRA (R35). His research is supported by the NSF, NIH, and private foundations, including the Mallinckrodt Foundation, Emerson Collective, and the American Cancer Society.
