University of Virginia
Research in our group focuses on the design and application of technologies used to build biomaterial and cellular systems that address biological, medical, and societal needs. We aim to design in vitro models of biological systems and to create cell and materials-based therapies to address injury and disease.
Our lab's work is rooted in biomaterials engineering, with a focus on designing material systems and processing materials both for use in, and also to advance, biofabrication technology. We are excited about work that unlocks potential of technologies, such as 3D printing, to impact basic and clinical research. Much of our lab's current efforts are focused on developing and applying biomaterials that support vascularization, a critical feature to engineering and regenerating tissue. We are also interested in controlling complexity and heterogeneity within tissue constructs towards recreating and perturbing biological systems, building better tissues in vitro, or enhancing outcomes in therapeutic applications.
We benefit from great collaborations with colleagues at UVA and further afield.
Our Areas of Research
Our PEOPLE
Greg Grewal, PhD - Biofabrication platforms for increasing the dimensionality of electrospun hydrogels, July 12, 2023
Julia Tumbic, PhD - Development of Jammed Microparticle-Based Materials for Embedded 3D Printing, Injectable Cell Delivery Applications, and In Vitro Cancer Cell Migration Studies, March 27, 2024
Jack Whitewolf, PhD - Engineering hyaluronic acid-based material systems for cellular manipulation and growth: from polymers to granular hydrogels, May 13, 2024
work we've Published
| 38 | NL Claxton, MA Luse, BE Isakson, CB Highley Engineering Granular Hydrogels without Interparticle Cross-Linking to Support Multicellular Organization ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, Volume 10, Issue 12, 2024, Pages 7594-7605, doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.4c01563 |
| 37 | J Whitewolf, CB Highley Conformal encapsulation of mammalian stem cells using modified hyaluronic acid Journal of Materials Chemistry B, Volume 12, Issue 29, 2024, Pages 7122-7134, doi: 10.1039/D4TB00223G |
| 36 | B Miller, W Wolfe, JL Gentry, MG Grewal, CB Highley, R De Vita, MH Vaughan, SR Caliari Supramolecular fibrous hydrogel augmentation of uterosacral ligament suspension for treatment of pelvic organ prolapse Advanced Healthcare Materials, Volume 12, Issue 22, 2023, Pages 2300086, doi: 10.1002/adhm.202300086 |
| 35 | MG Grewal, VP Gray, RA Letteri, CB Highley User-defined, temporal presentation of bioactive molecules on hydrogel substrates using supramolecular coiled coil complexes Biomaterials Science, Volume 9, Issue 12, 2021, Pages 4374-4387, doi: 10.1039/D1BM00016K |
| 34 | B Miller, A Hansrisuk, CB Highley, SR Caliari Guest–Host Supramolecular Assembly of Injectable Hydrogel Nanofibers for Cell Encapsulation in press at ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, Volume X, Issue XX, 2021, Pages XXX-XXX, doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.1c00275 |
| 33 | MG Grewal, CB Highley Electrospun hydrogels for dynamic culture systems: advantages, progress, and opportunities Biomaterials Science, Volume 9, Issue 12, 2021, Pages 4228-4245, doi: 10.1039/D0BM01588A |
| 32 | BN Pfaff, LJ Pruett, NJ Cornell, J De Rutte, D Di Carlo, CB Highley, DR Griffin Selective and Improved Photoannealing of Microporous Annealed Particle (MAP) Scaffolds ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, Volume 7, Issue 2, February 2021, Pages 422-427 |
| 31 | A McCormack, CB Highley, R Leslie, FPW Melchels 3D Printing in Suspension Baths: Keeping the Promises of Bioprinting Afloat Trends in Biotechnology, Volume 38, Issue 6, June 2020, Pages 584-593 |
| 30 | RK Bour, PR Sharma, JS Turner, WE Hess, EL Mintz, CR Latvis, BR Shepherd, SC Presnell, MJ McConnell, C Highley, SM Peirce, GJ Christ Bioprinting on sheet-based scaffolds applied to the creation of implantable tissue-engineered constructs with potentially diverse clinical applications: Tissue-Engineered Muscle Repair (TEMR) as a representative testbed Connective Tissue Research Volume 61, Issue 2, January 2020, Pages 216-228 |
| 29 | CB Highley 3D Bioprinting Technologies chapter in 3D Bioprinting in Medicine, August 2019, Pages 1-66 |
| 28 | CB Highley*, KH Song* (shared authorship), AC Daly, JA Burdick Jammed microgel inks for 3D printing applications Advanced Science, Volume 1, Issue 6, January 2019, Page 1801076 |
| 27 | KH Song, CB Highley, A Rouff, JA Burdick Complex 3D‐Printed Microchannels within Cell‐Degradable Hydrogels Advanced Functional Materials, Volume 28, Issue 31, August 2018, Page 1801331 |
| 26 | L Moroni, JA Burdick, C Highley, SJ Lee, Y Morimoto, S Takeuchi, JJ Yoo Biofabrication strategies for 3D in vitro models and regenerative medicine Nature Reviews Materials, Volume 3, Issue 5, May 2018, Pages 21–37 |
| 25 | LL Wang, CB Highley, YC Yeh, JH Galarraga, S Uman, JA Burdick Three‐dimensional extrusion bioprinting of single‐and double‐network hydrogels containing dynamic covalent crosslinks Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, Volume 106, Issue 4, January 2018, Pages 865-875 |
| 24 | T Rapp*, C Highley* (shared authorship), B Manor, J Burdick, IJ Dmochowski Ruthenium‐Crosslinked Hydrogels with Rapid, Visible‐Light Degradation Chemistry-A European Journal, Volume 24, Issue 10, November 2017, Pages 2328-2333 |
| 23 | YC Yeh, L Ouyang, CB Highley, JA Burdick Norbornene-modified poly (glycerol sebacate) as a photocurable and biodegradable elastomer Polymer Chemistry, Volume 8, Issue 34, April 2017, Pages 5091-5099 |
| 22 | L Ouyang, CB Highley, W Sun, JA Burdick A Generalizable Strategy for the 3D Bioprinting of Hydrogels from Nonviscous Photo‐crosslinkable Inks Advanced Materials, Volume 29, Issue 8, December 2016, Page 1604983 |
| 21 | YC Yeh*, CB Highley* (shared authorship), L Ouyang, JA Burdick 3D printing of photocurable poly (glycerol sebacate) elastomers Biofabrication, Volume 8, Issue 4, October 2016, Page 045004 |
| 20 | CB Rodell, NN Dusaj, CB Highley, JA Burdick Injectable and Cytocompatible Tough Double‐Network Hydrogels through Tandem Supramolecular and Covalent Crosslinking Advanced Materials, Volume 28, Issue 38, August 2016, Pages 8419-8424 |
| 19 | CB Highley, GD Prestwich, JA Burdick Recent advances in hyaluronic acid hydrogels for biomedical applications Current Opinion in Biotechnology, Volume 40, August 2016, Pages 35-40 |
| 18 | CB Rodell, CB Highley, MH Chen, NN Dusaj, C Wang, L Han, JA Burdick Evolution of hierarchical porous structures in supramolecular guest–host hydrogels Soft Matter, Volume 12, Issue 37, August 2016, Pages 7839-7847 |
| 17 | L Ouyang*, CB Highley* (shared authorship), CB Rodell, W Sun, JA Burdick 3D Printing of Shear-Thinning Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels with Secondary Cross-Linking ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, Volume 2, Issue 10, May 2016, Pages 1743–1751 |
| 16 | CB Highley, M Kim, D Lee, JA Burdick Near-infrared light triggered release of molecules from supramolecular hydrogel-nanorod composites Nanomedicine, Volume 11, Issue 12, May 2016 |
| 15 | CB Highley, CB Rodell, JA Burdick Direct 3D Printing of Shear‐Thinning Hydrogels into Self‐Healing Hydrogels Advanced Materials, Volume 27, Issue 34, July 2015, Pages 5075-5079 |
| 14 | M Kim, SJ Yeo, CB Highley, JA Burdick, PJ Yoo, J Doh, D Lee One-Step Generation of Multifunctional Polyelectrolyte Microcapsules via Nanoscale Interfacial Complexation in Emulsion (NICE) ACS Nano, Volume 9, Issue 8, July 2015, Pages 8269–8278 |
| 13 | CB Highley, CB Rodell, IL Kim, RJ Wade, JA Burdick Ordered, adherent layers of nanofibers enabled by supramolecular interactions Journal of Materials Chemistry B, Volume 2, June 2014, Pages 8110-8115 |
| 12 | SH Bakhru, C Highley, S Zappe Application of Microfluidics in Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering chapter in Microfluidic Technologies for Human Health, February 2013, Pages 241-291 |
| 11 | D Delubac, CB Highley, M Witzberger-Krajcovic, JC Ayoob, EC Furbee, JS Minden, S Zappe Microfluidic system with integrated microinjector for automated Drosophila embryo injection Lab on a Chip, Volume 12, September 2012, Pages 4911-4919 |
| 10 | SH Bakhru, E Altiok, C Highley, D Delubac, J Suhan, TK Hitchens, C Ho, S Zappe Enhanced cellular uptake and long-term retention of chitosan-modified iron-oxide nanoparticles for MRI-based cell tracking International Journal of Nanomedicine, Volume 7, August 2012, Pages 4613–4623 |
| 9 | S Bakhru, AS Nain, C Highley, J Wang, P Campbell, C Amon, S Zappe Direct and cell signaling-based, geometry-induced neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells Integrative Biology, Volume 3, Issue 12, December 2011, Pages 1207-1214 |
| 8 | P Xu, E Gullotti, L Tong, CB Highley, DR Errabelli, T Hasan, J-X Cheng, DS Kohane, Y Yeo Intracellular drug delivery by poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles, revisited Molecular Pharmaceutics, Volume 6, Issue 1, November 2008, Pages 190–201 |
| 7 | Y Yeo, E Bellas, CB Highley, R Langer, DS Kohane Peritoneal adhesion prevention with an in situ cross-linkable hyaluronan gel containing tissue-type plasminogen activator in a rabbit repeated-injury model Biomaterials, Volume 28, Issue 25, May 2007, Pages 3704-3713 |
| 6 | Y Yeo, T Ito, E Bellas, CB Highley, R Marini, DS Kohane In situ cross-linkable hyaluronan hydrogels containing polymeric nanoparticles for preventing postsurgical adhesions Annals of surgery, Volume 245, Issue 5, May 2007, Pages 819-824 |
| 5 | T Ito, Y Yeo, CB Highley, E Bellas, DS Kohane Dextran-based in situ cross-linked injectable hydrogels to prevent peritoneal adhesions Biomaterials, Volume 28, Issue 23, April 2007, Pages 3418-3426 |
| 4 | T Ito, IP Fraser, Y Yeo, CB Highley, E Bellas, DS Kohane Anti-inflammatory function of an in situ cross-linkable conjugate hydrogel of hyaluronic acid and dexamethasone Biomaterials, Volume 28, Issue 10, January 2007, Pages 1778-1786 |
| 3 | T Ito, Y Yeo, CB Highley, E Bellas, CA Benitez, DS Kohane The prevention of peritoneal adhesions by in situ cross-linking hydrogels of hyaluronic acid and cellulose derivatives Biomaterials, Volume 28, Issue 6, November 2006, Pages 975-983 |
| 2 | Y Yeo, CB Highley, E Bellas, T Ito, R Marini, R Langer, DS Kohane In situ cross-linkable hyaluronic acid hydrogels prevent post-operative abdominal adhesions in a rabbit model Biomaterials, Volume 27, Issue 27, June 2006, Pages 4698-4705 |
| 1 | Y Yeo, JA Burdick, CB Highley, R Marini, R Langer, DS Kohane Peritoneal application of chitosan and UV‐cross‐linkable chitosan Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, Volume 78, Issue 4, May 2006, Pages 668-675 |
lab news
Feb 2021
The Caliari lab has posted a preprint on bioRxiv on work developing injectable hydrogel fibers for cell encapsulation; we enjoyed the opportunity to contribute and look forward to future collaborative efforts developing and applying soft materials.
Jan 2021
Greg has published a review in Biomaterials Science describing research at the forefront of using electrospun fibers based on hydrogel biomaterials and their great potential in tissue engineering/regenerative medicine and fundamental studies of cellular behavoirs. Nice job, Greg.
Jan 2021
Excited to contribute to work in the Griffin lab developing chemistries for annealing microporous particle gels by looking at how these chemistries affect application in extrusion-based printing, recently published in ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering. We're looking forward to continued work together on these cutting-edge material systems.
The Caliari lab has posted a preprint on bioRxiv on work developing injectable hydrogel fibers for cell encapsulation; we enjoyed the opportunity to contribute and look forward to future collaborative efforts developing and applying soft materials.
Jan 2021
Greg has published a review in Biomaterials Science describing research at the forefront of using electrospun fibers based on hydrogel biomaterials and their great potential in tissue engineering/regenerative medicine and fundamental studies of cellular behavoirs. Nice job, Greg.
Jan 2021
Excited to contribute to work in the Griffin lab developing chemistries for annealing microporous particle gels by looking at how these chemistries affect application in extrusion-based printing, recently published in ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering. We're looking forward to continued work together on these cutting-edge material systems.
contact us
Chris's office:
Jesser Hall (formerly: Materials Science Building)
Room 249
Green marker on map belowMailing address:
385 McCormick Road
POB 400741
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903Email:
highley@virginia.eduPhone | fax:
434-243-3045 | 434-982-2658
Grads' office (the "lab office"):
Chemistry Building
Room 145
Blue marker to the left on map belowMailing address:
385 McCormick Road
POB 400741
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903Phone:
434-243-6576