Phillip Messersmith

Professor; Class of 1941 World War II Memorial Chair

Dept of Bioengineering

Dept of Materials Science and Engineering

Faculty URL

http://bioeng.berkeley.edu/faculty/phillip_messersmith

Research Group URL

http://bioinspiredmaterials.berkeley.edu/

Contact

philm@berkeley.edu

(510) 643-9631

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ORCID

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1197-333X

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Research Expertise and Interest

biomaterials, adhesion, polymers, self-assembly, biomimetics, biomedical devices

Research Description

Philiip Messersmith is the Class of 1941 World War II Memorial Chair and a professor in the Department of Bioengineering, and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. His laboratory is interested in understanding structure-property relationships in biological materials and in using this information to design biologically inspired materials for use in healthcare. Fundamental studies include single molecule and bulk biophysical studies of biointerfacial and bulk mechanochemical phenomena in biological materials, whereas our applied studies the design and synthesis of novel biomaterials for tissue repair and regeneration.

In the News

headshots of the 11 Bakar Fellow awardees

Bakar Fellows Program Selects Seven Projects for Spark Awards

New treatments for cancer and heart disease and new tools to remove tumors are among seven innovations selected this year to receive a Bakar Fellows Spark Award, of which multiple recipients are UC Berkeley faculty.

Bakar Fellows Program Names Seven New Spark Award Recipients

From artificial ligaments and a novel approach to cancer treatment to “soft” batteries and a way to give voice to silent speech, new innovations from UC Berkeley faculty are getting a big vote of support from the Bakar Fellows program. Seven faculty members have been selected to receive the 2022 Bakar Fellows Spark Award, which is designed to accelerate faculty-led research and produce tangible, positive societal impact through commercialization.

Fetal surgery stands to advance from new glues inspired by mussels

UC Berkeley engineer Phillip Messersmith is happy to be learning lessons from a lowly mollusk, with the expectation that the knowledge gained will enable him and fellow physicians to prevent deaths among their youngest patients — those who haven’t been born yet.