People
People
Prof. Karen Kasza's research combines approaches from biology, engineering, and physics to explore how cells self-organize into functional tissues. A major focus is to uncover fundamental physical and biological mechanisms underlying tissue morphogenesis during embryonic development and to leverage that understanding to build functional tissues in the lab.
Education: Karen received a B.A. in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University. She did her postdoctoral research at the Sloan Kettering Institute.
Awards and Honors: Sloan Research Fellow, 2022; Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, 2018; NSF CAREER Award, 2018; Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professorship, 2016; Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface, 2014; Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2011
Contact: karen.kasza AT columbia DOT edu
Lab members
Sassan Ostvar, Postdoc
Research interests: cell fate and geometry, extracellular matrix mechanics and epithelial morphogenesis, active matter, excitable media
Christian Cupo, NIH F31 AND Blavatnik Graduate Research Fellow
cmc2395@columbia.edu
Research interests: new approaches for engineering three-dimensional tissue structures
Andrew Countryman, Graduate Student
Research interests: mechanobiology and morphogenesis, optogenetics, collective cell behavior
Erika Kusaka, Graduate Student
Research interests: optogenetics, morphogenesis, gastruloids
Tammy Qiu, NSF Graduate Research Fellow
tq2156@columbia.edu
Research interests: morphogenesis, pattern formation, synthetic biology, 2D to 3D shape formation, macroscale engineered living materials
