Welcome to the Bioinspired Materials Lab
We are building innovative biomaterials to address significant challenges in biology and medicine.
Chemists, biologists, materials scientists, and engineers collaborate to create new materials we refer to as “bioinspired materials”. Our materials are “bioinspired” because they mimic some of the fascinating ways that nature builds materials – from sea shells to human organs.
We work closely with biologists to make fundamental scientific discoveries. We also partner with clinicians to create medical devices that can regenerate diseased or damaged tissues.
Our goal is to achieve high impact by pursuing groundbreaking discoveries, translating discoveries into new medical treatments, and training the next generation of leaders in regenerative medicine.
Highlights
May 2026
Graduate student Jacobus Burger attended the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting in Dublin, Ireland. There, he presented “Systemic mRNA-LNP Delivery to The Injured Spinal Cord via Vascular Disruption and RNA-Level Targeting,” which highlights his research in the Murphy and Hanna Labs.
November 2025
Graduate students from our lab presented their research at the 13th International mRNA Health Conference in Berlin. They both had the opportunity to meet and discuss their research with Nobel prize laureate Professor Katalin Kariko.
Jamie Jones presented her research with a poster titled “Long Term Storage of Lyophilized mRNA Lipid Nanoparticles via Biomimetic Minerals”.
Jacobus Burger gave an oral presentation titled “mRNA delivery to the injured spinal cord”.
October 2025
Mina Cho; Research Intern, attended the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) conference in San Diego, CA, where she presented a poster with her research; “Characterization of decellularized plant leaf scaffolds for skeletal muscle tissue engineering”.
April 2025
Our lab attended the 2025 annual Society for Biomaterials meeting in Chicago, IL, April 9-12.
Dr. Joydeb Majumder; Scientist, presented his research; “Engineering human IPSC derived planar neuaral organoi (PNO) models to study melanoma brain metastases”.
Dr. Margot Amitrano; Research Associate, presented her research; “Screening synthetic hydrogels for iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte culture”.
Jamie Jones; graduate student, presented her research; “Long term storage of lyophilized mRNA lipid nanoparticles via biomimetic minerals”.
Lab Spotlight
August 2026
Dr. Jacobus Burger has defended his thesis titled ” Targeted mRNA Therapeutics for Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury”. Congratulations Jacobus!
Dr. Apoorva Ramamurthy has defended her thesis titled “Serial Lipid Nanoparticle-mediated mRNA delivery for T-cell Engineering”. Congratulations Apoorva!
Mina Cho, B.Sc., has joined the Murphy Lab as a Graduate student, welcome Mina!
May 2026
Morgan Giese, PhD, has joined the Murphy Lab as a Research Associate. Welcome Morgan!
November 2024
Dr. Margot Amitrano has defended her thesis titled; “Screening Synthetic Hydrogels for iPSC-Derived Cardiomyocyte Differentiation and Maturation”. Congratulations Margot!
Dr. Junsu Yun has defended his thesis titled; “Development of biofunctionalized plant leaves for tissue engineering”. Congratulations Junsu!
April 2024
Dr. Apurva Panjla has joined our lab as a Research Associate, welcome Apurva!
March 2024
Dr. Josh Choe has defended his thesis titled; “Mineral coated microparticles for stabilization and delivery of therapeutic mRNA”. Congratulations Josh!
January 2024
Jamie Jones has joined the Murphy Lab as a graduate student. Welcome Jamie!
We bid farewell to Dr. Jae Sung Lee, who is starting an Assistant Professor position in the Department of Restorative Sciences at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. He will also be affiliated with the Minnesota Dental Research Center for Biomaterials and Biomechanics (MDRCBB). Congratulations Jae Sung!
Jack Burger has joined the Murphy Lab as a graduate student. Welcome Jack!