Summary
Dr Ben Almquist FIMMM is a Senior Lecturer (US equivalent: Associate Professor) in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial. His research combines aspect of materials science, nanotechnology, and biology to develop methods for dynamically manipulating the behaviour of cells and tissues. A major focus of this research is to understand how to direct the process of tissue repair by manipulating signalling networks. These insights are then used to develop methods for healing diabetic foot ulcers, preventing hypertrophic scarring, and modulating other wound healing disorders. More information can be found on the lab website.
Before joining Imperial College, Dr Almquist obtained his BS in Materials Science from Michigan Technological University, followed by his MS and PhD in Materials Science from Stanford University. While at Stanford, Dr Almquist was also appointed as a Research Fellow in the Center for Probing the Nanoscale, a joint venture between Stanford, IBM, and the National Science Foundation. There he developed a bioinspired approach for integrating inorganic nanostructures with cellular membranes. Dr Almquist then went on to become an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellow at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Institute for Solider Nanotechnologies at MIT, where his research focused on designing self-assembled biomaterials for modulating the healing of chronic wounds.
Dr. Almquist's research publications can be found at the tab above, or on Google Scholar.
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Oliva N, Almquist BD, 2020, Spatiotemporal delivery of bioactive molecules for wound healing using stimuli-responsive biomaterials., Adv Drug Deliv Rev, Vol:161-162, Pages:22-41
Stejskalova A, Oliva N, England FJ, et al., 2019, Biologically Inspired, Cell-Selective Release of Aptamer-Trapped Growth Factors by Traction Forces, Advanced Materials, Vol:31, ISSN:0935-9648
Sun J, Almquist BD, 2018, Interfacial contact is required for metal-assisted plasma etching of silicon, Advanced Materials Interfaces, Vol:5, ISSN:2196-7350, Pages:1-8
Stejskalova A, Almquist BD, 2017, Using biomaterials to rewire the process of wound repair, Biomaterials Science, Vol:5, ISSN:2047-4830, Pages:1421-1434
Almquist BD, Melosh NA, 2010, Fusion of biomimetic stealth probes into lipid bilayer cores., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, Vol:107, Pages:5815-5820