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Research

Turning scientific discovery into real-world applications

At the Knight Campus, bioengineering research doesn't stop at the lab bench. Our faculty-led labs translate discoveries in biomaterials, neural engineering, protein design, and medical AI into technologies that improve and extend human life.

Knight Campus Research Focus Areas

The Knight Campus is home to 15 independent, faculty-led bioengineering labs spanning 3D printing, microphysiological systems, tissue regeneration, and biomaterial development. Our researchers work in state-of-the-art facilities within a collaborative environment, and many of our faculty are entrepreneurs themselves, actively involved in building startups alongside their research.

Biomaterials

Combining materials chemistry and biomedical engineering to design new functional materials, 3-D structures, tools and devices that address key challenges in the clinic.

See how the Dalton Lab is creating biomaterials with a wide applications →

Potential impact: 

Medical Sensors & Devices

Combining materials, data science, and device architecture to create implantable and wearable medical sensors and devices that change the study and treat diseases and injuries.

See how the Ong Lab develops implantable wireless sensors  →

Potential impact: 

Protein Engineering & Synthetic Biology

Developing new proteins, peptides, nucleic acids and systems with designed properties and predictable behaviors. We repurpose biological cells as factories allowing simple large-scale low-cost manufacturing of complex macromolecules.

See how the Plesa Lab creates large biological datasets →

Potential impact: antibiotic resistance

Neural Engineering

Developing novel implantable interfaces for the brain and peripheral nervous system.

See how the Deku Lab creates a high density neural interface →

Potential impact: alzheimers, Parkinsons disease, vision loss

Biomedical Artificial Intelligence

Combining curated datasets and the latest in machine learning to develop models of complex biological systems trained to make automated, repeatable, data-driven decisions.

See how the Gardner Lab created an AI tool that automatically parses birdsongs →

Potential impact: cancer, cognition, 

Regenerative Rehabilitation & Human Performance

Integrating engineered technologies to measure, model, regenerate and enhance the performance of tissue systems.

See how the Hettiaratchi Lab builds microstructures to help muscle cells grow →

Potential impact: aging, female athletes

Knight Campus Research Labs

The Knight Campus is home to 15 independent, faculty-led bioengineering labs. Our researchers aren't just experts, but also entrepreneurs. They don't just study problems. They build solutions.

Bala Ambati

Bala Ambati

Research Professor, Bioengineering

Danielle Benoit

Danielle Benoit

Lorry Lokey Chair of the Department of Bioengineering

Aerial view of Knight campus

Colin Bredenberg

Assistant Professor, Bioengineering (starting September, 2026)

Aerial view of Knight campus

Zoé Christenson Wick

Assistant Professor, Bioengineering (starting September, 2026)

Paul Dalton

Paul Dalton

Bradshaw and Holzapfel Research Professor; Associate Professor, Bioengineering

Felix Deki, Knight Campus courtyard

Felix Deku

Betsy and Greg Hatton Assistant Professor in Neuroengineering, Bioengineering

Tim Gardner

Tim Gardner

Associate Professor, Bioengineering

Robert Guldberg portrait

Robert Guldberg

Vice President and Executive Director

Marian Hettiaratchi

Marian Hettiaratchi

Lary Simpson Professor; Associate Professor, Bioengineering

Parisa Hosseinzadeh

Parisa Hosseinzadeh

Assistant Professor, Bioengineering

Sara Keller

Sara Keller

Assistant Professor, Bioengineering

Gabby

Gabriella Lindberg

Assistant Professor, Bioengineering

keat ghee ong

Keat Ghee Ong

Professor, Bioengineering

David Peeler

David Peeler

Assistant Professor, Bioengineering

Calin Plesa

Calin Plesa

Associate Professor, Bioengineering

headshot of nick willett

Nick Willett

Associate Professor, Bioengineering

Research Grants, Gifts and Funding

Knight Campus research is supported by over $1 billion in philanthropic funding, including two $500 million gifts from Phil and Penny Knight, alongside competitive NIH and NSF grants. In FY25, the campus received $11.7 million in total research funding, with 50% of graduate students supported by external fellowships.

75.8* Million

in cumulative research awards (known full award amounts, with awards anticipated out to FY31).

50% 

of our Bioengineering graduate students are supported by external fellowships and awards, including NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, NIH T32 training grants and F31 fellowships.

$1 billion +

of funding for Knight Campus made possible by two $500 million gifts from Penny and Phil Knight, $80+ million in directed state funds and gifts from hundreds of donors.

$11.7M

total funding received in FY25

Recent Faculty Grant Highlights

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NIH UG3 Award

Granted to Danielle Benoit for the project "Bone-Targeted Nanoparticles to Accelerate Fracture Healing in Aging Populations".

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Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation (AMRF) Award

Granted to Tim Gardner for advanced neural interfaces for chronic electrophysiological studies of brain injury and repair. 

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NSF Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems Award

Granted to Paul Dalton for the project "POSE: Phase I: MEW Ecosystem for Transformative Research (METR)".

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CZI Scaling Up Synthetic Biology Award

Granted to Calin Plesa to support scaling up DropSynth’s capacity by more than sixfold.

Recent Knight Campus Publications

black and white image of osteoclast cells
Icon representing biomaterials research

Benoit Lab

Regenerative bone-targeted nanoparticles modulate osteoclast function

Nanoscale Horizons, 2026

Black and white image of a canary on a tree with a flower
Icon representing neural engineering research

Gardner Lab

TweetyBERT: Automated parsing of birdsong through self-supervised machine learning

Patterns, 2026

black and white image of bubbles
Icon representing biomaterials research

Lindberg Lab

Spatial Patterning of Modular Gelatin-Peroxide Microspheres in Melt-Electrowritten Scaffolds Provides Controlled Oxygen Generation and Mitigates Hypoxia and Cytotoxicity

Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2026

More Publications » 

Core Facilities & Research Centers

The Knight Campus connects discovery and innovation through our leading research centers, each driving progress in human performance, biomedical data science, and advanced technology.

Core facilities

Shared Research Infrastructure

Learn about the Knight Campus facilities that offer rapid prototyping, 3D printing, clean room, BioFoundry and X-Ray imaging.

Explore core facilities →

students at their computers at a CBDS workshop

Data-Driven Biomedical Research

The Center for Biomedical Data Science (CBDS) bridges biology and computation to advance data-driven insights in genetics, imaging, and biomedical innovation.

Learn about CBDS  →

Wu Tsai researchers in lab

Human Performance Science

The Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance is a collaborative research initiative accelerating discovery in human performance and recovery — spanning genetics, physiology, and engineering.

Learn about the alliance →

Research News

Knight Campus at night with long exposure
IMPACT Team, Dalton, Hosseinzadeh Earn 2026 OPVRI Outstanding Research Awards
Parisa Hosseinzadeh received the Early-Career Award, the IMPACT Team received the award for Advancing a Flourishing Research and Innovation Community, and Paul Dalton was recognized with the Innovation and Impact Award.
Sara Keller
Keller Receives Baxter Foundation Award
Sara Keller has received an award from the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation supporting her research developing new techniques and applications for ultrasound to treat medical device-associated infections.
David Peeler
Peeler Awarded Baxter Foundation Funding
David Peeler has received an award from the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation funding the development of targeted therapies programming the innate immune system to fight cancer and infectious disease.
More News and Events » 

Explore the Knight Campus

Discover programs designed to accelerate scientific impact—from doctoral research to applied master's programs to hands-on innovation training for undergraduates.