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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 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 16 independent 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

Creating next-generation materials and devices that solve real problems in medicine and patient care.

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

Potential impact: Tissue regeneration, drug delivery, vaccines

Medical Sensors & Devices

Building smarter implantable and wearable devices that change how diseases and injuries are detected and treated.

See how the Ong Lab develops implantable wireless sensors  →

Potential impact: Sports injury recovery, chronic disease monitoring, orthopedics

Protein Engineering & Synthetic Biology

Designing biological molecules with custom properties and engineering cells to produce them reliably and at scale.

See how the Plesa Lab creates large biological datasets →

Potential impact: Antibiotic resistance, gene therapy, biomarker diagnostics

Neural Engineering

Creating interfaces that connect technology to the nervous system to create new treatments and deepen our understanding of the brain.

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

Potential impact: Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, vision loss

Biomedical Artificial Intelligence

Harnessing machine learning to make sense of complex biological data and guide better clinical decisions.

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

Potential impact: Personalized medicine, cancer diagnosis, drug discovery

Regenerative Rehabilitation & Human Performance

Using engineering tools to restore, enhance, and optimize how the human body moves and heals, at any age or ability level.

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

Potential impact: Aging, female athlete health, military rehabilitation

Knight Campus Research Labs

The Knight Campus is home to 16 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

headshot of marian hettiaratchi, in a blue top

Marian Hettiaratchi

Lary Simpson Professor; Associate Professor, Bioengineering

headshot of Parisa H

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

See Knight Campus Affililates and Associates » 

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

Research Sponsored Projects 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

Headshot of Colin and Zoe
Knight Campus Department of Bioengineering to Welcome Two New Faculty Members

Neuroscientists Colin Bredenberg and Zoé Christenson Wick will join the department in September 2026, bringing research with the potential to deepen understanding of the neural basis of learning and neurodegenerative aging.

Man at lecture podium with animated slide behind him
Plesa Receives Tenure, Promoted to Associate Professor of Bioengineering
Calin Plesa, Ph.D., was recently promoted to associate professor with indefinite tenure in the Department of Bioengineering. Plesa joined the Knight Campus in June 2019 and has since built a research program that is reshaping how scientists design and test genetic sequences at scale.
Group standing and smiling on the staircase
CBDS Hosts Inaugural Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Workshop
The Center for Biomedical Data Science (CBDS) hosted its inaugural workshop, designed to equip experimental scientists with the data science skills needed to advance their research.
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.