Faculty Directory
Contact Information
Office:
Life Sciences & Bioengineering Center, 4011
Phone: +1-508-831-4145
Fax: +1-508-831-4121
mrolle@wpi.edu
Marsha Rolle
- Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
In my research laboratory at WPI, teams of graduate and undergraduate students collaborate with researchers at WPI and the University of Massachusetts Medical School to design, fabricate, culture and analyze cell-based engineered vascular tissue. I enjoy collaborating with students to explore the role of cells and ECM on tissue organization and material properties in health and disease, and working with undergraduate student teams to apply engineering principles to design and prototype bioreactors that impart mechanical stimuli on engineered vascular tissues to simulate the hemodynamic environment of the human circulatory system. In the classroom, I frequently rely on my experience as a research scientist in a biomaterials and drug delivery group at a medical device company to educate and excite students about the challenges of bringing cell and molecular therapies from research concept to commercialization and clinical use.
Research Interests
- Cardiovascular tissue engineering
- Regenerative medicine
- Cellular self-assembly
- Extracellular matrix biology
- Cell delivery/cell-based therapy
Education
- BS, Brown University, 1995
- Technician/Scientist, Sulzer Innotec, 1996-1998
- PhD, University of Washington, 2003
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Benaroya Research Institute, 2004-2007
Featured Publications
Professional Highlights
- Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, 2006
- Outstanding Female Engineer, University of Washington Society of Women Engineers, 2003
- Young Investigator Award of the American Heart Association Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science, 2003
- Distinguished Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Bioengineering, University of Washington, 2002
