Research Focus

Biological membranes, biophysics, and drug delivery.

Research Interests

Professor Stachowiak is interested in the biophysical mechanisms that underlie the function of lipid membranes in cells, as well as the opportunity to create bio-inspired materials and systems that borrow these mechanisms. Her laboratory develops new lipid membrane substrates and lipid-encapsulated systems and examines them using advanced microfluidic and fluorescence microscopy tools. By reconstructing membranes from component parts, her work seeks to capture the minimal requirements of specific membrane functions. Themes of her work include: Understanding how proteins and lipid domains modify the fluidity, reactivity, and 3D architecture of membranes, Examining how confinement within a lipid vesicle influences biochemical reactions and spatial organization of biochemical components and Using the organizational principles of the lipid membrane to build functional systems such as assays, drug carriers, and environmentally responsive materials.

• J.C. Stachowiak, E. M. Schmid, C. J. Ryan, H. S. Ann, M. B. Sherman, D. Y. Sasaki, P.L. Geissler, D. A. Fletcher, C. C. Hayden, “Membrane bending by protein-protein crowding,” Nature Cell Biology, 14, 944, 2012.
• D. L. Richmond, E. M. Schmid, S. Martens, J. C. Stachowiak, N. Liska, D. A. Fletcher, "Forming giant vesicles with controlled membrane composition, asymmetry, and contents," 2011, PNAS, 108, 9431-9436.
• F. J. Zendejas, R. J. Meagher, J. C. Stachowiak, C. C. Hayden, D. Y. Sasaki, "Orienting lipid domains in giant vesicles using an electric field," 2011, Chemical Communications, 47, 7320-7322.
• J. C. Stachowiak, C. C. Hayden, D. Y. Sasaki, "Targeting proteins to liquid ordered domains in lipid membranes," 2011, Langmuir, 27, 1457-1462.
• J. C. Stachowiak, C. C. Hayden, D. Y. Sasaki, "Steric confinement of proteins on lipid membranes can drive curvature and tubulation," 2010, PNAS, 107, 7781-7786.
• J. C. Stachowiak, D. L. Richmond, T. H. Li, F. Brochard-Wyart, D. A. Fletcher, "Inkjet Formation of Unilamellar Lipid Vesicles for Cell-like Encapsulation," 2009, Lab on a Chip, 9, 2003-2009.
• J. C. Stachowiak, D. L. Richmond, T. H. Li, A. P. Liu, S. H. Parekh, D. A. Fletcher, "Unilamellar Vesicle Formation and Encapsulation by Microfluidic Jetting," 2008, PNAS, 105, 4697-4702.