Dr. Borden joins Chemical Engineering
06/01/2007
Assistant Professor Mark Andrew Borden recently completed postdoctoral research in Biomedical Engineering at UC Davis and in Radiology at the Arizona Cancer Center.He plans to continue exploring the use of colloids and self-assembled membranes for medical imaging and therapeutics, e.g., microbubbles, vesicles and nanoparticles for molecular imaging, targeted gene therapy and metabolic gas exchange.
“We seek to understand how the molecules come together to form a colloid – what the structure and properties of that colloid will be – and then look for ways to engineer novel constructs for imaging and therapy,” he said, “but performance is ultimately measured in biological systems that can respond and adapt, which is why we employ electromagnetic or acoustic waves to manipulate these colloids in vivo.”
Professor Borden is collaborating with professors in Neurology and Biomedical Engineering at Columbia, as well as with clinicians and scientists at other institutions and industry.“I believe that chemical engineers, who are trained in creativity and the fundamentals of molecular processes, will play a pivotal role in the emerging biomedical revolution.”Professor Borden’s microbubble work was recently highlighted by Wired Magazine (11/2006) and the Economist (4/2007).
In addition, Professor Borden plans to branch out to new avenues of research.“The fundamental mechanisms that govern our colloids are everywhere in nature and industry, and we have a lot to gain through cross-pollination of ideas.”
He received a B.S. degree from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. from UC Davis, both in Chemical Engineering.