Sharon Gerecht

Paul M. Gross Distinguished Professor

Gerecht’s research group studies how the microenvironment regulates cellular responses, with the long-term goal of developing countermeasures and therapeutics. We develop biomaterials and culture systems to emulate mechanical and physical stressors toward understanding tissue function, reliance, and homeostasis. We also use that information to uncover pathways in injury and disease development to guide tissue healing and regeneration. We focus on blood vessels and their multifaceted roles in tissue performance, aging, and disease. 

Appointments and Affiliations

• Paul M. Gross Distinguished Professor
• Professor of Biomedical Engineering
• Associate Dean for Research and Infrastructure in the Pratt School of Engineering
• Member of the Duke Cancer Institute

Contact Information

• Email Address: sharon.gerecht@duke.edu
• Websites:
  • @gerechtlab Twitter feed
  • Gerecht Lab website
  • Google Scholar profile

Education

• Ph.D. Israel Institute of Technology (Israel), 2004

Research Interests

stem cells, biomaterials, hypoxia, blood vessels, physics of cancer, regenerative medicine

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• Fellow. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 2020
• Member. National Academy of Inventors. 2020
• Member. National Academy of Medicine. 2019
• Invitee. Inaugural 2019 NAM Emerging Leaders Forum. 2019
• Recipient. Patrick C. Walsh Prostate Cancer Research Fund. 2017
• Fellow. American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIBME). 2016
• Inaugural President's Frontier Award. Johns Hopkins University. 2015
• National Established Investigator Award. American Heart Association. 2015
• Scholar. Inaugural Kent Gordon Croft Investment Management Faculty Scholar. 2015
• Heart Award. W.W. Smith Charitable Trust. 2014
• CAREER Award. National Science Foundation (NSF). 2011
• Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award. March of Dimes Foundation. 2009
• Junior Investigator Award. North American Vascular Biology Organization (NAVBO). 2009
• Allan C. Davis Medal, Outstanding Young Engineering Award. Maryland Academy of Sciences. 2008
• National Scientist Development Award. American Heart Association. 2008

Courses Taught

• BME 493: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
• BME 791: Graduate Independent Study
• BME 792: Continuation of Graduate Independent Study

In the News

• Meet Duke’s 2023 Fellows in the ACC Academic Leadership Network (Jan 17, 2023 | Office of Faculty Advancement)
• University Awards 24 New Distinguished Professorships (May 18, 2022)
• Welcome the Pratt School New Faculty (Oct 26, 2021 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Sharon Gerecht: Engineering Stem Cells for Blood Vessel Growth (Sep 21, 2021 | Duke Engineering News)

Representative Publications

• Chavez, T; Gerecht, S, Engineering of the microenvironment to accelerate vascular regeneration., Trends in Molecular Medicine, vol 29 no. 1 (2023), pp. 35-47 [10.1016/j.molmed.2022.10.005] [abs].
• Elliott, MB; Matsushita, H; Shen, J; Yi, J; Inoue, T; Brady, T; Santhanam, L; Mao, H-Q; Hibino, N; Gerecht, S, Off-the-shelf, heparinized small diameter vascular graft limits acute thrombogenicity in a porcine model., Acta Biomaterialia, vol 151 (2022), pp. 134-147 [10.1016/j.actbio.2022.07.061] [abs].
• Macklin, BL; Lin, Y-Y; Emmerich, K; Wisniewski, E; Polster, BM; Konstantopoulos, K; Mumm, JS; Gerecht, S, Intrinsic epigenetic control of angiogenesis in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelium regulates vascular regeneration., Npj Regenerative Medicine, vol 7 no. 1 (2022) [10.1038/s41536-022-00223-w] [abs].