Sharon Gerecht

Paul M. Gross Distinguished Professor

Gerecht’s research group studies the interactions between cells and their microenvironments with the long-term goal to develop therapeutics for cardiovascular diseases and cancer. We develop biomaterials and culture systems to recapitulate mechanical and physical aspects of the extracellular milieu to understand the function of stem and cancer cells, and use that information to guide cell responses in tissue regeneration and cancer metastasis.

Appointments and Affiliations

• Paul M. Gross Distinguished Professor
• Professor of Biomedical 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

In the News

• 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

• 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 (2022) [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].