Melissa Krebs

Assistant Professor

Melissa KrebsThere is a critical need for replacement tissues due to organ failure and tissue loss. The field of tissue engineering seeks to regenerate diseased or damaged tissues by providing the necessary physical, biochemical, and cellular cues that promote tissue regeneration. These approaches typically use biomaterial scaffolds, often with incorporated bioactive factors to help induce the formation of the desired tissue within a defect site. Furthermore, cells can be incorporated into the biomaterial system to help repopulate the defect with the appropriate cell type. In the body, cells are influenced by a large host of factors, including soluble signals such as growth factors, insoluble signals that are components of the extracellular matrix surrounding the cells, and also the interaction of various populations of cells with each other.

Our group is interested in the development of biopolymer systems that will allow the study of cells’ interactions with their microenvironment and that can be used for both tissue regeneration and therapeutics. More specifically, we are investigating the controlled delivery of bioactive factors and therapeutics, the presentation of insoluble signals to cells, the effect of mechanical forces on cell behavior and tissue formation, and the influence that different cell populations have on one another. These advances will lead to improved biomaterial system design criteria. In addition to our tissue engineering research, we are also engineering biopolymer systems for controlled delivery of therapeutic molecules for the treatment of cancer. Ultimately, what we learn in our laboratory will help to improve patient therapies that are available in the clinic.

Education

  • BS, MS – University of Rochester
  • PhD – Case Western Reserve University
  • Post-Doctoral Study – Case Western Reserve University and University of Colorado – Denver

Selected Publications

  • Harding J, Krebs MD. Controlled and tunable biomimetic apatite mineralization of synthetic hydrogels. Accepted, Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 2016.
  • Riederer MS, Requist BD, Payne KA, Way JD, Krebs MD. Injectable and microporous scaffold of densely-packed, growth factor-encapsulating chitosan microgels. Carbohydrate Polymers, 152, 792-801, 2016.
  • Di W, Czarny RS, Fletcher NA, Krebs MD, Clark HA. Comparative Study of Poly(ε-caprolactone) and Poly(Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid)-Based Nanofiber Scaffolds for pH-sensing. Pharmaceutical Research, 33(10), 2433-44, 2016.
  • Sener G, Krebs MD. Zwitterionic Cryogels for Sustained Release of Proteins. RSC Advances, 6, 29608-11, 2016.
  • Fletcher NA, Babcock LR, Murray EA, Krebs MD. Controlled Delivery of Antibodies from Injectable Hydrogels. Materials Science and Engineering C: Materials for Biological Applications. 59, 801-6, 2016.

Google Scholar Citations Page

Honors and Awards

Contact

431 Alderson Hall
Chemical and Biological Engineering Department
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO 80401
Office: (303) 273-3983
Fax: (303) 273-3730
mdkrebs@mines.edu

Krebs Research Group Website