The Department of Chemistry would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest faculty member, Assistant Professor Seunghyun "Seu" Sim who will join UCI on July 1, 2020.

Dr. Sim’s independent research program at UCI will focus on the development of living biomaterials by integrating synthetic biology (genetic engineering) with synthetic soft materials (molecular engineering). In recent years, a myriad of genetically encoded biological modalities useful for therapeutics, imaging, sensing, and communication over various length scales have been discovered and engineered in the fields of molecular and synthetic biology. Dr. Sim’s proposed research aims to capitalize these modalities operated by living cells for generating a new class of biomaterials with 3D complexity and unprecedented functions. With this broad vision in mind, Dr. Sim will develop 3D-printed living composite materials (LCM) comprising immobilized, yet metabolically active, living microbial cells that perform engineered tasks. Specifically, she aims to develop (1) LCMs producing and eluting therapeutic biomolecules in situ, as living drug delivery system, (2) microfluidic LCM devices for facile and reusable detection of biomarkers, and (3) a novel soft robotic system using controllable mechanical actuation and reconfiguration of LCMs. Please see the Sim Lab Research Summary for more information or visit her webpage at: s-simlab.com.