faculty

Education

PhD 2014, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Chemical Engineering
Postdoctoral Training 2014-2018, Tufts University, Biomedical Engineering

Awards & Distinctions

• UF Innovation of the Year Award, 2025
  Dr. and Mrs. Frederick C. Edie Term Professorship in Chemical Engineering, 2024-2027
  UF Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty Excellence Award, 2024
  Shining Star Award, Regenerative Engineering Society, 2024
  NIH R35 Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award, 2022
  William P. and Tracy Cirioli Term Professorship in Chemical Engineering, 2021-2024

Research Information

The Stoppel Lab integrates biodiversity, genetic engineering, and materials science to develop sustainable, protein-based biomaterials for human health. We are driven by a central question: how can naturally evolved protein polymers be harnessed and engineered to create dynamic, functional materials for regenerative medicine and therapeutic delivery? By leveraging insect-derived silk fibroins, including genetically tractable species such as Plodia interpunctella, we connect genomic sequence to molecular assembly, material structure, and biological performance. Our research spans genome engineering, particle and scaffold fabrication, and quantitative characterization of time-dependent mechanics and degradation. Through this interdisciplinary approach, we seek to establish predictive design principles for natural biopolymers while advancing scalable platforms for oxygen delivery, controlled release, and tissue repair. Ultimately, our goal is to translate biological diversity into engineered systems that are tunable, reproducible, and responsive to complex physiological environments.

Research Areas

Insect Biodiversity as a Platform for Engineered Biomaterials: Our lab leverages insect biodiversity to expand the design space of protein-based biomaterials. By establishing Plodia interpunctella and other Lepidopteran species as scalable and genetically tractable silk sources, we connect insect rearing, protein sequence, and material assembly to biomedical function. Through genomic analysis, CRISPR-based engineering, and materials characterization, we translate evolutionary diversity into tunable silk fibers, particles, and scaffolds for drug delivery, regenerative medicine, and sustainable biomanufacturing.

Dynamic Structure–Function Relationships in Natural Biopolymers: We study how natural protein-based materials evolve over time under mechanical loading, enzymatic degradation, and cellular remodeling. Our work links molecular structure (e.g., crystallinity and secondary structure) to bulk mechanical behavior, degradation kinetics, and immune-relevant responses. By quantifying time-dependent mechanics and biological feedback, we develop predictive design principles for dynamic biomaterials intended for translational applications.

Translational Silk Scaffolds for Muscle and Cardiac Repair: Our research builds on existing foundational work in anisotropic silk-extracellular matrix composites designed to support striated muscle regeneration. We investigate how scaffold architecture, stiffness, and biochemical composition influence cell alignment, maturation, and integration in cardiac and skeletal muscle systems. These efforts inform rational material design for biologically complex environments where in vitro performance must translate to in vivo function.

Silk-Based Particles for Oxygen and Therapeutic Delivery: We engineer silk micro- and nanoparticles as protein-only carriers for oxygen and other bioactive molecules. Our group has developed reproducible fabrication strategies that enable controlled encapsulation, tunable release, and stabilization of sensitive cargo such as hemoglobin. By integrating insights from particle self-assembly and protein sequence variation—including silk from Plodia interpunctella—we advance scalable delivery platforms for regenerative medicine and oxygen therapeutics.

Genome Engineering Platforms for Protein-Based Biomanufacturing: To enable sequence-level control of silk biomaterials, we develop genetic and cellular tools for precision engineering in insect systems. Our work establishes optimized CRISPR/Cas9 strategies in Plodia interpunctella cells, defining design rules for homology-directed repair and stable genomic integration. These platforms support rational modification of silk fibroin genes and expand the toolkit for engineering natural protein polymers for biomedical and manufacturing applications.