Graduate Student
University of Georgia
My name is Thomas Spoerer and I am a current 3rd-year PhD student pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering under the supervision of Dr. Ross Marklein at the University of Georgia. In a broad sense, what drives me most is my excitement for utilizing my background in biology and engineering to help introduce biotechnologies to the world for improving human medicine. More specifically, I focus my research efforts towards utilizing morphological profiling and high-throughput screening approaches to identify microenvironmental cues that enhance mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) proliferation and immunosuppressive potency. Additionally, my work involves discovering novel biomanufacturing methods for reliable, high yield of MSCs using biomaterials: specifically microporous annealed particle (MAP) hydrogel scaffolds.