Andrew Putnamis an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. He obtained his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UCLA in 1994, M.S.E. (1996) and Ph.D. (2001) degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and completed post-doctoral training in Cell Biology at the Van Andel Institute. Dr. Putnam began his independent academic career at the University of California Irvine in January 2003, where he remained until relocating to Michigan in July 2009. Dr. Putnam's research focuses on the interface between cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM), with a particular emphasis on the role of matrix compliance (i.e., stiffness) and matrix remodeling during neovascularization. Fundamental insights gained from this research are used to design instructive materials that mimic the ECM for applications in regenerative medicine and as model systems for studying disease.

Lawrence B. Schookis Vice President for Research for the University of Illinois and serves as the Director of the Division of Biomedical Sciences (DBS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). His research focuses on genetic resistance to disease, regenerative medicine, and using genomics to create animal models for biomedical research. Schook is a Professor of Animal Sciences, Bioengineering, Pathobiology, Nutritional Sciences, Pathology and Surgery. Dr. Schook is also a Professor at the Institute for Genomic Biology and holds Affiliate Faculty appointments at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory. He formerly served as the Theme Leader for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering at the Institute for Genomic Biology.
Dr. Schook attended Albion College and received his M.S. and Ph.D. from Wayne State School of Medicine. After postdoctoral training at the Institute for Clinical Immunology in Switze