Karen E. Kasza

Karen E. Kasza

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Karen Kasza's research combines approaches from engineering, biology, and physics to explore how cells self-organize into functional tissues.

A major focus is to uncover fundamental physical and biological mechanisms underlying tissue morphogenesis - the generation of shape and form in living systems.  

The goal is to use this understanding to shed light on human health and disease and to leverage this understanding to build functional tissues in the lab. Currently, her lab is using the fruit fly as a model organism to investigate how cells build tissues during embryonic development. To explore how mechanical factors influence biological processes, Kasza combines confocal imaging of cell and tissue movements with biophysical studies of cell and tissue mechanics. She also develops optogenetic tools to control the mechanical forces generated by living cells. Due to the complex interplay of physical and biological processes during morphogenesis, Kasza collaborates closely with a range of scientists and engineers, including developmental biologists and physicists.

Kasza received a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University in 2010 and did postdoctoral research at the Sloan Kettering Institute.  She currently holds a Sloan Research Fellowship and a Packard Fellowship.

Research Areas

  • Mechanobiology
  • Biomechanics
  • Cell and Tissue Biomechanics
  • Systems Biology and Synthetic Biology
  • Self-Organization
  • Smart Materials and Structures

Additional Information

  • Professional Affiliations
    • American Physical Society (APS)
    • Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM)    
    • American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
    • Genetics Society of America (GSA)
         
  • Honors & Awards
    • Sloan Research Fellowship, 2022
    • Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, 2018
    • NSF CAREER Award, 2018
    • Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professorship, 2016                                                      
    • Burroughs Welcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface, 2013
    • Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2011                         
    • National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 2007
    • National Defense Science and Engineering Fellowship, 2004   
  • Education
    • PhD, Applied Physics, Harvard University
    • MA, Applied Physics, Harvard University
    • BA, Physics, University of Chicago