Research Group Website

Educational Qualifications

NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley (2014-2020)
Ph.D., Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley (2014)
B.S., Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University (2008)

Courses Taught

CHE 317 Introduction to Chemical Engineering Analysis
CHE 338 Biochemical Engineering

Focus 

Molecular engineering, biotechnology, therapeutics and drug delivery, epithelial biology and extracellular matrix, post-translational modifications, synthetic cells and tissue, biophysics and biointerfaces

Research

Our research focuses on probing, perturbing, and re-programming biological barriers across length scales. Biological barriers, which include cellular assemblies like the blood-brain barrier and the intestinal lining of the gut as well as molecular assemblies like the extracellular matrix and the cell membrane, pose significant impediments to drug bioavailability and often deteriorate and reorganize in pathological conditions, such as cancer and inflammatory bowel diseases. We develop new approaches to gain mechanistic insight into normal and diseased tissue biology and construct new reagents, probes, and materials that disrupt and repair biological barriers. To accomplish this, our multidisciplinary lab combines expertise in engineering, chemistry, and biology to tackle these major biomedical challenges. Some areas of current interest are i) modulating epithelial permeability, ii) detecting extracellular matrix modifications and assembly state, iii) constructing synthetic cells, matrix and tissue as implant materials, and iv) controlling membrane interfaces and cellular mechanics. Our lab prides itself on being an inclusive and supportive environment for training, innovation, and discovery. If you would like to join our efforts or learn more about our work, please don’t hesitate to contact Prof. Belardi.

Awards & Honors

• David and Lucile Packard Foundation Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, 2023
• Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews Emerging Voices in Drug Delivery Award, 2023
• National Institutes of Health Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award, 2021
• Berkeley Postdoctoral Association Award, 2019
• National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Fellowship, 2015
• Young Investigator Award, University of Alberta Glycomics Centre, 2014
• Summer Institute for Preparing Future Faculty Fellow, 2014
• Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, 2009
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, 2009
• College Chemistry Award, Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh, 2008
• Andrew Carnegie Society Scholar, 2008

Selected Publications

• Effiong, U.M., Khairandish, H., Ramirez-Velez, I., Wang, Y., Belardi, B. “Turn-On Protein Switches for Controlling Actin Binding in Cells” bioRxiv 2023.
• Lin, A.J.*, Sihorwala, A.Z.*, Belardi, B. “Engineering Tissue-scale Properties with Synthetic Cells: Forging One from Many.” ACS Synth. Biol. 2023, 12, 1889-1907.
• Ramirez-Valez, I., Belardi, B. “Storming the Gate: New Approaches for Targeting the Dynamic Tight Junction for Improved Drug Delivery” Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. 2023, 199, 114905.
• Gollapudi, S., Jamal, S., Kamatar, A., Yuan, F., Wang, L., Lafer, E. M., Belardi, B., Stachowiak, J. C. “Steric Pressure between Glycosyl- ated Transmembrane Proteins Inhibits Internalization by Endocytosis.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2023, 120, e2215815120.
• Sihorwala, A., Lin, A., Stachowiak, J. C., Belardi, B. “Light-Activated Assembly of Connexon Nanopores in Synthetic Cells.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 3561-3569.
• Partipilo, G., Graham, A. J., Belardi, B., Keitz, B. K. “Extracellular Electron Transfer Enables Cellular Control of Cu(I)-catalyzed Alkyne- Azide Cycloaddition.” ACS Cent. Sci. 2022, 8, 246-257.
• Harris, A. R., Jreij, P., Belardi, B., Joffe, A. M., Bausch, A., Fletcher, D. A. “Biased Localization of Actin Binding Proteins by Actin Fila- ment Conformation.” Nat. Commun. 2020, 11, 5973.
• Belardi, B., Son, S., Felce, J. H., Dustin, M. L., Fletcher, D. A. “Cell-Cell Interfaces as Specialized Compartments Directing Cell Function.” Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 2020, 21, 750-764.
• Belardi, B.*, Hamkins-Indik, T.*, Harris, A. R., Kim, J., Xu, K., Fletcher, D. A. “A Weak Link to Actin Organizes Tight Junctions To Control Permeability.” Dev. Cell. 2020, 64, 792-804.
• Fedele, C., Mäntylä, E., Belardi, B., Hamkins-Indik, T., Cavalli, S., Netti, P. A., Fletcher, D. A., Nymark, S., Priimagi, A., Ihalainen, T. O. “Azobenzene‐based sinusoidal surface topography drives focal adhesion confinement and guides collective migration of epithelial cells.” Sci. Rep. 2020, 10, 15329.
• Son, S., Takatori, S.C., Belardi, B., Podolski, M., Bakalar, M.H., Fletcher, D.A. “Molecular Height Measurement by Cell Surface Optical Profilometry (CSOP).” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2020, 117, 14209.