Dr. Mariana Carrasco-Teja received her PhD from the Mathematics Department at the University of British Columbia (UBC) (Vancouver, BC). She was part of the Institute of Applied Mathematics (UBC), an institute established to enhance interdisciplinary teaching and research using applied mathematics as a common language between engineers and scientists. Her dissertation involved modeling and simulating the primary cementing of oil and gas wells, a crucial step to ensure a safe and efficient extraction of oil and gas. After receiving her PhD, she continued her work as a postdoctoral fellow at the Complex Fluids Laboratory in UBC until she moved to Ann Arbor to join the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Since becoming a member of the Cell Adhesion and Drug Delivery Laboratory, she’s had a chance to work closely with bioengineers while applying her modeling skills into optimizing vascular-targeted drug micro- and nano-carriers.
She was named MICDE Assistant Director in July 2015, and MICDE Associate Director in September 2019.