Sponsored by the BioInterfaces SIG and Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF), the BWF BioInterfaces Rising Star Award recognizes outstanding research by postdoc-level scientists who excel at interdisciplinary research across biomaterials and protein/cell biology.

The 2023 applicant pool was outstanding. We are excited about the future contributions of these postdoc-level scientists who are pushing the frontier of BioInterfaces research. They are uniquely positioned to bring a biomaterials lens to cutting-edge research in protein and cell biology, and, conversely, to translate progress in molecular and cell biology into innovative biomaterials.

Exemplifying this BioInterfaces mindset, we congratulate Dr. Robert “Smitty” Oakes as the 2023 BWF BioInterfaces Rising Star.

Dr. Oakes, a postdoctoral fellow in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland − College Park, is advancing immune cell interfaces to monitor and modulate innate and adaptive immunity. Dr. Oakes recently developed implantable scaffolds for immune monitoring of cancer progression/regression, as well as self-assembled immune complexes to drive selective tolerance in a preclinical model of multiple sclerosis. In a rapid-fire 1-min video, Dr. Oakes shares an overview of his research contributions that pave the way for mechanistic and therapeutic innovation across cancer and autoimmunity.

We thank the group of BWF and SFB reviewers who served on the 2023 selection committee: Tammy Collins (BWF), Louis J. Muglia (BWF), Ashley Brown (SFB), Ngan F. Huang (SFB), David Kohn (SFB), and Nathan Gallant (SFB).