Aaron Esser-Kahn
Research Topics
Research and Scholarly Interests
Research Groups
Websites
Office Location
William Eckhardt Research Center
Room 373
5640 South Ellis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
Marjorie B. Kovler Viral Oncology Laboratories
Room 102
910 East 58th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
Contact
Prof. Esser-Kahn grew up in suburban Detroit. He studied at the California Institute of Technology and The University of California at Berkeley. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He launched his career at the University of Irvine in the Chemistry Department where he worked from 2011 until 2017. Joining the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) in the same year, he has pursued many areas of research.
His primary area of research focuses on immunoengineering and improving immune responses in vaccination. Here, his group works on improving innate immune responses through better understanding immune responses and finding new ways to manipulate and improve responses. His secondary area of research focuses on adaptive materials. Here, his group works on developing materials that mimic the human body in their ability to respond and adapt to an external environment - providing force-mediated adaptation.
Our research interests lie at the intersection of biology, chemistry and materials science. We believe in using the tools from each discipline for the task at hand. Our group’s current research focuses on three projects that function as extensions of this philosophy. First, we are currently working toward microvascular thermal and gaseous exchange units. We are using knowledge derived from biology to replicate structures adapted for gas capture. Second, we are creating materials for reprogramming the immune system. Using tools from materials chemistry, we are creating polymer facades designed to rewire the immune system toward desired targets. Third, we are working towards creating synthetic tissue scaffolds.