Chair, Department of Bioengineering
Lorry Lokey Chair and Professor Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact (Knight Campus) University of Oregon
Visiting Professor, University of Rochester

What is your brief bio (past education, research positions, etc.)?
Danielle S.W. Benoit is the Inaugural Lorry Lokey Chair and Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Oregon. Prof. Benoit directs an internationally recognized research program focused on therapeutic biomaterials with emphasis on challenging clinical problems and translational solutions involving cell transplantation and drug delivery. As a leader in the field of therapeutic biomaterials, her work has provided insights into development and translation of engineered extracellular matrices for bone allograft repair, hydrogel depots for sustained release of peptides, nucleic acids, and small molecule drugs, pH-responsive nanoparticles for nucleic acid and small molecule drug delivery, novel targeting strategies for bone-specific delivery of therapeutics, and development of tissue mimetics for the salivary gland and macula. Prof. Benoit has been recognized by numerous awards and accolades for her research program including Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, BMES, and AIMBE, the 2018 University of Maine Distinguished Alumni Award, the 2016 Kate Gleason Young Engineer of the Year Award, a 2015 Young Innovator Award in Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, an NSF CAREER Award, and Alex’s Lemonade Stand Young Investigator Award. Prof. Benoit received her undergraduate degree in Biological Engineering from the University of Maine and M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado, where she was mentored by Dr. Kristi Anseth. She then trained at the University of Washington as a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, working with Drs. Patrick Stayton and Allan Hoffman. Prof. Benoit joined the faculty at the University of Rochester in 2010 and moved to the University of Oregon in 2022.

Who have been your mentors?
Kristi Anseth, Patrick Stayton and Allan Hoffman

What are your specific research areas and expertise?
Therapeutic biomaterials.

What are you currently working on?
Regenerative drug delivery strategies for tendon, fracture, and muscle, microphysiological models to develop novel therapeutic approaches for salivary gland dysfunction, macular degeneration, and oral biofilms, developing engineered extracellular matrices to instruct bone and tendon tissue regeneration

What has been the biggest challenge for you in your research?
Not getting too broad. I get excited about many potential applications of our therapeutic biomaterials and need to maintain focus on the most promising ones to ensure we make significant progress with hopes to treat patients someday!

What project(s) are you looking forward to in the near future?
We have amazing data utilizing our tendon-targeted drug delivery system. This technology has the potential to revolutionize tendon (and possibly other musculoskeletal tissue) regeneration. I’m really excited about where this technology will lead!

What do you want to do next in your career?
Continue advancing our technology in applications deserving of translation. I am very enthusiastic and motivated to see it helping patients.

What advice would you give young investigators in the field?
Get comfortable with not knowing the answer and stay curious by continuously asking questions, learning from colleagues, and drawing insights from your well-controlled experiments as well as the literature that is central to and generally relevant to your research. Find something that excites you and continue to have fun!

When you’re not in the lab, what do you like to do for fun?
Biking, hiking, baking and cooking, scuba diving.

What resources would you like to see available from the ORS Tendon Section?
A repository of the most relevant recent manuscripts, patents, etc. published. Protocols as well!

How can we follow you?
Lab Website | BlueSky | LinkedIn