Jewell, Christopher
MPower Professor, MPowering the State
Fischell Institute Fellow
Research Biologist, United States Department of Veterans Affairs
BIOGRAPHY
Christopher M. Jewell is MPower Professor and Robert E. Fischell Institute Professor for Translational Medicine in the Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices, and a Research Biologist with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. He is an elected Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), the Controlled Release Society (CRS), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT). Dr. Jewell was previously appointed as the Minta Martin Professor in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering and the Miegunyah Distinguished Fellow at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection & Immunity at the University of Melbourne (Australia). He has also served as the Associate Chair for Research and the Director of the BioWorkshop Core Instrumentation Facility at the University of Maryland. Dr. Jewell graduated from Lehigh University with high honors in 2003 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a B.S. in Molecular Biology. He attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, completing his PhD in Chemical Engineering with Professor David Lynn in 2008. Chris then joined the Boston Consulting Group in New York City as a consultant in the Healthcare practice, where his work focused on R&D strategy development for global pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients. In 2009, Dr. Jewell accepted a postdoctoral fellowship from the Ragon Institute to begin vaccine research at MIT with Professor Darrell Irvine in the departments of Materials Science and Biological Engineering. Dr. Jewell held a concurrent appointment as a Visiting Scientist in the Division of Vaccine Research at Harvard. In August 2012, Chris established his lab at the University of Maryland. His research focuses on understanding the interactions between synthetic materials and lymph nodes, and exploiting these interactions for therapeutic vaccination.
Dr. Jewell's work has been funded by more than $25M, resulting in more than 120 papers and patent filings, including papers in ACS Nano, Biomaterials, Cell Reports, Nature Materials, PNAS, Nature, Nature Biotechnology, Trends in Immunology, and others. These efforts have been recognized by awards for research and education, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) awarded by the White House. Dr. Jewell also previous served as an Associate Scientific Adviser for Science Translational Medicine, and has received the NSF CAREER Award, the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award, the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy Young Investigator Award, the Melanoma Research Alliance Young Investigator Award, the University of Maryland Research and Scholar Award, and the University of Maryland's 2017 Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year. Dr. Jewell has received the Outstanding Lectureship in Drug Delivery (2020) from the Materials Research Society (MRS), and the NSEF Young Investigator Award (2018) and Owens Corning Early Career Award (2018) from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He also received the University of Maryland's Research Communicator Impact Award (2018) and Clark School of Engineering's Outstanding Research Award (2018). Dr. Jewell leads the lab's outreach efforts, working with more than 500 area high school students to promote STEM research exposure, building community awareness about STEM opportunities in the cancer field, and fundraising for local and national charities. Chris was previously the recipient of a Society for Biomaterials STAR Award, an American Association of Immunologists Trainee Award, and the Controlled Release Society T. Nagai Postdoctoral Achievement Award. In 2012, Dr. Jewell appeared in USA Today representing the Chemical Engineering discipline as a “New Face of Engineering” during National Engineers Week. Chris was also selected in 2013 as the state of Maryland’s Outstanding Young Engineer by the Maryland Academy of Science, the state’s highest professional honor awarded to an engineer under 36.
EDUCATION
- Visiting Scientist, Harvard University, 2010-2011
- Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT, 2009-2012
- Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2008
HONORS AND AWARDS
- Fellow, Controlled Release Society (2022)
- Fellow, Biomedical Engineering Society (2021)
- Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Peter Doherty Inst. for Infection & Immunity (2021)
- Outstanding Lectureship Award in Drug Delivery, Materials Research Soc. Nationanl Meeting (2020)
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) awarded by White House (2019)
- Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) (2019)
- Fellow, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT) (2019)
- NSEF Young Investigator Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (2018)
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Owens Corning Early Career Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers - MSED (2018)
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University of Maryland Clark School Junior Faculty Outstanding Research Award (2018)
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NanoResearch journal Young Innovator in NanoBiotech (2018)
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University of Maryland Research Communicator Impact Award (2018)
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Selected as Associate Scientific Advisor for Science Translational Medicine (2017/2018)
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Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering journal 2017 Editor Choice Award (2017)
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University of Maryland Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award (2017)
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Acta Biomaterialia Outstanding Reviewer Award (2017)
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Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis Education Grant (2017)
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Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering journal Young Innovator (2016)
- Cellular and Biomolecular Engineering Young Innovator (2016)
- Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, Fischell Department of Bioengineering (2015)
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Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator Award (2015-2018)
- Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy Young Investigator (2015-2018)
- Melanoma Research Alliance Young Investigator (2015-2018)
- National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2014-2019)
- State of Maryland's Outstanding Young Engineer (2014)
- Featured in USA TODAY "New Faces of Engineering" during National Engineers Week (2012)
- American Association of Immunologists Trainee Award (2012)
- Controlled Release Society T. Nagai Postdoctoral Research Achievement Award (2011)
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard Science Symposium–Best Poster recipient (2011)
- Society for Biomaterials STAR award (2011)
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Havard Postdoctoral Fellowship (2009-2011)
- The Boston Consulting Group Social Impact Fellow–New Zealand conservation work (2008)
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers Senior Engineering Prizze, Lehigh University (2003)
- Merck & Co., Inc. Engineering and Technology Fellowship (2001-2002)
- Lehigh University Dean's Scholarship (1999-2003)
Dr. Jewell’s research integrates immunology and biomaterials to decipher the interactions between synthetic materials and immune tissues. His lab also uses these unique expertise to improve therapeutic vaccines for cancer and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes.
Keywords: vaccine, biomaterials, immunology, nanotechnology, immunotherapy, polymers, lipids, drug carriers, autoimmunity, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, scaffolds, controlled release, cancer, melanoma, polyelectrolyte multilayers, microneedles
Find a complete list of Dr. Jewell's publications on his Google Scholar Page