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Christopher B. Rodell, PhD

Christopher Rodell, PhD

Assistant Professor
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems

Office: Bossone 603
Phone: 215-895-2068
Email: cbr58@drexel.edu
Website: Tissue Instructive Materials Laboratory

Bio

Dr. Christopher B. Rodell is an Assistant Professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems at Drexel University. Chris received his BS and MS degrees from Tulane University as part of the historic ‘Katrina Class’ of 2009. He went on to conduct his doctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania, working on the development and in vivo application of injectable supramolecular hydrogels. Following completion of his PhD, Chris was a postdoctoral scholar with the Center for Systems Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, exploring drug delivery platforms for innate immune activation and their applications toward cancer immunotherapy. To date, Chris has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, 3 patent applications, and is the recipient of a number of awards, including an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship, a Materials Research Society Gold Award, and the Solomon R. Pollack Award for excellence in graduate biomedical engineering research from the University of Pennsylvania.

Education

  • Postdoc at Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, 2016-2019
  • PhD in Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, 2016
  • MS in Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, 2011
  • BS in Biomedical Engineering & Physics, Tulane University, 2011

Research Interests

Biomaterials, supramolecular chemistry, and drug delivery. Therapeutic applications including the etiology of disease, organ injury, cardiovascular engineering, immune engineering, and biomedical imaging.

Publications

  1. C.B. Rodell, M.S. Ahmed, C.S. Garris, M. Pittet, R. Weissleder. Development of adamantane-conjugated TLR7/8 agonists for supramolecular delivery and cancer immunotherapy. Theranostics. In Press. DOI: 10.7150/thno.35434.
  2. C.B. Rodell, P.D. Koch, R. Weissleder. Screening for new macrophage therapeutics. Theranostics. 9(25), 7714-7729, 2019.
  3. M.S. Ahmed*, C.B. Rodell*, M. Hulsmans, R.H. Kohler, A.D. Aguirre, M. Nahrendorf, R. Weissleder. A Supramolecular Nanocarrier for Delivery of Amiodarone Anti-Arrhythmic Therapy to the Heart. Bioconjugate Chemistry. 30(3), 733-740, 2019.
  4. H.Y. Kim, R. Li, T. Ng, G. Courties, C.B. Rodell, M. Prytyskach, R.H. Kohler, M.J. Pittet, M. Nahrendorf, R. Weissleder, M. Miller. Quantitative imaging of tumor associated macrophages and their response to therapy using 64Cu- labeled Macrin. ACS Nano. 12(12): 1215-1229, 2018.
  5. C.B. Rodell, S.P. Arlauckas, M.F. Cuccarese, C.S. Garris, R. Li, M.S. Ahmed, R.H. Kohler, M.J. Pittet, R. Weissleder. TLR7/8-agonist-loaded nanoparticles promote the polarization of tumour-associated macrophages to enhance cancer immunotherapy. Nature Biomedical Engineering. 1, 2018.
    Popular press & communications:
  6. Y.M. Klyachkin, C.B. Rodell, S. Ye, P. Nagareddy, A. Asfour, E. Gao, R. Annabathula, M.Z. Ratajczak, J.A Burdick, A. Abdel-Latif. Cathelicidin Related Antimicrobial Peptide (CRAMP) Enhances Bone Marrow Cell Retention and Attenuates Cardiac Dysfunction in a Mouse Model of Myocardial Infarction. Stem Cell Reviews and Reports. 14(5):702-714, 2018.
  7. H. Wang, C.B. Rodell, X. Zhang, N.N. Dusaj, J.H. Gorman III, J.J. Pilla, B.M. Jackson, J.A. Burdick, R.C. Gorman, J.F. Wenk. Effects of Hydrogel Injection on Borderzone Contractility Post-Myocardial Infarction. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology. 17(5):1533-1542, 2018.
  8. L. Guo, H.J. Kim, H. Wang, J. Monaghan, J.C. Sung, Z. Diaz, N. Singh, Z.C. Zhang, E.A. Sweeny, M.E. DeSantis, M.E. Jackrel, C.B. Rodell, J.A. Burdick, A.D. Gitler, U.B. Pandey, Y.-M. Chook, J.P. Taylor, J. Shorter. Nuclear-Import Factors Reverse Aberrant Phase Transitions of Disease-Linked RNA-Binding Proteins with Prion-Like Domains. Cell. 173(3):677-692, 2018.
  9. A.M. Rosales, C.B. Rodell, M.H. Chen, M.G. Morrow, K.S. Anseth, J.A. Burdick. Reversible Control of Network Properties in Azobenzene-Containing Hyaluronic Acid-Based Hydrogels. Bioconjugate Chemistry. 29(4):905–913, 2018.
  10. H. Wang, C.B. Rodell, M.E. Lee, N.N. Dusaj, J.H. Gorman III, J.A. Burdick, R.C. Gorman, J.F. Wenk. Computational Sensitivity Investigation of Hydrogel Injection Characteristics for Myocardial Support. Journal of Biomechanics, 64:231-235, 2017.
  11. C. Loebel*, C.B. Rodell*, M.H. Chen, J.A. Burdick. Shear-thinning and Self-healing Hydrogels as Injectable Therapeutics and for 3D-Printing. Nature Protocols, 12(8), 1521. 2017.
  12. V. Ramjee, L.J. Manderfield, F. Liu, K.A. Engleka, H. Aghajanian, C.B. Rodell, W. Lu, V. Ho, T. Wang, L. Li, T. Kambayashi, J.A. Burdick, E.N. Olson, M.K. Singh, J.A. Epstein. Epicardial YAP/TAZ Orchestrate an Immune Suppressive Response following MI. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 127(3):899-911, 2017.
  13. C.B. Rodell, C.B. Highley, N.N. Dusaj, J.A. Burdick. Evolution of Hierarchical Porous Structures in Supramolecular Hydrogels. Soft Matter, 12(37):7839-7847, 2016.
  14. C.B. Rodell, M.E. Lee, H. Wang, S. Takebayashi, T. Takayama, T. Kawamura, J.S. Arkles, N.N. Dusaj, S.M. Dorsey, W.R.T. Witschey, J.J. Pilla, J.H. Gorman, J.F. Wenk, J.A. Burdick, R.C. Gorman. Injectable Shear-thinning Hydrogels for Minimally Invasive Delivery to Infarcted Myocardium to Limit Left-Ventricular Remodeling. Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, 9(10):e004058, 2016.
    Popular press and communications:
  15. C.B. Rodell, N.N. Dusaj, C.B. Highley, J.A. Burdick. Injectable and Cytocompatible Tough Double-Network Hydrogels Through Tandem Supramolecular and Covalent Crosslinking. Advanced Materials, 28(38):8419-8424, 2016.
  16. L. Ouyang, C.B. Highley, C.B. Rodell, W. Sun, J.A. Burdick. 3D Printing of Shear-Thinning Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels with Secondary Crosslinking. ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering, 2(10):1743-1751, 2016.
  17. D.E. Soranno, C.B. Rodell, C. Altman, J. Duplantis, A. Andres-Hernando, J.A. Burdick, S. Faubel. Delivery of Interleuken-10 via Injectable Hydrogels Improves Renal Outcomes and Reduces Systemic Inflammation following Ischemic Acute Kidney Injury in Mice. American Journal of Physiology – Renal Physiology, 311(2):F362-F372, 2016.
  18. C.B. Rodell, J.E. Mealy, J.A. Burdick. Supramolecular Guest-Host Interactions for the Preparation of Biomedical Materials. Bioconjugate Chemistry, 26(12):2279-2289, 2015.
    Popular press and communications:
  19. M.W. Tibbett*, C.B. Rodell*, J.A. Burdick, K.S. Anseth. Progress in Material Design for Biomedical Applications. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 112(47):14444-14451, 2015.
  20. J.E. Mealy, C.B. Rodell, J.A. Burdick. Sustained Small Molecule Delivery from Injectable Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels through Host-Guest Mediated Retention. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 3(30):8010-8019, 2015.
  21. A.C. Gaffey, M.H. Chen, C.M. Venkataraman, A. Trubelja, C.B. Rodell, P.V. Dinh, G. Hung, J.W. MacArthur, R.V. Soopan, J.A. Burdick, P. Atluri, Injectable Shear-thinning Hydrogels to Deliver Endothelial Progenitor Cells, Enhance Cell Engraftment, and Improve Ischemic Myocardium. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 150(5):1268-1277, 2015.
  22. C.B. Highley, C.B. Rodell, J.A. Burdick, Direct 3D Printing of Shear-thinning Hydrogels into Self-Healing Hydrogels. Advanced Materials, 27(34):5075-5079, 2015.
  23. S.M. Dorsey, M. Haris, A. Singh, W.R.T. Witschey, C.B. Rodell, F. Kogan, R. Reddy, J.A. Burdick. Visualization of Injectable Hydrogels Using Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer MRI. ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering, 1(4):227-237, 2015.
  24. C.B. Rodell, R. Rai, S. Faubel, J.A. Burdick, D.E. Soranno. Local Immunotherapy via Delivery of Interleukin-10 and Transforming Growth Factor beta Antagonist for Treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease. Journal of Controlled Release, 206:131-139, 2015.
  25. R.J. Wade, E.J. Bassin, C.B. Rodell, J.A. Burdick, Protease-Degradable Electrospun Fibrous Hydrogels. Nature Communications, 6:6639, 2015.
  26. C.B. Rodell, R.J. Wade, B.P. Purcell, N. Dusaj, J.A. Burdick. Selective Proteolytic Degradation of Guest-Host Assembled, Shear-Thinning Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels. ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering, 1(4):277-286, 2015.
  27. C.B. Rodell, J.W. MacArthur, S.M. Dorsey, R.J. Wade, Y.J. Woo, J.A. Burdick, Shear-thinning Hydrogels with Secondary Autonomous Covalent Crosslinking to Modulate Viscoelastic Properties In Vivo. Advanced Functional Materials, 25(4):636-644, 2015.
  28. C.B. Rodell, J.A. Burdick. Materials Science: Radicals Promote Magnetic Gel Assembly. Nature, 514(7524), 574. 2014.
  29. C.B. Highley, C.B. Rodell, I.L. Kim, R.J. Wade, J.A. Burdick, Ordered, Adherent Layers of Nanofibers Enabled by Supramolecular Interactions. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 2(46):8110-8115, 2014.
  30. C.B. Rodell, A.L. Kaminski, J.A. Burdick. Rational Design of Network Properties in Guest-Host Assembled and Shear-Thinning Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels. Biomacromolecules, 14(11):4125-4134, 2013.
  31. H.D. Lu, D.E. Soranno, C.B. Rodell, I.L. Kim, J.A. Burdick. Secondary Photocrosslinking of Injectable Shear-Thinning Dock-and-Lock Hydrogels. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2(7):1028-1036, 2013.

* authors contributed equally
‡ manuscripts in press are available upon request

Patents

  1. C.B. Rodell, R. Weissleder. Novel Macrophage Therapeutics for Immunotherapy. Application number: 62/574,942. Filed: October 20, 2017.
  2. C.B. Rodell, J.A. Burdick. Stabilizing Shear-thinning Hydrogels. Patent number: 9,827,321. Issued: November 28, 2017.
  3. C.B. Rodell, M.J. Moore, S.M. Grayson. Photochemically Induced Hydrogel Patterning using Photolabile Protected Reactants for Michael-type Crosslinking. Application number: 61/274,606. Filed: June 30, 2009
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