Sidi A. Bencherif
Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Bioengineering
Contact
- s.bencherif@northeastern.edu
- 360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Office
- 336 Mugar
- 617.373.7103
Lab
- 111 Mugar
Research Focus
polymer chemistry and engineering; biomaterials; biomedical engineering; drug delivery; tissue engineering; regenerative medicine; immunotherapy; immunoengineering; vaccines
About
Joined the Chemical Engineering Department in Fall 2016.
Education
- 2009 PhD in Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University
- 2009 MS in Polymer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
- 1999 B.S. in Physics and Chemistry from University of Montpellier II, France
Honors & Awards
- Selected in Stanford University List of Top 2% Scientists Worldwide, 2021
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 Award
- NSF Partnerships for Innovation – Technology Translation (PFI-TT) Award
- 2021 Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research Influential Researcher Award – The Americas
- 2021 Biomedical Engineering Society CMBE Rising Star Award
- 2021 Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigator
- American Chemical Society PMSE Young Investigator Award
- National Science Foundation CAREER Award
- Thomas Jefferson Award
- Burroughs- Wellcome Fund Travel Award
- DFCI/Northeastern University Joint Program Award
- GapFund360 Award
- MTTC Acorn Award
- Acta Biomaterialia Outstanding Reviewer Award
- AAI Early Career Faculty Travel Award
- Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Fellowship
Professional Affiliations
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Materials Research Society (MRS)
- Society for Biomaterials (SFB)
- Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
- American Association of Immunologists (AAI)
- Scientific Research Society (Sigma Xi)
- American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
Research Overview
polymer chemistry and engineering; biomaterials; biomedical engineering; drug delivery; tissue engineering; regenerative medicine; immunotherapy; immunoengineering; vaccines
Laboratory for Advanced and Multifunctional Polymeric Biomaterials
The overall focus of the research in the Bencherif LAMP Biomaterials Laboratory is the fundamental understanding and development of polymeric materials for biomedical applications with a specific emphasis on tissue engineering, drug delivery, and cancer immunotherapy.
Selected Research Projects
- Overcoming vaccine-associated hypoxia with advanced biomaterials to enhance cancer immunotherapy
- – Principal Investigator, National Institute of Health
- Biomaterials for Wound Healing and Diabetic Ulcer Treatment
- – Co-Investigator, King Abdulaziz University
- Hypoxia-Inducing Cryogels: A Hassle-Free and Low-Cost Hypoxic Cell Culture Solution
- – Principal Investigator, Center for Research Innovation, Northeastern University
- Hypoxia-Inducing Cryogels As a Fast and Inexpensive Technology for Hypoxic Cell Culture Conditions
- – Principal Investigator, Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MTTC)
- Modulating Local Tumor Hypoxia using Cryogel Scaffolds to Regulate Dendritic Cell Function and Activity
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Oxygen-controlling Cryogels for Cell Culture Applications
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Overcoming Vaccine-Associated Hypoxia with Advanced Biomaterials to Enhance Cancer Immunotherapy
- – Principal Investigator, National Institutes of Health
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- T. Colombani, L.J. Eggermont, Z.J. Rogers, L. McKay, L. Avena, R. Johnson, N. Storm, A. Griffiths, S.A. Bencherif. (2021). Biomaterials and Oxygen Join Forces to Shape the Immune Response and Boost SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines. Advanced Science, 10.1002/advs.202100316
- T. Colombani, S.M. Hatfield, M. Rezaeeyazdi, L.J. Eggermont, A. Memic, M.V. Sitkovsky, S.A. Bencherif. (2021). Oxygen-generating Cryogels Restore T Cell-Mediated Antitumor Cytotoxicity in Hypoxic Tumor. Advanced Functional Materials, 10.1002/adfm.202102234
- L.J. Eggermont, T. Colombani, Z.J. Rogers, A. Memic, S.A. Bencherif, Injectable Cryogels for Biomedical Applications, Trends in Biotechnology, 38, 2020, 418–431
- P. Villard, M. Rezaeeyazdi, T. Colombani, K. Joshi Navare, D. Rana, A. Memic, S.A. Bencherif, Autoclavable and Injectable Cryogels for Biomedical Applications, Advanced Healthcare Materials, 8, 2019, 1900679
- A. Memic, T. Colombani, M. Rezaeeyazdi, L. Eggermont, J. Steingold, Z. Rogers, K.J. Navare, H.S. Mohammed, M. Sitkovsky, S.A. Bencherif, Latest Advances in Cryogel Technology for Biomedical Applications, Advanced Therapeutics, 2019, 1800114
- S.A. Bencherif, R.W. Sands, O. Ali, S.A. Lewin, A. Li, T. Braschler, T. Shih, D. Bhatta, G. Dranoff, D.J. Mooney Injectable Scaffold-Based Whole Tumor Cell Vaccines, Nature Communications, 6, 2015, 7556
May 18, 2022
Announcing Summer 2022 PEAK Experiences Awardees
Several engineering students and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Summer 2022 PEAK Experiences Awards.
Feb 04, 2022
Announcing Spring 2022 PEAK Experiences Awardees
Several engineering students and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Spring 2022 PEAK Experiences Awards.
Jan 31, 2022
Creating an Oxygen-Controlling Cell Culture (OCC) System
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $250K Partnerships for Innovation – Technology Translation (PFI-TT) grant to ChE Assistant Professor Sidi A. Bencherif for “Cell Culture System with Enzyme-based Control of Oxygen Concentration to Enhance Biomedical Research”. The team includes graduate student Zachary Rogers, CEO of Cryoxia Biosciences, and technology commercialization expert/consultant Dr. James […]
Dec 23, 2021
COE Professors Selected in Stanford University List of Top 2% Scientists Worldwide
The following COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2 percent of the most-cited scientists with single-year impact in various disciplines. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above. The list below includes […]
Dec 13, 2021
I&EC Research’s 2021 Class of Influential Researchers
ChE/BioE Associate Professor Eno Ebong, ChE Assistant Professor Sidi Bencherif, and ChE Associate Professor Richard West were featured on the cover of I&EC Research as 3 of 36 scientists recognized as the 2021 Class of Influential Researchers.
Oct 08, 2021
ChE Student Selected as Future Leader in Chemical Engineering
Lauren Gerbereux, E’21, chemical engineering, was selected for the 2021 Future Leaders in Chemical Engineering Symposium organized by North Carolina State University. This highly selective research symposium recognizes the finest undergraduate researchers in chemical engineering in the United States.
Sep 27, 2021
Bencherif’s Research Featured on Front Cover of Advanced Science
ChE Assistant Professor Sidi A. Bencherif’s research on “Biomaterials and Oxygen Join Forces to Shape the Immune Response and Boost COVID-19 Vaccines” was featured on the front cover of Advanced Science.
Sep 21, 2021
Bioengineering Master’s Alumna is Lead Co-Author of Research Paper Published on Cover of Tissue Engineering Part A Journal
While conducting research, Boting Li, ME’19, bioengineering, harvested biomaterials from Assistant Professor Sidi Bencherif’s lab and cell cultures from Assistant Professor Ambika Bajpayee’s lab to create a model to rebuild tissues caused by cartilage defects. While working on this project she developed a more effective protocol to harvest cells from bovine tissue. Her work to her becoming the lead co-author on a paper that was published in the June 2021 issue of Tissue Engineering Part A and featured on its cover.
Sep 21, 2021
Bencherif’s Research Featured on Cover of Advanced Functional Materials
ChE Assistant Professor Sidi A. Bencherif’s research on “Oxygen-Generating Cryogels Restore T-Cell Mediated Cytotoxicity in Hypoxic Tumors” is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Advanced Functional Materials.
Aug 12, 2021
Developing Biomaterial-based Vaccines for Cancer Immunotherapy
ChE Assistant Professor Sidi A. Bencherif received a $2M R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health for “Overcoming vaccine-associated hypoxia with advanced biomaterials to enhance cancer immunotherapy.“