Eno E. Ebong
Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering
Associate Professor, Bioengineering
Affiliated Faculty, Biology
Office
- 221 ISEC
- 617.373.8744
Lab
- 275C ISEC
- 617.373.7238
Related Links
Research Focus
Studying the means by which endothelial cell mechanotransduction occurs in order to prevent or promote diseases related to blood vessel dysfunction
About
Joined Northeastern University in Fall 2013.
Directs the “Ebong Mechanobiology Laboratory”, where research currently focuses on studying how the mechanical forces of blood flow and tissue stiffness affect endothelial cells, which line the blood vessels and guard them from dysfunction that leads to diseases like atherosclerosis, cancer metastasis, and neurodegeneration. Much of the research focus is on studying the structure and function of the protective gel-like layer of sugar molecules and proteins coating the surface of the endothelial cells—called the glycocalyx—to understand, on a molecular level, how mechanobiology remodels the endothelial cells to facilitate protection from disease. This glycocalyx structure gives endothelial cells the resilience they need to withstand the raucous mechanical environment that they are subjected to, especially due to dynamic blood flows at the vessel branch points. Glycocalyx sheds in the presence of disease, so it is of great interest to study how gradual glycocalyx degradation initiates and promotes pathology. The “Ebong Mechanobiology Laboratory” constructs in vitro fluid-solid systems comprised of endothelial cells co-cultured with support cells, to replicate both healthy and disruptive conditions and to uncover the intricacies of the mechanics-glycocalyx-endothelial cell relationship. This work is combined with live animal studies to assess the validity of the findings, in real disease conditions. Other approaches include biomaterials, state-of-the-art electron microscopy (mainly rapid freezing/freeze substitution preservation and transmission electron microscopy), advanced biological imaging of cells and animals, RNA interference techniques, fluorescent intracellular biomarkers, protein biochemistry, and more. Our discoveries are being applied to the development of therapies and nanomedicine-based drug delivery tools that target mechanobiology, endothelial cells, and the glycocalyx to prevent and/or reverse disease.
Education
- B.S. (Mechanical Engineering) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999
- M.Eng. (Biomedical Engineering) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2001
- Ph.D. (Biomedical Engineering) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2006
- Postdoctoral Fellowship Albert Einstein College of Medicine and CUNY City College of New York, 2007-2012
Honors & Awards
- 2020 Frontiers of Engineering Symposium Invited Attendee, NAE
- NIH Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award
- NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award
- Gordon Research Conference Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Fellow
- Northeastern University College of Engineering Faculty Fellow
Research Overview
Studying the means by which endothelial cell mechanotransduction occurs in order to prevent or promote diseases related to blood vessel dysfunction
Selected Research Projects
- Atheroprotective vs Atherogenic Glycocalyx Mechanotransduction Mechanisms
- Principal Investigator, National Institutes of Health
- EMBRACE STEM (Endothelial MechanoBiology Research and multiCultural Education in STEM)
- Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- Xu, Suowen, Ilyas, Iqra, Little, Peter J., Li, Hong, Kamato, Danielle, Zheng, Xueying, Luo, Sihui, Li, Zhuoming, Liu, Peiqing, Han, Jihong, Harding, Ian C., Ebong, Eno E., Cameron, Scott J., Stewart, Alastair G., Weng, Jianping. (2021). Endothelial Dysfunction in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases and Beyond: From Mechanism to Pharmacotherapies. Pharmacological Reviews. 73(3):924-967. 10.1124/pharmrev.120.000096
- Nian, Keqing, Harding, Ian C., Herman, Ira M., Ebong, Eno E. (2021). Blood-Brain Barrier Damage in Ischemic Stroke and Its Regulation by Endothelial Mechanotransduction. Frontiers in Physiology, 1:605398. 10.3389/fphys.2020.605398
- Nian, Keqing, Harding, Ian C., Herman, Ira M., Ebong, Eno E. (2021). Blood-Brain Barrier Damage in Ischemic Stroke and Its Regulation by Endothelial Mechanotransduction. Frontiers in Physiology, 1:605398. 10.3389/fphys.2020.605398
- Mensah, Solomon A., Nersesyan, Alina, Harding, Ian C., Lee, Claire I., Tan, Xuefei, Banerjee, Selina, Niedre, Mark J.,Torchilin, Vladimir P., Ebong, Eno E. (2020). Flow-Regulated Endothelial Glycocalyx Determines Metastatic Cancer Cell Activity. FASEB Journal: official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. 34(5): 6166-6184. 10.1096/fj.201901920R
- Cheng, Ming J., Mitra, Ronodeep, Okorafor, Chinedu C., Nersesyan, Alina A., Harding, Ian C., Bal, Nandita N., Kumar, Rajiv, Sridhar, Srinivaas, Ebong, Eno E. (2020). Targeted Intravenous Nanoparticle Delivery: Role of Flow and Endothelial Glycocalyx Integrity. Annals Biomedical Engineering. 48(7): 1941-1954. 10.1007/s10439-020-02474-4
- Cai, Xuezhu, Qiao, Ju, Kulkarni, Praveen, Harding, Ian C., Ebong, Eno, Ferris, Craig F. (2020). Imaging the effect of the circadian light-dark cycle on the glymphatic system in awake rats. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 117 (1): 668-676. 10.1073/pnas.1914017117

Sep 28, 2023
Spark Fund Award Research to Address Atherosclerosis
ChE/BioE Associate Professor Eno Ebong is using the Spark Funds she received earlier this year to develop a novel therapeutic that targets the glycocalyx to prevent atherosclerosis, a cardiovascular disease that can lead to secondary cardiovascular events such as strokes or heart attacks.

Jul 20, 2023
Fall 2023 Spark Fund Awardees
MIE Associate Professor Randal Erb, ChE/BioE Associate Professor Eno Ebong, ChE Professor Rebecca Carrier, and MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng are recipients of the Fall 2023 Spark Fund Awards.
Apr 27, 2023
Announcing Summer 2023 PEAK Experiences Awardees
Several engineering students and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Summer 2023 PEAK Experiences Awards. They will be pursuing a diverse set of projects, including a study of a pathogen that haunts hospitals, an examination of segregationist rhetoric in Boston newspapers, and an analysis of creativity in music. Base Camp Awardees […]

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.
Jun 07, 2021
Summer 2021 PEAK Experiences Awardees
Congratulations to the COE student recipients of the Summer 2021 PEAK Experiences Awards. The PEAK Experiences Awards are a progressively structured sequence of opportunities designed to support learners as they continue climbing to new heights of achievement in undergraduate research and creative endeavor throughout their Northeastern journeys. BASE CAMP AWARDS Ana Salichs, E’22, “Colorimetric Assays […]

May 04, 2021
It Started with a Mentor
After earning his bachelor’s degree at City College of New York, Solomon Mensah, PhD’19, bioengineering, chose to further his education at Northeastern for its entrepreneurial atmosphere, and to study under his undergraduate mentor who joined Northeastern, Associate Professor Eno Ebong, chemical engineering and bioengineering. Mensah’s graduate research, supervised by Ebong, examined inter-cellular interactions in cancer […]
Feb 01, 2021
1,000 inspiring Black scientists in America
ChE Assistant Professor Andrew Jones, Professor Debra Auguste, Assistant Professor Eno Ebong, and Solomon Mensah (former PhD student of Eno Ebong) were featured in Cell Mentor’s article of “1,000 inspiring Black scientists in America.”
Nov 12, 2020
ChE and BioE Professor Eno Ebong Presents Invited Talk at American Society for Investigative Pathology Symposium
ChE and BioE Associate Professor Eno Ebong presented an invited talk entitled “Glycocalyx-Mediated Vascular Remodeling and Permeability in Disturbed Flow” at PISA (Pathobiology for Investigators, Students, & Academicians) 2020, an American Society for Investigative Pathology symposium.
Sep 10, 2020
Faculty and Staff Awards 2020
Congratulations to all the winners of the faculty and staff awards, and to everyone for their hard work and dedication during the 2019-2020 academic school year.

Jun 23, 2020
Ebong Selected to Attend US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium
ChE/BioE Associate Professor Eno Ebong was invited to represent Northeastern at the National Academy of Engineering’s US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, February 25-26, 2021. Ebong was among eighty-five of the nation’s brightest early-career engineers selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) 26th annual US Frontiers of Engineering (USFOE) symposium. The symposium covers […]