Rebecca Willits
Professor and Chairperson, Chemical Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Bioengineering
Office
- 201F Cullinane
- 617.373.2989
Lab
- 216 Egan
Related Links
Research Focus
Mechanobiology of neural systems; Systems for nerve regeneration; Diversity and equity in engineering
Education
- PhD, Cornell University, Chemical Engineering, 1999
- MS, The Johns Hopkins University, Chemical Engineering, 1996
Honors & Awards
- 2023 Diversity Recognition Award
- AIMBE Fellow
- BMES Fellow
- ELATE Fellow (2017-18)
Professional Affiliations
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- Biomedical Engineering Society
- Golden Key Honor Society
- National Center for Regenerative Medicine
- WEPAN
- Society for Biomaterials
Research Overview
Mechanobiology of neural systems; Systems for nerve regeneration; Diversity and equity in engineering
The overarching goal of my research team is to understand how mechanical, chemical, and electrical factors of three dimensional environments alter cell behavior. To this end, a focus has been to enhance neural cell response in 2D and 3D after biochemical and mechanical manipulations.
Selected Research Projects
- Toward a Mechanotransduction Mimic of the Neural Stem Cell Niche
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Collaborative Research: Professional Preparation of Underrepresented Minority PhD’s and Post-Docs for a Career in Engineering Academia
- – Co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
Stevens KR, Masters KS, Imoukhuede PI, Haynes KA, Setton LA, Cosgriff-Hernandez E, Lediju Bell MA, Rangamani P, Sakiyama-Elbert SE, Finley SD, Willits RK, Koppes AN, Chesler NC, Christman KL, Allen JB, Wong JY, El-Samad H, Desai TA, Eniola-Adefeso O. Fund Black scientists. Cell. 2021;184(3):561-5. Epub 2021/01/28. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.01.011. PubMed PMID: 33503447.
- Jassim, A.H., Cavanaugh, M., Shah, J.S. et al. Transcorneal Electrical Stimulation Reduces Neurodegenerative Process in a Mouse Model of Glaucoma. Ann Biomed Eng 49, 858–870 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-020-02608-8
- Pylypiv, G., C. Fouad, W. Lanzinger, R. K. Willits. Effect of Intraoperative Electrical Stimulation on Recovery after Rat Sciatic Nerve Isograft Repair. Neurotrauma Reports, November 2020. https://doi.org/10.1089/neur.2020.0049
- Silantyeva, E., R.K. Willits, M.L. Becker. Post-fabrication Tethering of Molecular Gradients on Aligned Nanofibers of Functional Poly(ԑ-caprolactone)s. Biomacromolecules. 20(12):4494-4501, 2019. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.biomac.9b01264
- Motta, Cecilia M.M., K.J. Endres, C. Wesdemiotis, R.K. Willits and M.L. Becker. Enhancing Schwann Cell Migration Using Concentration Gradients of Laminin Derived-peptides. Biomaterials. 218:119335, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2019.119335
- Cavanaugh M, Silantyeva E, Pylypiv Koh G, Malekzadeh E, Lanzinger WD, Willits RK, Becker ML. RGD-Modified Nanofibers Enhance Outcomes in Rats after Sciatic Nerve Injury. J Funct Biomater. 2019 May 29;10(2) PubMed PMID: 31146396; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6637389.
- Philip, D.#, Silantyeva, E.#, Becker, M.L., and R.K. Willits. RGD-functionalized nanofibers increase early GFAP expression during neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells. Biomacromolecules, #co-first authors. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.9b00018
Jan 24, 2023
Faculty and Staff Awards 2023
Congratulations to all the winners of the faculty and staff awards, and to everyone for their hard work and dedication during the 2022-2023 academic school year. COE Distinguished Faculty Award Yun Raymond Fu, ECE Auroop Ganguly, CEE Luke Landherr, ChE Sinan Müftü, MIE Mark Niedre, BioE Alison Nogueira, Co-op Nian Sun, ECE Constantinos Mavroidis Translational […]
Oct 14, 2022
PhD Spotlight: Ada Vernet-Crua, PhD’22 – Chemical Engineering
Ada Vernet-Crua joined Northeastern in 2018 to complete her master’s thesis in nanoscience and nanotechnology in collaboration with Rovira and Virgili University in Spain, where she also completed her bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2017. During those brief six months, she fell in love with the city and the research and decided to join the […]
Jul 06, 2022
Announcing the new MS in Pharmaceutical Engineering at Northeastern University
The College of Engineering and Bouve College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University are offering a new Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Engineering. Both colleges began to recognize the growing need in the pharmaceutical sector for people that have both an engineering background as well as understand the regulatory environment of the pharmaceutical industry. “The […]
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.
Oct 12, 2021
Announcing Fall 2021 PEAK Experiences Awardees
Several engineering students and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Fall 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. ASCENT AWARDS […]
Apr 26, 2021
Congratulations RISE: 2021 Winners
Congratulations to our engineering students who won awards at the RISE:2021 Research, Innovation and Scholarship Expo!
Sep 02, 2020
New Faculty Spotlight: Rebecca Willits
Rebecca Willits joined the Chemical Engineering department in July 2020 as Professor and Chair.
Aug 03, 2020
Willits Selected as a BMES Fellow
ChE Professor and Chair Rebecca Willits selected as a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society.