Her lab’s research interests include the chemical and biophysical analysis of biomaterials as well as their use in delivering biologic drugs to diseased tissue. Prof. Whitehead obtained a B.Ch.E. from the Univ. of Delaware (2002), a Ph.D. from UC Santa Barbara (2007), and served as a postdoctoral fellow at MIT from 2008–2012. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including an NIH NRSA postdoctoral fellowship and the Kun Li Award for Excellence in Education. Prof. Whitehead was named as a Pioneer on the MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 list in 2014 as well as one of the Brilliant Ten by Popular Science in 2015. Several of her patents have been licensed and are currently being developed for reagent and therapeutic use.