Chelsey S. Simmons, Ph.D.
As a teenager, I knew I wanted to design and build tools for biomedicine. Deciding on degree programs and ultimately where to start my lab, I looked for an environment where engineering and medicine worked side-by-side. At UF, my team and I work with biologists, physicians, veterinarians, and other engineers to design and build tools with applications in regeneration, cancer, and metabolic disease.
With training in Mechanical Engineering and a love for biomedicine, I have been able to approach age-old biology problems from new angles. By focusing on cellular response to mechanical stimuli (“mechanobiology”), my team has discovered that cells from the African Spiny Mouse defy decades-old assumptions about mammalian fibroblast mechanobiology. Click for details about our work
Want to hear more? Check out my interviews as I discuss the role of engineers in UF’s Center for Regenerative Medicine and as a Featured Gator Engineer or sign up for our quarterly newsletter here!
Contact Info
css@ufl.edu * (352)392-4365 * PO Box 116250, Gainesville FL 32611
Faculty Appointments
- Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
- Affiliate Faculty, J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering
- Courtesy Appointment, Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine
Education
- Visiting Researcher of Applied Mechanobiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, 2013
- Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, minor in Education, Stanford University, 2013
- Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2010
- Bachelor of Science in Engineering Sciences, cum laude, Harvard University, 2006
Professional Awards
- 2018 NIGMS R35 Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award
- 2017 “Rising Star” Award, Biomedical Engineering Society – Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Section (BMES-CMBE)
- 2017 Teacher of the Year, University of Florida Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
- 2015 New Faces of Engineering Award, American Society for Mechanical Engineers
- 2013 Stanford Centennial Teaching Assistant Award
- 2010-13 Stanford University Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence Fellowship
- 2012 Burroughs Wellcome Foundation Travel Award
- 2008 Stanford Cardiovascular Institute Smittcamp Fellowship
- 2006-10 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
- 2006-07 President’s Fellow for Higher Education Administration, Harvard University
Professional Society Memberships
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2013 – Present
- Biomedical Engineering Society, 2010 – Present
- Communications Committee, CMBE-SIG
- American Society for Engineering Education, 2009 – Present
- Founder and President, Stanford Student Chapter