Bio
Dr. Michelle Grandin's background in science includes a PhD in Chemistry (2003) from Western University in Canada (www.uwo.ca/chem) followed by a postdoctoral fellowship (2004-2008) in the field of biomedical materials at the ETH in Zurich, Switzerland (www.ethz.ch/en.html). For the past 16 years, Michelle has been working as a scientific consultant in the field of biomaterials for applications ranging from vascular stents to dental implants with a focus on surface material properties and implant design. While working as a postdoc and later as a senior scientist at the ETH, she steered a number of international partnership projects including the development of 3D microwell arrays for the study of individual cells (single cell arrays) with applications ranging from fundamental stem cell studies to applied drug testing for cancer research. The modification of surfaces with biologically relevant molecules, including lipid bilayers, non-fouling polymers, and specific peptide motifs, was central to these projects. She also developed a novel waveguide fluorescence microscope for the study of protein-surface, cell-surface and lipid vesicle/bilayer-surface interactions. In addition to R&D and scientific writing, Michelle enjoys teaching both Biochemistry (since Sept 2018) as well as Clinical Chemistry (since Sept 2020) at UC San Diego Extended Studies.