Kristan Worthington is an associate professor in the Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering. In addition to directing the Worthington Lab, she is an affiliate of the the Iowa Neuroscience Institute and the University of Iowa Institute for Vision Research.

Her work has been recognized by the American Chemical Society, the Association for Vision Research, and the Fight for Sight Foundation.

Professor Worthington’s primary research interests focus on understanding interactions between human cells and man-made biomaterials, and leveraging these behaviors for specific applications. Professor Worthington and her team use two-photon polymerization, a form of high-resolution 3D-printing, to create microstructured support scaffolds for photoreceptor cell replacement therapies, and have shown that this technique can also be used for precision drug delivery. Ultimately, the Worthington Lab is interested in determining how material architecture, stiffness, and biochemistry independently and synergistically influence cell fate decisions, particularly the fate of pluripotent stem cells, neurons, and cells in proximity to healing wounds. As such, Professor Worthington and her group are also interested in in situ biomaterial fabrication for wound-healing applications in the oral cavity, and the economic and societal considerations associated with global biomaterials development.