Rion Wendland is a PhD graduate student in Dr. Kristan Worthington’s lab. He completed his BSE in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Iowa and also obtained his master's degree through the BSE/MS Fast-Track under Dr. Worthington. Rion’s research areas include investigating how substrate mechanical properties impact retinal cell fate, how photopolymerization parameters can be tuned to fabricate cells scaffolds, and how bio-sourced molecules can be used as visible light-based photoinitiator systems for a variety of applications. Rion was recently featured in the University of Iowa’s Dare to Discover campaign.

Outside of the lab, Rion enjoys all things outdoors including biking, scuba diving, skiing, pickleball, rock climbing and camping. When not outside he likes to do puzzles, salsa dance, and read books.