Matthew Shirley

Drexel faculty mentor: Margaret Wheatley

Matthew Shirley is a second year PhD Student in Biomedical Engineering working under Dr. Margaret Wheatley in the Microencapsulation Lab. His current research focuses on formulating and developing micro-scale vehicles for targeted drug delivery with theragnostic capabilities. Specifically, he aims to engineer a biocompatible, injectable polymer microbubble by exploiting the drug delivery potential of ultrasound contrast agents combined with nanoparticles. Besides Matthew being awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, he was also awarded the NSF Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship and he was selected for the GEM Associate Fellowship. He is on the executive board for the Drexel Black Graduate Student Union and the Drexel Biomedical Graduate Association, and he is a mentor in the BIOMED Summer Academy for High School Students.

Matthew graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) with a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He was in the renowned UMBC Meyerhoff Scholars Program, and he held distinctions from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. Along with these distinctions he was selected to participate in bioengineering-related research experiences at Duke University, Virginia Tech, and the University of Pittsburgh. He was also an active member in NSBE and the ACS.

Last updated: April 2019