Sarah Lightfoot Vidal

About Me

Originally from OR, raised in IL, Sarah worked in the Biomaterials lab of Dr. Michele Marcolongo for more than 3 years. She completed her BS/MS degrees in Materials Science and Engineering, with a focus in Biomaterials and is currently pursuing her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University. Her research interests include biomaterials, tissue engineering, wound healing, and drug delivery.

For her Fulbright grant, Sarah worked with the advanced polymers group at the Centro de Investigación de Polímeros Avanzados (CIPA) in Concepción, Chile, in collaboration with the Department of Polymers at Universidad de Concepción. She worked on the application of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) family polymers for application in nanomedicine and biomedical engineering.

Sarah was also selected for the NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) for 2013-15. As a IGERT Fellow for Soft Material Robotics, Sarah is part of a multidisciplinary research project spanning many departments at Tufts, including Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, etc., with Fellows having experience in a wide range of areas. Her research surrounds the design of a tissue engineered skin equivalent which she hopes to apply as a material covering for a soft robot, allowing for more natural movement than more rigid plastics.

Last updated: 2017