Kristi Anseth

Kristi Anseth is a Tisone Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at University of Colorado, Boulder. She is the first engineer selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator. Dr. Anseth designs synthetic hydrogel biomaterials to imitate the extracellular matrix surrounding cells. Her pioneering approach is to apply photopolymerization and photodegradation to enable precise control in space and time over hydrogels' structure and composition, enabling fundamental investigations into the molecular dynamics of processes at the cell-biomaterial interface.

​Dr. Anseth has been named by MIT Technology Review as one of the top 100 innovators in the world and elected onto the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Inventors. She obtained her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1994.