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Kristen Krupa

Department Chair; Professor; Dr. and Mrs. Charles R. Wilke Distinguished Professor and Chair in Chemical and Materials Engineering; Director, Materials Engineering; Director, Bioengineering Graduate Program

Full-Time Faculty

School of Engineering: Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering

Contact

Email: Kristen Krupa
Phone: 937-229-2627
Kettering Laboratories Room 524

Bio

Dr. Kristen Krupa is the Dr. and Mrs. Charles R. Wilke Distinguished Professor and Chair in Chemical and Materials Engineering, and the lab director of the Cellular Evaluation of Bioengineering Applications Lab. Her research focuses on the development of enhanced cellular models to bridge the in vitro – in vivo gap, evaluation of nanomaterial-induced biological effects, with a focus on the inflammatory and signal transduction responses and characterization of nanomaterial behavior under physiologically relevant exposure conditions.

Selected Publications

(Link to Complete List of Published Works)

  1. Buck, C. C., Dennis, P. B., Gupta, M. K., Grant, M. T., Crosby, M. G., Slocik, J. M., Mirau, P. A., Becknell, K. A., Comfort, K. K., & Naik, R. R. (2018). Anion-mediated effects on size and mechanical properties of enzymatically crosslinked suckerin hydrogels. Macromolecular Bioscience, 1800238.
  2. Breitner, E. K., Burns, K. E., Hussain, S. M., & Comfort, K. K. (2018). Implementation of physiological fluids to provide insight into the characterization, fate, and biological interactions of silver nanoparticles. Nanotechnology, 29, 254001.
  3. Shiley, J. R., Comfort, K. K, & Robinson, J. B. (2017). Immunogenicity and antimicrobial effectiveness of Pseudomonas aeruginosa specific bacteriophage in a human lung in vitro model. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 101, 79777-7985.
  4. Swavey, S., Morford, K., Tsao, M., Kilroy, M., & Comfort, K. (2017). Heteroleptic monometallic and trimetallic ruthenium (II) complexes incorporating a π-extended dipyrrin ligand: light-activated reactions with the A549 lung cancer cell line. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 175, 101-109.
  5. Braun, N. J., DeBrosse, M. C., Hussain, S. M., & Comfort, K. K. (2016). Modification of the protein corona-nanoparticle complex by physiological factors. Materials Science and Engineering C, 64, 34-42.
  6. Luby, A. O., Breitner, E. K., & Comfort, K. K. (2016). Preliminary protein corona formation stabilizes gold nanoparticles and improves deposition efficiency. Applied Nanoscience, 6, 827-836.
  7. Breitner, E. K., Hussain, S. M., & Comfort, K. K. (2015). The role of biological fluid and dynamic flow in the behavior and cellular interactions of gold nanoparticles. Journal of Nanobiotechnology, 13, 56.
  8. Hussain, S. M., Warheit, D. B., Ng, S. P., Comfort, K. K., Grabinski, C. M., & Braydich-Stolle, L. K. (2015). At the crossroads of nanotoxicology in vitro: past achievements and current challenges. Invited Review. Toxicological Sciences, 147, 5-16.
  9. Comfort, K. K., Maurer, E. I., & Hussain, S. M. (2014). Slow release of ions from internalized silver nanoparticles modifies the epidermal growth factor signaling response. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 123, 136-142.
  10. Comfort, K. K., Braydich-Stolle, L. K., Maurer, E. I., & Hussain, S. M. (2014). Less is more: in vitro chronic, low-level nanomaterial exposure provides a more meaningful toxicity assessment.  ACS Nano, 8, 3260-3271.
  11. Untener, E. A., Comfort, K. K., Maurer, E. I., Grabinski, C. M., Comfort, D. A., & Hussain, S. M. (2013). Tannic acid coated gold nanorods demonstrate a distinctive form of endosomal uptake and unique distribution within cells. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 5, 8366-8373.
  12. Comfort, K. K., Maurer, E. I., Braydich-Stolle, L. K., & Hussain, S. M. (2011). Interference of silver, gold, and iron oxide nanoparticles on epidermal growth factor signal transduction in epithelial cells. ACS Nano, 5, 10000-10008.

Selected Research and Work

  • AFOSR Summer Faculty Fellowship
  • National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Catalent Pharma Solutions

Selected Honors and Awards

  • NSF CAREER Award
  • Colgate Palmolive Grant for Alternative Research
  • University of Dayton Alumni Award for Faculty Scholarship

Courses Taught

  • Material and Energy Balances (CME 203)
  • Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics (CME 311)
  • Adv. Math for Chemical Engineers (CME 381)
  • Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer (CME 465)
  • Introduction to Bioengineering (CME 491)
  • Transport Phenomena in Biological Systems (CME 523)
  • Research Methods (CME 597)

Degrees

  • Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University, 2007
  • M.S., Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University, 2006
  • B.Cm.E., Chemical Engineering, University of Dayton, 2002

Professional Activities

  • Certified Academic Coach
  • American Institute of Chemical Engineers
  • Material Research Society
  • Society of Biological Engineering
  • American Society of Engineering Education
  • Sigma Xi
  • Tau Beta Pi

Research Interests

  • Development of enhanced cellular models to bridge the in vitro – in vivo gap
  • Evaluation of nanomaterial-induced biological effects, with a focus on the inflammatory and signal transduction responses
  • Characterization of nanomaterial behavior under physiologically relevant exposure conditions