Endocrine Effects in Cell Culture!

Our Research

Mission: Engineering biomaterial models to investigate immune function across health inequities

We execute on our mission by developing compassionate innovators equipped to transform biomedical research.

Find updates on our recent publications in Google Scholar. If you cannot access any of our publications, please email emt[at]umd.edu and we will provide a copy!

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Biomaterials, Macrophages, and Tissue Regeneration

Macrophages are critical regulators of tissue homeostasis, wound healing, and regeneration, but their behavior changes in response to both their surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) and aging. We design biomaterial models to investigate how ECM composition and age-related changes influence macrophage activation and regenerative function. By identifying signals that promote or impair macrophage function, we aim to uncover new strategies for improving tissue repair and restoring regenerative capacity across the lifespan.

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Health Inequities and Immune Function

Everyone’s health is shaped by both biological and lived experiences, yet biomedical research has historically underrepresented many populations. We use biomaterial models and human immune cells to investigate how ancestry and other patient-specific factors influence innate immune responses, inflammation, and tissue repair. Our goal is to better understand biological heterogeneity and develop experimental models that more accurately represent diverse patient populations.

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Immune-Tissue Interactions in Women's Health and Disease

Immune dysfunction and tissue remodeling contribute to diseases that disproportionately affect women, yet the interactions between immune cells and their surrounding tissues remain poorly understood. We develop biomaterial and microphysiological models to study these interactions in conditions, including systemic lupus erythematosus and uterine fibroids. By investigating macrophages, fibroblasts, vascular cells, hormones, and extracellular matrix signals, we aim to uncover mechanisms that drive inflammation and fibrosis and identify opportunities for improved disease modeling and treatment.

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Financial Literacy and Engineering Education

Financial stress can affect students’ well-being, academic performance, and persistence in engineering, yet financial literacy is rarely incorporated into engineering education. We develop and assess engineering-specific financial literacy interventions addressing financial psychology, budgeting, credit and debt, investing, and career-related financial decisions. Our goal is to improve financial confidence, reduce financial stress, and establish financial literacy as an important component of engineering workforce preparation.

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PAPERS PUBLISHED:

2026

A complete list of all our publications can be found on Google Scholar

Owusu-Boaitey, N., Veintimilla, A.M., Tamaño-Blanco, M. et al. Ancestry-linked IL-10 signaling and macrophage activation modulate fibroblast responses to oxidative stress in a PEG-based microphysiological system. npj Biomed. Innov. 3, 39 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44385-026-00093-7

Moore, E. An intervention of financial literacy in engineering training programs to support retention of financially vulnerable students. 2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Charlotte, NC (2026). https://peer.asee.org/an-intervention-of-financial-literacy-in-engineering-training-programs-to-support-retention-of-financially-vulnerable-students

Veintimilla, A.M., Moore, E. Endocrine effects in cell culture. Nat Rev Bioeng (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-026-00452-4

2025

A complete list of all our publications can be found on Google Scholar

Veintimilla, A.M., Turner, Z., Owusu-Boaitey, N. et al. Cell line-specific estrogen responses uncover functional sex differences in murine macrophages. Biol Sex Differ 16, 75 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-025-00760-1

Veintimilla, A. M., Acharya, C. K., Mulligan, C. J., Moore, E., & Fang, R. TRACE: Applying AI Language Models to Extract Ancestry Information from Curated Biomedical Literature. Frontiers in Digital Health, 7, 1608370. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/digital-health/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1608370/full

Allison K. Moses, Miriam Tamaño-Blanco, and Erika Moore, ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering Article ASAP, DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.5c01026 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.5c01026

Dill, Michele, Kapuscinska, Paulina, Heiden, Katie, Basso, Kari, Simmons, Chelsey, Moore, Erika#, "Exploring the Unique Extracellular Matrix Composition of Acomys as a Potential Key to Resisting Fibrosis" ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng. 2025, 11, 6, 3616–3633, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.5c00810

Moore,E.# and Raghava, S.#, "ElevateHER: Engineering a new era in women’s health," Cell Med Press, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medj.2025.100697

2024

A complete list of all our publications can be found on Google Scholar

Abigail J. Clevenger, Aakanksha Jha, Erika Moore, Shreya A. Raghavan. "Manipulating immune activity of macrophages: a materials and mechanics perspective" Trends in Biotechnology, 2024,,ISSN 0167-7799 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2024.07.009

Aakanksha Jha & Erika Moore. "YIGSR, A Laminin-Derived Peptide, Dictates a Concentration-Dependent Impact on Macrophage Phenotype Response" Cel. Mol. Bioeng. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-024-00810-5

Aakanksha Jha & Erika Moore. "Laminin-derived peptide, IKVAV, modulates macrophage phenotype through integrin mediation" Matrix Biol Plus. 2024 Feb 15:22:100143. doi: 10.1016/j.mbplus.2024.100143. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38405086/

Jacqueline C. Linnes, Erika Moore, Ana Maria Porras, Elizabeth Wayne, Patrick M. Boyle, Lesley W. Chow, Katharina Maisel, Shelly R. Peyton, Sarah E. Stabenfeldt, Kelly R. Stevens, Jessica O. Winter & Rebecca Kuntz Willits . "Framework for department-level accountability to diversify engineering" Nat Rev Bioeng 2, 521–530 (2024). https://www.nature.com/articles/s44222-024-00183-4

Justin Silberman, Michael Olagbiyan, Erika Moore. "Metformin Treatment of Macrophages Increases Microvessel Growth in Three-Dimensional Hydrogel Coculture". Tissue Eng Part A 2024 Aug;30(15-16):460-472. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEA.2023.0327. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38308479/

Carlos H. Pavan, Zaraah Abdoollah, Daniel E. Marrero Roche, Holly R. Ryan, Erika Moore, Kevin Brown Chandler. "Site-Specific Glycosylation Analysis of Murine and Human Fcɣ Receptors Reveals High Heterogeneity at Conserved N-Glycosylation Site," Journal of Proteome Research 2024 23 (3), 1088-1101 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.3c00835 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jproteome.3c00835

2023

A complete list of all our publications can be found on Google Scholar

Holly Ryan, Alison Veintimilla, Christine Groso, Erika Moore. "Preclinical in vitro model of monocyte influence on microvessel structure in systemic lupus erythematosus" Lupus Science & Medicine 2023;10:e001013. doi: 10.1136/lupus-2023-001013 https://lupus.bmj.com/content/10/2/e001013

Elizabeth M. Cosgriff-Hernandez, Brian A. Aguado, Belinda Akpa, Gabriella Coloyan Fleming, Erika Moore, Ana Maria Porras, Patrick M. Boyle, Deva D. Chan, Naomi Chesler, Karen L. Christman, Tejal A. Desai, Brendan A.C. Harley, Gregory A. Hudalla, Megan L. Killian, Katharina Maisel, Kristen C. Maitland, Shelly R. Peyton, Beth L. Pruitt, Sarah E. Stabenfeldt, Kelly R. StevensAudrey K. Bowden. "Equitable hiring strategies towards a diversified faculty" Nature Biomedical Engineering, 7(8), 961-968. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-023-01076-4

Michele N. Dill, Mohammad Tabatabaei, Manasi Kamat, Kari B. Basso, Erika Moore, Chelsey S. Simmons. "Generation and characterization of two immortalized dermal fibroblast cell lines from the spiny mouse (Acomys)" PLoS ONE 18(7): e0280169. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280169

Aakanksha Jha, Joseph Larkin III, Erika Moore. "SOCS1-KIR Peptide in PEGDA Hydrogels Reduces Pro-Inflammatory Macrophage Activation" Macromol. Biosci. 2023, 23, 2300237. https://doi.org/10.1002/mabi.202300237

David R. Maestas Jr., Liam Chung, Jin Han, Xiaokun Wang, Sven D. Sommerfeld, Sean H. Kelly, Erika Moore, Helen Hieu Nguyen, Joscelyn C. Mejías, Alexis N. Peña, Hong Zhang, Joshua S. T. Hooks, Alexander F. Chin, James I. Andorko, Cynthia A. Berlinicke, Kavita Krishnan, Younghwan Choi, Amy E. Anderson, Ronak Mahatme, Christopher Mejia, Marie Eric, JiWon Woo, Sudipto Ganguly, Donald J. Zack, Liang Zhao, Edward J. Pearce, Franck Housseau, Drew M. Pardoll, Jennifer H. Elisseeff. "Helminth egg derivatives as proregenerative immunotherapies" Proceedings of National Academies. Published online Feb 13 2023. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2211703120

2022

A complete list of all our publications can be found on Google Scholar

Colleen O’Connor, Eileen Brady, Ying Zheng, Erika Moore, Kelly R. Stevens. "Engineering the multiscale complexity of vascular networks" Nat Rev Mater 7, 702–716 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-022-00447-8

Justin Silberman, Jessica Boehlein, Talia Abbate, Erika Moore. "A Biomaterial Model to Assess the Effects of Age in Vascularization" Cells Tissues Organs 2022. doi: 10.1159/000523859. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35249009/

PDF: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/523859

Holly Ryan, Laurence Morel, Erika Moore. "Vascular Inflammation in Mouse Models of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus" Front Cardiovasc Med 9:767450 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2022.767450

Erika Moore. "The debt trap" Science (80- ). 2022;375(6582):790-790. doi:10.1126/science.ada1184, PMID: 35175812. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35175812/

Aakanksha Jha & Erika Moore. "Collagen-derived peptide, DGEA, inhibits pro-inflammatory macrophages in biofunctional hydrogels" Journal of Materials Research 37, 77–87 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-021-00423-y

PDF: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1557/s43578-021-00423-y.pdf

Holly Ryan, Daniel Bister, Sophia A Holliday, Jessica Boehlein, Aljae Lewis, Justin Silberman, Josephine B. Allen, Erika Moore. "Ancestral background is underreported in regenerative engineering" Regen. Eng. Transl. Med. 8, 499–503 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1007/s40883-021-00237-8

PDF: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40883-021-00237-8.pdf

2021

A complete list of all our publications can be found on Google Scholar

Erika M Moore, David R Maestas Jr, Chris C Cherry, Jordan A Garcia, Hannah Y Comeau, Locke Davenport Huyer, Sean H Kelly, Alexis N Peña, Richard L Blosser, Gedge D Rosson, Jennifer H Elisseeff. "Biomaterials direct functional B cell response in a material-specific manner" Science Advances, 2021, eabj5830, V 7, N 49, doi:10.1126/sciadv.abj5830. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34851674/

Erika Moore, Josephine B. Allen, Connie J. Mulligan, Elizabeth C. Wayne. "Ancestry of cells must be considered in bioengineering" Nat Rev Mater. 2021; 0123456789:1-3. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-021-00397-7

Christopher Ludtka, Erika Moore, Josephine B. Allen. "The effects of simulated microgravity on macrophage phenotype" Biomedicines 9, no. 9: 1205. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines9091205

PDF: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41526-021-00141-z.pdf

Christopher Ludtka, Justin Silberman, Erika Moore, Josephine B. Allen. "Macrophages in microgravity: the impact of space on immune cells" npj Microgravity 7, 13 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-021-00141-z

PDF: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41526-021-00141-z.pdf

Justin Silberman, Aakanksha Jha, Holly Ryan, Talia Abbate, Erika Moore. "Modeled vascular microenvironments: immune-endothelial cell interactions in vitro" Drug Deliv. and Transl. Res. 11, 2482–2495 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13346-021-00970-1

PDF: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13346-021-00970-1.pdf

Erika M Moore. "The more mentors, the merrier" Science (New York, NY) 371.6536 (2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.371.6536.1398

PDF: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/371/6536/1398.full.pdf

2020 and Prior

A complete list of all our publications can be found on Google Scholar

Erika M. Moore, Jennifer L. West. "Harnessing macrophages for vascularization in tissue engineering" Ann Biomed Eng 47, 354–365 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-018-02170-4

PDF: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10439-018-02170-4.pdf

Erika M. Moore and Jennifer L. West. "Bioactive poly (ethylene glycol) acrylate hydrogels for regenerative engineering" Regen. Eng. Transl. Med. 5, 167–179 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40883-018-0074-y

PDF: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40883-018-0074-y.pdf

Erika M. Moore, Jennifer L. West, Suresh V, Grace Ying. “M0 and M2 macrophages enhance vascularization of tissue engineering scaffolds.” Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine 4, no. 2 (2018): 51-61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40883-018-0048-0

PDF: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40883-018-0048-0.pdf

Erika M. Moore, Grace Ying, Jennifer L. West. “Macrophages influence vessel formation in 3D bioactive hydrogels.” Advanced Biosystems 1.3 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1002/adbi.201600021

PDF: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/adbi.201600021

Nsiah BA, Moore EM, Roudsari LC, Virdone NK, and West JL. “Angiogenesis in hydrogel biomaterials.” Biosynthetic Polymers for Medical Applications. Woodhead Publishing, 2016. 189-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-78242-105-4.00008-0

Erica B. Peters, Nicolas Christoforou, Erika Moore, Jennifer L. West, George A. Truskey. “CD45+ cells present within mesenchymal stem cell populations affect network formation of blood-derived endothelial outgrowth cells.” BioResearch open access 4, no. 1 (2015): 75-88. https://doi.org/10.1089/biores.2014.0029

PDF: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/biores.2014.0029

Daphne L. Hutton, Renu Kondragunta, Erika M. Moore, Ben P. Hung, Xiaofeng Jia, Warren L. Grayson. Tumor Necrosis Factor Improves Vascularization in Osteogenic Grafts Engineered with Human Adipose-Derived Stem/Stromal Cells. PloS one. 9(9): e107199. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107199
PDF: shorturl.at/anyRX