Christopher A. Alabi

My academic journey started with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from New York University and a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. My passion for materials chemistry led me to the California Institute of Technology, where I earned my PhD under the mentorship of Mark Davis. In 2009, I embarked on an NIH Postdoctoral fellowship at MIT, working with renowned scientists Robert Langer and Dan Anderson. This experience paved the way for my academic career, and in 2013, I joined Cornell University as an Assistant Professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. My research explores the synthesis and properties of novel sequence-defined peptidomimetics, synthetic macromolecules and drug delivery systems. This work has been recognized with awards like the NSF CAREER Award and the PMSE Young Investigator Award. I'm honored to be part of the AIMBE College of Fellows and deeply committed to teaching, earning accolades such as the 2017 Tau Beta Pi Professor of the Year Award and the 2022 Richard F. Tucker Excellence in Teaching Award. At the Alabi lab, we aim to understand how macromolecules' composition and sequence affect their physicochemical and biochemical properties toward engineering biomaterials and biomolecular therapeutics.