Erika Moore, Ph.D., holder of the Rhines Rising Star Larry Hench professorship in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, has been awarded the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) KL2 Career Development Award.

“I am beyond enthused to be awarded the KL2 training grant. This award sponsored by the National Institute of Health will help establish an in vitro model to study the interactions between immune cells and blood vessels using patient samples,” Dr. Moore said. “In particular, we are excited to begin studying how systemic lupus erythematosus influences immune cell interactions with blood vessels.”

Dr. Moore earned her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University and her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University. Her work focuses on mapping the roles of B cells, or adaptive immune cells, during biomaterial-mediated healing. She joined the department in September 2018.

The CTSI KL2 Career Development Award provides junior faculty with two years of financial support and research training to develop the skills necessary to build a well-funded, collaborative career in clinical and translational research.