Research · Kamei Lab at NYU Abu Dhabi
Rebuilding biology,
understanding life.
How do cells become tissues? How do organs communicate? How can a medicine reach the place where it is needed? We bring together stem-cell biology, engineering, materials, and computation to investigate these questions.
Our research directions
Six ways into the questions
Start with a topic that interests you. Each page explains the ideas, methods, and published examples—no specialist background needed.
Connected tissues · Human physiology
Body-on-a-chip
What happens in one organ can affect another. We build small, connected tissue models to study these interactions outside the body.
Stem cells · Development · Engineered environments
Artificial cell environments
Cells respond to their surroundings. We study how the right signals, surfaces, and three-dimensional spaces help them grow and become different tissue types.
Materials · Cell culture · Regeneration
Nanomaterials for regenerative medicine
Cells need a place to grow. We design fine-fiber materials that help us understand—and improve—the surfaces used to culture stem cells.
Small molecules · Cell signals · Light-controlled materials
Gas biology
Some gases are messages between cells. We study ways to control where and when these short-lived signals reach living cells.
Conservation · Stem cells · Comparative biology
Bioengineering for endangered animals
Can studying an animal's cells help protect its future? We explore stem-cell tools that complement conservation and help us understand differences between species.
Nanomedicine · Biological barriers · Disease models
Nano drug delivery
A medicine must reach the right place to work. We investigate tiny delivery systems—and better models for testing how they behave in biological environments.
Reverse bioengineering
To understand living systems, we rebuild selected functions in the laboratory. Cells and engineered environments become tools for testing ideas—not exact copies of a whole human or animal. Our long-term motivation is to contribute to drug discovery, regenerative medicine, and animal health.
Published studies show what has been demonstrated. Perspectives and reviews explain design ideas, evidence, and open questions. We keep these different kinds of work clearly identified.