The B³ Lab—Biomaterials, Biointerfaces, and Biophysics Laboratory—focuses on understanding and engineering soft materials and biomolecular systems at the interface of materials science, biology, and physical chemistry. Our research integrates biomaterials design, biointerface engineering, and biophysical analysis to investigate systems spanning cellular, protein, and molecular length scales. We are particularly interested in designing and synthesizing bio-inspired, bio-functional, and bio-mimetic soft materials for applications in engineering and biomedicine. Beyond practical materials development, our lab seeks to establish fundamental sequence–structure–property–activity relationships that govern material performance and biological function. To achieve this goal, we combine experimental synthesis and characterization with molecular simulations, computational modeling, and data-driven approaches.

Currently, our research topics include:

• • Smart and tough hydrogels

  • Biofunctional polymers

  • Functional or disease-related proteins

  • Molecular simulations and machine learning of materials

• Award (04/2026): Dr. Zheng has been elected as a Fellow of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), recognizing his outstanding contributions to the field and his leadership and innovation in advancing biomedical and biomaterials research.

• Award (03/2026): Lijin Wang received ACS travel award.

• News (08/2025): We are excited to begin a new chapter as we join the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering (BECE) at UTSA.