Yoojin Lee

Materials Scientist & Biomedical Engineer

with 7+ Years of Wet Lab Experience

Hello, I am a PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University,

working with Prof. Taylor Ware in the Responsive Biomaterials Lab.

I specialize in 1) synthesizing functional materials

2) characterizing material properties

3) fabricating materials into medical devices.

(e.g., microneedles, drug delivery devices, neural interfaces, artificial muscles)

As a highly motivated and passionate scientist,

I always try my best to bring creativity, dedication, and collaborative spirit to every project I undertake.

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Research and Projects

Lee, Y. J. et al. Unpublished

Synthesis of Active Soft Biomaterials

My research focuses on synthesizing active soft materials that respond to environmentally safe stimuli and exhibit long-term biostability.

Toward these goals, I have synthesized a range of active soft materials including

Light responsive elastomers
Temperature responsive elastomers
Magnetic responsive elastomers
Composites

Fabrication of Actuators for Biomedical Applications

My research focuses on developing novel fabrication tools for stimuli-responsive materials to create actuators across multiple scales for biomedical applications.

Specifically, I have worked on the

Self-assembly of monomers
Micromolding
Additive manufacturing

These tools facilitate the fabrication of actuators that respond to diverse stimuli, such as heat and UV light, and exhibit precise, programmable shape changes on demand.

Video of thermally responsive adhesives

Lee, Y. J. et al. Small, 2023

Video of liquid crystal phase formation

Lee, Y. J. et al. Journal of Ionic Liquids, 2024

Characterization of Material Properties

By analyzing optical, thermal, mechanical, and actuation properties, I aim to uncover the key principles and mechanisms that drive the performance of materials.

I have extensive expertise in material characterization techniques, including

Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Polarized Optical Microscopy (POM), Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) Spectroscopy, Microtome.

Honors and Awards

Research and Presentation Travel Awards, Texas A&M University, 2024
Best Poster in Soft & Flexible area, Society of Engineering Science, Annual Technical Meeting, 2022
Best Rapid-Fire Presentation Award, Texas A&M University, BME Graduate Research Symposium, 2022
NSF Innovation Corps Site, National Science Foundation, 2022
Summa Cum Laude (1st place), Pusan National University, Korea, 2020
Best Poster Award, The Polymer Society of Korea, Annual Fall Meeting, 2019
Best Project Award, Pusan National University, Korea, ‘Exploring Majors in Real Life’ Competition, 2018
National Scholarship for Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Korea, 2018-2020
Merit-Based Scholarship, Pusan National University, Korea, 2016-2017

Publications

Unpublished Papers (In adv. prep. or under review)

[1] Y. J Lee, S. M. George, Y. Tseng, B. M. Nitschke, M. A. Grunlan, T. H. Ware. “Shape-changing Silicone for Potential Biomedical Applications,” in advanced preparation.

[2] Y. Tseng, R. G. Krishnan, E. N. Jeakle, M. Javed, Y. J. Lee, M. S. Kalairaj, J. J. Pancrazio, T. H. Ware. “Photo-responsive and Shape-changing Deployable Intracortical Microelectrode Arrays.”, in advanced preparation.

[3] S. M. George, S. Tarr, M. S. Kalairaj, M. Javed, Y. J. Lee, S. Wang, S. Tasmim, T. H. Ware. “Programming Active Textiles Using Automated Embroidery of Liquid Crystal Elastomer Thread,” under revision in ACS Applied Polymer Materials.

[4] M. S. Kalairaj, I. George, S. M. George, S. Faran, Y. J. Lee, L. Rivera-Tarazona, S. Wang, M. Abdelrahman, S. Tasmim, A. Dana, P. Zimmern, S. Subashchandrabose, T. H. Ware. “Controlled release of microorganisms from engineered living materials,” submitted (bioRxiv).

Published Papers

[1] J. Lee, S. Oh, I. Jeong, Y. J. Lee, M. C. Kim, K. Hyun, T. H. Ware, S. Ahn. “Redefining the limits of actuating fibers via mesophase control: from contraction to elongation,” Science Advances, 11, 3 (2025).

[2] R. Pulukkody, Y. J. Lee, T. H. Ware, E. B. Pentzer. “Mesomorphism of Imidazolium-based Fluorinated Ionic Liquids,” Journal of Ionic Liquids, 4, 100085 (2024).

[3] S. Wang, S. Lim, S. Tasmim, M. S. Kalairaj, L. K. Rivera-Tarazona, M. K. Abdelrahman, M. Javed, S. M. George, Y. J. Lee, M. K. Jawed, T. H. Ware. “Reconfigurable Growth of Engineered Living Materials,” Advanced Materials, 2309818 (2024).

[4] Y. J. Lee, M. K. Abdelrahman, M. S. Kalairaj, T. H. Ware. “Self‐assembled microactuators using chiral liquid crystal elastomers,” Small, 19, 41 (2023).

[5] H. Han, Y. J. Lee (co-first author), J. Kyhm, J. S. Jeong, J. H. Han, M. K. Yang, K. M. Lee, Y. Choi, T. H. Yoon, H. Ju, S. Ahn, J. A. Lim. “High‐performance circularly polarized light‐sensing near‐infrared organic phototransistors for optoelectronic cryptographic primitives,” Advanced Functional Materials, 30, 52, 2006236 (2020).

[6] Y. J. Lee, S. Choi, B.-G. Kang, S. Ahn, “Effect of isomeric amine chain extenders and crosslink density on the properties of liquid crystal elastomers,” Materials, 13, 14, 3094. (2020).

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