Rate My Professor Rachael Floreani

Dr. Rachael Floreani serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Vermont, a position she has held since 2011. She earned her BS degree in Biomedical Engineering from Michigan Technological University in 2004, followed by MS and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Following her doctoral studies, Dr. Floreani conducted two years of postdoctoral research at the University of Washington. As an affiliate of the Gund Institute for Environment, she directs the Engineered Biomaterials Research Laboratory, where her expertise encompasses materials customization, tissue engineering, polymer chemistry, and food biotechnology. Her translational research integrates biomedical engineering, materials processing, and cellular agriculture, with specific contributions to tissue engineering, cultivated meat, cell culture media development, anti-cancer therapeutics, drug delivery implants, wound dressings, and tissue sealants. Additional interests include sustainability, biomimicry, and the valorization of agricultural bio-waste, aimed at developing products that benefit humankind and the planet.

Dr. Floreani has led interdisciplinary teams at biotech startups and in academia, advised industry partners and female founders worldwide, and engaged in public dissemination through invited presentations at international conferences, news outlet interviews, and academic panels related to her research. Her scholarly output includes over 40 peer-reviewed scientific articles, six granted patents, and an FDA-approved implant available on the market. Notable publications feature 'Dual-Crosslinked Alginate-Based Hydrogels with Tunable Mechanical Properties for Cultured Meat' (Tahir and Floreani, Foods, 2022), 'Whey Protein Isolate Composites as Potential Scaffolds for Cultivated Meat' (Charron et al., ACS Applied Bio Materials, 2024), and 'Bio-inspired green light crosslinked alginate-heparin hydrogels support HUVEC tube formation' (Charron et al., 2021). Committed to education and outreach, she provides hands-on laboratory experiences to local high school students and mentors female and non-binary K-12 students pursuing STEM fields.