Eric Darling is Associate Professor of Medical Science, Engineering, and Orthopaedics and is faculty in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and a member of the Center for Biomedical Engineering. He received a B.S. in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College, a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Rice University, and post-doctoral training at Duke University.
As a member of the Center for Biomedical Engineering, the goal of Professor Darling's research is to understand the relationship between the biological function of cells and tissues and their micro/nano-scale mechanical properties, with special focus on stem cells. Professor Darling's long-term objective is to use quantitative assessment of the mechanical and biological characteristics of heterogeneous cell populations to improve tissue regeneration and cell-based therapies.
His research program encompasses major topics in cell mechanics, stem cells, and regenerative medicine. A primary focus is to understand how the mechanical properties of cells and tissues influence their behavior, with studies emphasizing both fundamental phenomena and translational applications. Areas of expertise include cartilage tissue engineering, cellular mechanics, and more recently drug delivery. Hyper-compliant microparticles are a core technology originally developed in the Darling Lab and are being applied to each of these areas due to their unique characteristics and physical similarity to living cells. Beyond mechanobiology-focused projects, major research thrusts also include studying cellular heterogeneity and practical methods for sorting/enrichment of adult stem cells.
| Gutierrez, Robert A., Fonseca, Vera C., Darling, Eric M. "Chondrogenesis of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Using an Arrayed Spheroid Format." Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, 2022. |
| Gutierrez RA, Fonseca VC, Darling EM. "Chondrogenesis of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Using an Arrayed Spheroid Format." Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, vol. 15, no. 6, 2022, pp. 587-597. |
| Dempsey, Megan E., Chickering, Graylen R., González-Cruz, Rafael D., Fonseca, Vera C., Darling, Eric M. "Discovery of surface biomarkers for cell mechanophenotype via an intracellular protein-based enrichment strategy." Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, vol. 79, no. 6, 2022. |
| Gutierrez RA, Fang W, Kesari H, Darling EM. "Corrigendum to "Force sensors for measuring microenvironmental forces during mesenchymal condensation" [Biomaterials 270 (2021) 120684]." Biomaterials, vol. 277, 2021, pp. 121132. |
| Gutierrez, Robert A., Fang, Wenqiang, Kesari, Haneesh, Darling, Eric M. "Force sensors for measuring microenvironmental forces during mesenchymal condensation." Biomaterials, vol. 270, 2021, pp. 120684. |
| Dempsey, Megan E., Woodford-Berry, Olivia, Darling, Eric M. "Quantification of Antibody Persistence for Cell Surface Protein Labeling." Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, vol. 14, no. 3, 2021, pp. 267-277. |
| Dubay, Ryan, Urban, Joseph N., Darling, Eric M. "Single‐Cell Microgels for Diagnostics and Therapeutics." Advanced Functional Materials, 2021, pp. 2009946. |
| Parsons, Adrienne M., Darling, Eric M. "Temporal responsiveness of adipose-derived stem/stromal cell immune plasticity." Experimental Cell Research, vol. 406, no. 1, 2021, pp. 112738. |
| Dubay, R., Fiering, J., Darling, E. M. "Effect of elastic modulus on inertial displacement of cell-like particles in microchannels." Biomicrofluidics, vol. 14, no. 4, 2020, pp. 044110. |
| Sadick, Jessica S., Crawford, Lorin A., Cramer, Harry C., Franck, Christian, Liddelow, Shane A., Darling, Eric M. "Generating Cell Type-Specific Protein Signatures from Non-symptomatic and Diseased Tissues." Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2020. |
| Sarnik, Sylvia A., Sutermaster, Bryan A., Darling, Eric M. "Mass‐Added Density Modulation for Sorting Cells Based on Differential Surface Protein Levels." Cytometry Part A, 2020. |
| Sutermaster BA, Darling EM. "Considerations for high-yield, high-throughput cell enrichment: fluorescence versus magnetic sorting." Scientific reports, vol. 9, no. 1, 2019, pp. 227. |
| Shah MK, Leary EA, Darling EM. "Integration of hyper-compliant microparticles into a 3D melanoma tumor model." Journal of Biomechanics, vol. 82, 2019, pp. 46-53. |
| Meyer, Kristin C., Labriola, Nicholas R., Darling, Eric M., Kaehr, Bryan. "Shape‐Preserved Transformation of Biological Cells into Synthetic Hydrogel Microparticles." Advanced Biosystems, vol. 3, no. 4, 2019, pp. 1800285. |
| Labriola NR, Sadick JS, Morgan JR, Mathiowitz E, Darling EM. "Cell Mimicking Microparticles Influence the Organization, Growth, and Mechanophenotype of Stem Cell Spheroids." Annals of Biomedical Engineering, vol. 46, no. 8, 2018, pp. 1146-1159. |
| Labriola, Nicholas R., Azagury, Aharon, Gutierrez, Robert, Mathiowitz, Edith, Darling, Eric M. "Concise Review: Fabrication, Customization, and Application of Cell Mimicking Microparticles in Stem Cell Science." STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, 2018. |
| Clyne, Alisa Morss, Marcolongo, Michele, Darling, Eric M., Chahine, Nadeen O. "Correction to: Translating Mechanobiology to the Clinic: A Panel Discussion from the 2018 CMBE Conference." Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, vol. 12, no. 1, 2018, pp. 131-131. |
| González-Cruz RD, Sadick JS, Fonseca VC, Darling EM. "Nuclear Lamin Protein C Is Linked to Lineage-Specific, Whole-Cell Mechanical Properties." Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, vol. 11, no. 2, 2018, pp. 131-142. |
| Parsons AM, Ciombor DM, Liu PY, Darling EM. "Regenerative Potential and Inflammation-Induced Secretion Profile of Human Adipose-Derived Stromal Vascular Cells Are Influenced by Donor Variability and Prior Breast Cancer Diagnosis." Stem Cell Reviews and Reports, vol. 14, no. 4, 2018, pp. 546-557. |
| Azagury, Aharon, Fonseca, Vera C., Cho, Daniel Y., Perez-Rogers, James, Baker, Christopher M., Steranka, Elaine, Goldenshtein, Victoria, Calvao, Dominick, Darling, Eric M., Mathiowitz, Edith. "Single Step Double-walled Nanoencapsulation (SSDN)." Journal of Controlled Release, vol. 280, 2018, pp. 11-19. |
| Dempsey ME, Marble HD, Shen TL, Fawzi NL, Darling EM. "Synthesis and Characterization of a Magnetically Active 19F Molecular Beacon." Bioconjugate Chem., vol. 29, no. 2, 2018, pp. 335-342. |
| González-Cruz RD, Dahl KN, Darling EM. "The Emerging Role of Lamin C as an Important LMNA Isoform in Mechanophenotype." Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, vol. 6, 2018, pp. 151. |
| Clyne, Alisa Morss, Marcolongo, Michele, Darling, Eric M., Chahine, Nadeen O. "Translating Mechanobiology to the Clinic: a panel discussion from the 2018 CMBE Conference." Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, vol. 11, no. 6, 2018, pp. 531-535. |
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Athanasiou KA, Darling EM, Duraine GD, Hu JC, Reddi AH.
Articular Cartilage, Second Edition. CRC Press, 2017.
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| Clyne, Alisa Morss, Darling, Eric M., Chahine, Nadeen O. "Discovering the Keys: Transformative and Translational Mechanobiology." Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, vol. 10, no. 4, 2017, pp. 273-274. |
| Labriola, Nicholas R., Mathiowitz, Edith, Darling, Eric M. "Fabricating polyacrylamide microbeads by inverse emulsification to mimic the size and elasticity of living cells." Biomater. Sci., vol. 5, no. 1, 2017, pp. 41-45. |
| Xia Y, Darling EM, Herzog W. "Functional properties of chondrocytes and articular cartilage using optical imaging to scanning probe microscopy." Journal of Orthopaedic Research, vol. 36, no. 2, 2017, pp. 620-631. |
| Shah MK, Garcia-Pak IH, Darling EM. "Influence of Inherent Mechanophenotype on Competitive Cellular Adherence." Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2017. |
| Sadick, Jessica S., Darling, Eric M. "Processing fixed and stored adipose-derived stem cells for quantitative protein array assays." BioTechniques, vol. 63, no. 6, 2017. |
| López-Fagundo C, Livi LL, Ramchal T, Darling EM, Hoffman-Kim D. "A biomimetic synthetic feeder layer supports the proliferation and self-renewal of mouse embryonic stem cells." Acta Biomaterialia, vol. 39, 2016, pp. 55-64. |
| Chen Y, Cossman J, Jayasuriya CT, Li X, Guan Y, Fonseca V, Yang K, Charbonneau C, Yu H, Kanbe K, Ma P, Darling E, Chen Q. "Deficient Mechanical Activation of Anabolic Transcripts and Post-Traumatic Cartilage Degeneration in Matrilin-1 Knockout Mice." PLoS ONE, vol. 11, no. 6, 2016, pp. e0156676. |
| Beane OS, Darling LE, Fonseca VC, Darling EM. "Disparate Response to Methotrexate in Stem Versus Non-Stem Cells." Stem cell reviews and reports, vol. 12, no. 3, 2016, pp. 340-51. |
| Sadick JS, Boutin ME, Hoffman-Kim D, Darling EM. "Protein characterization of intracellular target-sorted, formalin-fixed cell subpopulations." Scientific reports, vol. 6, 2016, pp. 33999. |
| Darling EM, Di Carlo D. "High-Throughput Assessment of Cellular Mechanical Properties." Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, vol. 17, 2015, pp. 35-62. |
| Labriola, Nicholas R., Darling, Eric M. "Temporal heterogeneity in single-cell gene expression and mechanical properties during adipogenic differentiation." Journal of Biomechanics, vol. 48, no. 6, 2015, pp. 1058-1066. |
| Dingle, Yu-Ting L., Boutin, Molly E., Chirila, Anda M., Livi, Liane L., Labriola, Nicholas R., Jakubek, Lorin M., Morgan, Jeffrey R., Darling, Eric M., Kauer, Julie A., Hoffman-Kim, Diane. "Three-Dimensional Neural Spheroid Culture: An In Vitro Model for Cortical Studies." Tissue Engineering Part C: Methods, vol. 21, no. 12, 2015, pp. 1274-1283. |
| Dingle YT, Boutin ME, Chirila AM, Livi LL, Labriola NR, Jakubek LM, Morgan JR, Darling EM, Kauer JA, Hoffman-Kim D. "Three-Dimensional Neural Spheroid Culture: An In Vitro Model for Cortical Studies." Tissue engineering. Part C, Methods, vol. 21, no. 12, 2015, pp. 1274-83. |
| Toyjanova J, Hannen E, Bar-Kochba E, Darling EM, Henann DL, Franck C. "3D Viscoelastic traction force microscopy." Soft Matter, vol. 10, no. 40, 2014, pp. 8095-106. |
| Beane, Olivia S., Fonseca, Vera C., Darling, Eric M. "Adipose-derived stem cells retain their regenerative potential after methotrexate treatment." Experimental Cell Research, 2014. |
| Kanthilal, Manisha, Darling, Eric M. "Characterization of Mechanical and Regenerative Properties of Human, Adipose Stromal Cells." Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, 2014. |
| Marble, Hetal D, Sutermaster, Bryan A, Kanthilal, Manisha, Fonseca, Vera C, Darling, Eric M. "Gene expression-based enrichment of live cells from adipose tissue produces subpopulations with improved osteogenic potential." Stem Cell Res Ther, vol. 5, no. 5, 2014, pp. 145. |
| Beane OS, Fonseca VC, Cooper LL, Koren G, Darling EM. "Impact of aging on the regenerative properties of bone marrow-, muscle-, and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells." PLoS ONE, vol. 9, no. 12, 2014, pp. e115963. |
| Desai HV, Voruganti IS, Jayasuriya C, Chen Q, Darling EM. "Live-cell, temporal gene expression analysis of osteogenic differentiation in adipose-derived stem cells." Tissue engineering. Part A, vol. 20, no. 5-6, 2014, pp. 899-907. |
| González-Cruz RD, Darling EM. "Adipose-derived stem cell fate is predicted by cellular mechanical properties." Adipocyte, vol. 2, no. 2, 2013, pp. 87-91. |
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Athanasiou KA, Darling EM, Duraine GD, Hu JC, Reddi AH.
Articular Cartilage. Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2013.
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Darling Eric M., Athanasiou Kyriacos A.
"Bioactive scaffold design for articular cartilage engineering." Biomedical Technology and Devices Handbook, 2nd Edition, edited by Moore Jr J, Maitland D, Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press, 2013.
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| Desai HV, Voruganti IS, Jayasuriya C, Chen Q, Darling EM. "Live-cell, temporal gene expression analysis of osteogenic differentiation in adipose-derived stem cells." Tissue engineering. Part A, vol. 19, no. 1-2, 2013, pp. 40-8. |
| González-Cruz RD, Fonseca VC, Darling EM. "Cellular mechanical properties reflect the differentiation potential of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 109, no. 24, 2012, pp. E1523-9. |
| Beane OS, Darling EM. "Isolation, characterization, and differentiation of stem cells for cartilage regeneration." Annals of Biomedical Engineering, vol. 40, no. 10, 2012, pp. 2079-97. |
| Gilchrist CL, Darling EM, Chen J, Setton LA. "Extracellular matrix ligand and stiffness modulate immature nucleus pulposus cell-cell interactions." PLoS ONE, vol. 6, no. 11, 2011, pp. e27170. |
| Darling EM. "Force scanning: a rapid, high-resolution approach for spatial mechanical property mapping." Nanotechnology, vol. 22, no. 17, 2011, pp. 175707. |
| Yim EK, Darling EM, Kulangara K, Guilak F, Leong KW. "Nanotopography-induced changes in focal adhesions, cytoskeletal organization, and mechanical properties of human mesenchymal stem cells." Biomaterials, vol. 31, no. 6, 2010, pp. 1299-306. |
| Darling EM, Wilusz RE, Bolognesi MP, Zauscher S, Guilak F. "Spatial mapping of the biomechanical properties of the pericellular matrix of articular cartilage measured in situ via atomic force microscopy." Biophysical Journal, vol. 98, no. 12, 2010, pp. 2848-56. |
| Athanasiou KA, Darling EM, Hu JCY. Articular Cartilage Tissue Engineering. Morgan & Claypool Publishers, 2009. |
| Darling EM, Pritchett PE, Evans BA, Superfine R, Zauscher S, Guilak F. "Mechanical properties and gene expression of chondrocytes on micropatterned substrates following dedifferentiation in monolayer." Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, vol. 2, no. 3, 2009, pp. 395-404. |
| Darling EM, Guilak F. "A neural network model for cell classification based on single-cell biomechanical properties." Tissue engineering. Part A, vol. 14, no. 9, 2008, pp. 1507-15. |
| Coles JM, Blum JJ, Jay GD, Darling EM, Guilak F, Zauscher S. "In situ friction measurement on murine cartilage by atomic force microscopy." Journal of Biomechanics, vol. 41, no. 3, 2008, pp. 541-8. |
| Darling EM, Topel M, Zauscher S, Vail TP, Guilak F. "Viscoelastic properties of human mesenchymally-derived stem cells and primary osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipocytes." Journal of Biomechanics, vol. 41, no. 2, 2008, pp. 454-64. |
| Darling EM, Zauscher S, Block JA, Guilak F. "A thin-layer model for viscoelastic, stress-relaxation testing of cells using atomic force microscopy: do cell properties reflect metastatic potential?." Biophysical Journal, vol. 92, no. 5, 2007, pp. 1784-91. |
| Darling EM, Zauscher S, Guilak F. "Viscoelastic properties of zonal articular chondrocytes measured by atomic force microscopy." Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, vol. 14, no. 6, 2006, pp. 571-9. |
| Darling EM, Athanasiou KA. "Growth factor impact on articular cartilage subpopulations." Cell and tissue research, vol. 322, no. 3, 2005, pp. 463-73. |
| Darling EM, Athanasiou KA. "Rapid phenotypic changes in passaged articular chondrocyte subpopulations." Journal of Orthopaedic Research, vol. 23, no. 2, 2005, pp. 425-32. |
| Darling EM, Athanasiou KA. "Retaining zonal chondrocyte phenotype by means of novel growth environments." Tissue engineering, vol. 11, no. 3-4, 2005, pp. 395-403. |
| Darling EM, Athanasiou KA. "Bioactive scaffold design for articular cartilage engineering." Biomedical Technology and Devices Handbook, edited by Moore J, Zouridakis G, Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press, 2004. |
| Darling EM, Hu JC, Athanasiou KA. "Zonal and topographical differences in articular cartilage gene expression." Journal of Orthopaedic Research, vol. 22, no. 6, 2004, pp. 1182-7. |
| Darling EM, Athanasiou KA. "Articular cartilage bioreactors and bioprocesses." Tissue engineering, vol. 9, no. 1, 2003, pp. 9-26. |
| Darling EM, Athanasiou KA. "Biomechanical strategies for articular cartilage regeneration." Annals of Biomedical Engineering, vol. 31, no. 9, 2003, pp. 1114-24. |
RIH/Brown Orthopaedics COBRE (P30 GM122732, PI: Chen)
National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health
Title: AFM subcontract for the bioengineering core of the COBRE for Skeletal Health and Repair
Role: Subcontractor
Project Period: 09/01/2017 - 08/31/2022
National Science Foundation (CMMI 2054193)
Title: Measurement of In Situ Mechanical Forces During Neotissue Formation
Role: PI
Project Period: 06/01/2021-05/31/2024
| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | PhD | Rice University |
| 2000 | BS | Harvey Mudd College |
| Postdoctoral fellow | Duke University, orthopaedic surgery | 2004-2009 | Durham, NC, USA |
2019, Acta Biomaterialia Reviewer Excellence Award for 2018
2014, Manning Assistant Professor of Medical Science
2013, Rice University BIOE Outstanding Graduate Alumnus
2013, NSF CAREER Award
2012, Nanotechnology '2011 Highlights' collection article
2011, Rising Star, BMES-SPRBM Conference on Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering
2010, Award for Editorial Excellence, Annals of Biomedical Engineering
2008, 26th Army Science Conference, Bronze Award for best paper
2008, Duke University, Kewaunee Post-Doctoral Achievement Award
2007, AIMM-ASBMR John Haddad Young Investigator Award
2007, Orthopaedic Research Society's New Investigator Recognition Award Finalist
2007, Pathway to Independence Award, NIH/NIAMS
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Coulombe, Kareen | Associate Professor of Engineering |
| Crawford, Lorin | Distinguished Senior Fellow in Biostatistics |
| Crisco, Joseph | Henry F. Lippitt Professor of Orthopedics, Professor of Engineering (Research) |
| Dawson, Michelle | Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry |
| Fawzi, Nicolas | Professor of Medical Science |
| Fleming, Braden | Lucy Lippitt Professor of Orthopaedics, Professor of Engineering |
| Freiman, Richard | Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Hoffman-Kim, Diane | Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Chair, Brown University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Associate Professor of Engineering |
| Kesari, Haneesh | Associate Professor of Engineering |
| Koren, Gideon | Professor of Medicine |
| Mathiowitz, Edith | Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Professor of Engineering |
| Morgan, Jeffrey | Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Donna Weiss '89 and Jason Weiss Director of the Center for Alternatives to Animals in Testing, Professor of Engineering |
| Morrow, Eric | Mencoff Family Professor of Biology, Professor of Brain Science, Professor of Neuroscience, Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior |
| Oancea, Elena | Professor of Medical Science |
| Quesenberry, Peter | Paul Calabresi, M.D. Professor of Oncology, Professor of Medicine |
| Shukla, Anita | Elaine I. Savage Professor of Engineering, Professor of Engineering |
| Tripathi, Anubhav | Professor of Engineering, Director of Biomedical Engineering |
| Wong, Ian | Associate Professor of Engineering, Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine |
| Yang, Wentian | Professor of Medicine, Professor of Orthopaedics |
Biomedical Engineering Society
Orthopaedic Research Society
Cellular and Molecular Biology, BMES Special Interest Group
| BIOL 1150 - Stem Cell Engineering |
| BIOL 2230 - Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology Seminar |
