Dr. Michael R. King

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E.D. Butcher Chair of Bioengineering & CPRIT Scholar
Special Advisor to the Provost on Life Science Collaborations with the Texas Medical Center

Professor of Bioengineering

Ph. D. in Chemical Engineering from University of Notre Dame

B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Rochester

Michael R. King is the E.D. Butcher Chair of Bioengineering at Rice University. Previously, he was a J. Lawrence Wilson Professor of engineering and chair of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University.  He completed a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Notre Dame and postdoctoral training in bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He has written textbooks on the subjects of statistical methods and microchannel flows and has received several awards including the NSF CAREER Award, Outstanding Research Awards from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Society of Clinical Chemistry, and was a James D. Watson Investigator of New York State. King is additionally a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering, and serves as Vice President of the International Society of Bionic Engineering. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, an official journal of the Biomedical Engineering Society, and serves as the Chair-Elect of the Biomedical Engineering Council of Chairs.

The King Lab works at the interface between Cellular Engineering, Drug Delivery, and Nanotechnology. They employ tools and concepts from engineering to understand biomedically important processes that occur in the bloodstream including cancer metastasis, inflammation, and thrombosis. They have found that tumor cells in circulation can mimic the physical mechanisms used by white blood cells to traffic through the body and adhere to the blood vessel wall and have explored strategies to interrupt this metastasis process by targeting specific adhesion receptors. The selectin adhesion receptors important in leukocyte, stem cell, and CTC trafficking have unique biophysics that make them ideal for targeted drug delivery. This group has pioneered the use of selectin proteins to deliver apoptosis death signals to tumor cells in flowing blood and to deliver therapeutic cargo (e.g., siRNA, chemotherapeutics) encapsulated in nanoscale liposomes. The King lab is currently testing these novel cancer therapies in mouse models containing metastatic breast and prostate cancer through the use of whole body luminescence imaging and in blood samples collected from human volunteers diagnosed with cancer at various stages.

Michael King has been married to Cynthia Reinhart-King, Chair and Professor of Rice Biongineering, since 2002, and together they have two sons: Simon (age 13) and Julian (age 6). They will arrive to Rice University being Nashville residents the last 7 years, residing previously in Brentwood, TN.

Outside of work and family interests include being the founder of VIBE: the Vanderbilt Initiative of Biofunky Engineers, a musical group of biomedical engineering faculty and graduate students who have performed since 2017 on and off the Vanderbilt campus and have performed live over the air on Radio Free Nashville. Other interests include: being a fanatical lacrosse dad, smoking various meats, discoveries new capabilities of ChatGPT, and wheeling around town in a Jeep Wrangler with no doors.

• Editor-in-Chief, Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering
• Fellow, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
• Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
• Outstanding Speaker Award, American Association of Clinical Chemistry
• Fiona Ip Li ‘78 and Donald Li ’75 Award for Teaching Excellence, Cornell University
• Professor of the Year in Engineering, University of Rochester
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award
• James D. Watson Investigator Award, New York State Office for Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR)
• Whitaker Investigator, The Whitaker Foundation
• National Academy of Inventors Fellow

Email: Mike.King@rice.edu

Office: 4th floor, BioScience Research Collaborative

Lab: 440, BioScience Research Collaborative

Lab Manager Specialist

Email: cd150@rice.edu

Carolina’s work has previously revolved around the effect of mutations at different levels. Previously a researcher at Yale University, she explored the impact of various sources of stress on the growth of healthy bacteria vs. mutant bacteria deficient in components of innate stress responses such as chaperones and/or proteases. She has also studied the fitness effect of mutations depending on genetic background (epistasis) with bacteria, and the effect of mutation accumulation on the survival of small populations, using catalytic RNA (ribozymes). By transferring such knowledge in addition to her soft skills acquired throughout her career, Carolina now contributes to the efforts and the scientific questions being asked in the mechanobiology-driven Rice King lab! She is excited to embark on a new journey and join a group that studies disease mechanics that have the potential to directly influence and impact human health. Outside of research, Carolina loves to travel and explore new cultures, sharing time with family and friends, painting, and walking.

Research Assistant Professor

Email: zz32@rice.edu

Having come from China where he received his Ph.D. in Chemical Biology from Peking University at Beijing in 2011, Jason is now a research assistant professor in the King Lab. His work focuses on developing nanomaterials for the delivery of a wide variety of drugs to metastatic cancer cells in the circulation. One such therapeutic Jason interfaces with is Tumor necrosis factor-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL), and he works to package soluble TRAIL in a variety of nano carriers as well as work on fusogenic liposomes with TRAIL as the delivered drug to avoid endocytosis and endosomal encapsulation.

 On the weekends, Jason enjoys all kinds of outdoors activities, including: fishing, hiking, kayaking, and more! He is a man of the forest! He also enjoys taking a chill day with his Poodle who's been his buddy since 2020!

Postdoctoral Researcher

Email:  lr68@rice.edu

Dr. Liqin Ren joined the King Lab as a postdoctoral fellow in 2024 after completing her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her doctoral research focused on developing ultrasound-switchable fluorescence (USF) imaging for high-resolution, deep-tissue visualization, particularly in tumor models. At King lab, she is expanding her expertise by investigating the therapeutic and diagnostic potential of focused ultrasound, with a focus on combining ultrasound-mediated treatments with fluorescence imaging in both in vitro and mouse models. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, drawing, and staying active through fitness training.

Postdoctoral Researcher

Email:  dg150@rice.edu

Previously a researcher at Harvard University, Davoud is joining us with  expertise in immunology on many fronts.  His most recent work focused on therapeutic, immune-based targets for COVID-19 and Long COVID, promoting the growing field of minimizing the lasting effects of the COVID virus in its various mutations.  Taking his extensive knowledge in immunology, he has been tasked with taking the King Lab focus of mechanotransduction and applying it to none other than macrophages.  Macrophages polarize and depolarize under different conditions related to cancer, and preliminary findings have revealed that mechanical stressors can revert macrophages to alternate states that might help macrophages fight instead of assist cancer.... stay tuned!

5th Year Ph.D. Candidate • NSF Graduate Research Fellow

Email:  ns107@rice.edu

Originally from Orlando, FL, Nicole received her BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Florida. She started in the King lab at Vanderbilt University in Fall 2021, where her PhD research focuses on all things T cell mechanobiology. Specifically, Nicole has demonstrated how the mechanical stimulus of fluid shear stress (FSS) can be incorporated in ex vivo T cell manufacturing protocols to enhance activation and cytotoxicity for adoptive cell immunotherapies. Her research integrates experimental immunobiology, membrane biophysics, and computational modeling to understand how age- and sex-dependent differences in T cell mechanical properties regulate FSS-induced T cell activation. 

In addition to her PhD research, Nicole obtained her Master's degree while at Vanderbilt, where she characterized circulating tumor cells from metastatic prostate cancer patients undergoing a recently approved targeted therapy, Pluvicto. And last but certainly not least, she's investigating a promising combination treatment for glioblastoma that utilizes the common SSRI, Prozac! Outside of the lab, Nicole enjoys hanging out with her friends (and her cat!), painting, and playing the violin! 

Website: http://www.nicolesarna.com 

5th Year Ph.D. Candidate • NSF Graduate Research Fellow

Email:   abigail.fabiano@vanderbilt.edu 

Abby grew up in New Jersey, where she received her BS in Chemical Engineering at Rutgers University with a minor in Human Resource Management. She joined the King Lab in 2021 and since then, her PhD research has focused on studying cancer cell mechanotransduction during metastasis, with a focus on prostate cancer. Her work combines new, multiplex approaches to study how biophysical forces (such as fluid shear stress) in the bloodstream confer survival advantages to cancer cells through implementing the use of in vitro and in vivo methodologies, in which she is currently exploring novel therapeutic targets to provide alternate treatments. Abby has also extensively explored the use of low-intensity, therapeutic focused ultrasound (FUS) to develop multi-therapeutic strategies to treat both prostate cancer and glioblastoma, which both combine the use of TRAIL. Abby looks forward to continuing a research career in industry. Outside the lab Abby enjoys running marathons, drinking excessive amounts of caffeine as well as traveling to Nepal often to provide relief and support to communities in need. Fun fact: Abby is dog mom to a super rare basenji pup!

5th Year Ph.D. Student • NSF Graduate Research Fellow

Email:  nc85@rice.edu

From Fort Smith, AR, Natalie studied Biomedical Engineering and minored in Mathematics at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. Her research focuses on macrophage polarization and depolarization and signaling occurrence when these cells change states and sometimes dangerously become cancer-assisting fiends. Her future research goals involve understanding macrophage infiltration during cancer metastasis and utilizing in vitro models of clustered metastasis to understand the effects of different types and subtypes of macrophages on cancer progression.  When she is not in lab, she loves to read, embroider, and knit!

4th Year Ph.D. Student

Email:  ea53@rice.edu

Coming from University of Washington in Seattle, Ehsan has an incredible background to the research we do here at King Lab.  He started as a mechanical engineer, slowly working his way to becoming an expert via multitudes of certification in things such as immunology and cancer biology.  His passion lies in experience, as Ehsan has survived the disease we study everyday and lives to not only tell about but help find a cure alongside other King Lab members.  His research focuses on entrapment of circulating tumor cells and clusters and the characterization of such from primary cancer patient as well as inoculated mouse samples to up the ante on clinical detection. Outside of the lab, Ehsan loves capturing the beauty of candid life happening around us with his unmatched photography skills and continues to impress with an ever-growing collection of musical equipment to supplement his guitar skills.

3rd Year Ph.D. Student

Email:  bk72@rice.edu

Previously at University of Florida, Ben studied Biomedical Engineering and worked in the Sharma laboratory having had the opportunity to gain experience with cellular biology before entering the King Lab. His research focuses on T-cell activation through new means such as via ultrasound . He aims to understand how mechanically sensitive ion channels, their regulation, and their downstream effects play a crucial role in noninvasive activation of T-cells for potential use in immunotherapy applications. When he is not in lab, he loves to play volleyball, hang with friends, try the newest food spot, and take advantage of any cold weather he can! Ben will walk any distance with friends to get the best coffee too.

3rd Year Ph.D. Student

Email:  ac272@rice.edu

From Knoxville, TN, Alex attended the University of Tennessee Knoxville studying a combination of Materials Science and Biomedical Engineering. Her research focuses on cancer metastasis, especially looking at prostate cancer. She is currently looking at the blood of prostate cancer patients in order to isolate circulating cancer cells in hopes of 1:1 modeling such clusters in vitro using novel, King lab-derived microwell array devices capable of making THOUSANDS of model CTC aggregated at a time. When she is not hanging around the lab, she loves investing time in gaining entrepreneurial experience and, less academically, making music, playing with her corgi, baking, and running.

2nd Year Ph.D. Student

Email:  mcantu@rice.edu

Melissa joined the lab in Fall 2024 with a passion for engineering biology to create accessible modern medicine. Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, and the Rio Grande Valley, she earned her B.S. in Bioengineering from Rice University in May 2024. Her research lives at the intersection of synthetic biology and T cell mechanotransduction, where she develops optimized methods for CAR T cell production to improve efficacy and reduce costs in cancer immunotherapy applications.

Outside the lab, you’ll find Melissa taking regular walks through Hermann Park, running, doing yoga, or strength training. She enjoys exploring Houston's diverse culinary scene, volunteering at local nonprofits, and attending live music performances.

Website:  https://riceuni.my.canva.site/melissacantu 

2nd Year Ph.D. Student

Email:  al223@rice.edu

Prior to his joining the King lab in early Spring 2025, Allen worked as a research technologist at Boston Children's Hospital, affiliated with Harvard Medical School. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in Biomedical and Environmental Biology from Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan. His previous work involved employing cross-disciplinary approaches—such as metabolomics, proteomics, human genetics, and tissue engineering—to explore brain-related diseases. Moving forward, Allen is excited to integrate these skills to focus on revolutionizing glioblastoma therapeutics in the context of mechanobiology alongside members of the King lab. Outside of the lab, Allen is an avid table tennis player, a whiz on the badminton court, and a beginner but loves to work on the latest trick shot with friends at the tennis.

Website: http://www.linkedin.com/in/allenchilunluo