The Montclare lab engineers proteins for applications in medicine, electronics and environmental remediation.
The Protein Engineering and Molecular Design Lab began July 2005. Broadly, our lab is focused on engineering macromolecules. The long-term goal of our lab research is to be able to predictably design or engineer artificial therapeutics, biocatalyst, scaffolds and cells. We seek to provide biologically inspired solutions to address the challenges of human disorder treatment and medicine, sustainable energy and environmental remediation.
05/28/2026
Welcome Darren Sea and Basia Czarkowska to ! Both are rising & majors joining us this summer. Darren will be advancing research on for plastic degradation and sustainability, while Basia will be developing for gene delivery applications.
Excited to see their contributions to the lab and to support the next generation of scientists and engineers through hands-on interdisciplinary research!
05/27/2026
Job well done to Megh Raj Bhatt, PhD and Andrew Bai for presenting their protein engineered biomaterials research at the 2026 NYAS Chemical Biology Symposium!
The keynote speaker was Alanna Schepartz who is our lab academic parent ( PhD Advisor)!
Grateful to the academic family, mentors and collaborators…the future is bright! ProteinEngineering
05/22/2026
Congratulations to Katarina Milas for passing her qualifying exam with flying colors! She is now officially a candidate! 🎉🎂
05/11/2026
Official hooding ceremony to honor Dr. Jonathan Sun! Congratulations !
05/10/2026
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there!
05/08/2026
Job well done to Muhammadzohir Hidoyatov for presenting his research on fluorinated biomaterials at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Polymer Day 2026!
05/07/2026
Please join is in Congratulating Temi Majekodunmi & Dr. Jonathan Sun on being celebrated at the 2026 Commencement Award Ceremony!
Temi was awarded the Inclusive Excellence Award, a testament to their commitment to building a more equitable and welcoming community.
Jonathan received the Irving Skeist Award for the best thesis, showcasing incredible depth, research, and dedication to their field.
Congratulations to you both on these well-deserved honors! 🎉
05/04/2026
Congratulations to Naomi Crook & Andrew Bai for presenting their research at the 73rd Annual American Chemical Society Undergraduate Research Symposium!
05/01/2026
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Jonathan Sun on the successful completion of his PhD thesis and public defense. Jonathan’s work represents a remarkable journey across scales in biomaterials—from fundamental protein design to integrated systems with real-world impact. His research spanned applications from gene delivery to water-responsive materials, reflecting both technical depth and creative breadth.
04/30/2026
We hosted the 2026 Capstone competition where students from all the departments competed with their projects that aim to solve some very important problems. This whole event was made possible by and fellows Pooja Shah, Jonathan Sun & Kaushik Sunder!