Maisel, Katharina
Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices
B.S.E Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan 2010
Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University 2014
NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Chicago
Katharina Maisel, PhD, works at the intersection of nanotechnology and immunology to tackle a fundamental challenge in medicine: how to deliver therapies across biological barriers, and harness the tissues that shape immune responses. An Associate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland, she leads an interdisciplinary research program combining nanomedicine, engineered tissue models, and immunoengineering to uncover new strategies for treating disease.
Her laboratory looks beyond immune cells alone to investigate the lymphatic vessels, stromal cells, and tissue environments that influence their behavior. By connecting the physical architecture of tissues with immune function, her work links fundamental biological discovery to the design of targeted therapies. Her research spans mucosal drug delivery, immunotherapeutic strategies for the rare lung disease lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), and the tissue changes that contribute to immune aging.
Maisel trained in materials science and engineering at the University of Michigan, earned her PhD in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, and completed NIH-supported postdoctoral training at the University of Chicago before joining Maryland in 2019. Her research has earned an NSF CAREER Award, an NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award, an American Lung Association Innovation Award, and a 2025 Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Award. She was also named Maryland’s 2025 Outstanding Young Engineer. Alongside her research, she has helped expand access to scientific careers through the NIH Maximizing Access to Research Careers program for undergraduate students in STEM.
pronouns: she/her/hers
- mucosal drug delivery
- immunoengineering
- lymphatic pathophysiology and targeting
- modeling stromal cell compartments in vitro
- understanding mucosal diseases
- vaccine development