Joseph M. DeSimone

Joseph M. DeSimone, PhD, Sanjiv Sam Gambhir Professor, Department of Radiology, Department of Chemical Engineering, Professor by courtesy, of Chemistry, of Materials Science and Engineering, and of Operations, Information and Technology at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University

Research Description: The DeSimone Lab advances translational diabetes research through the development of next-generation therapeutic and diagnostic technologies, with a strong emphasis on high-resolution additive manufacturing (AM). DeSimone has engineered two complementary AM platforms that overcome key limitations of traditional UV-based 3D printing. The first, high-resolution Continuous Liquid Interface Production (high-res CLIP), leverages 1.5-micron projection optics and oxygen-mediated photopolymerization to produce microscale structures at speeds up to 100× faster than commercial alternatives. The second, injection CLIP (iCLIP), enables the fabrication of negative spaces, such as microfluidic channels, by continuously displacing trapped resin with fresh, oxygenated resin, preventing uncontrolled curing in the z-axis.

By integrating high-resolution CLIP and iCLIP, we can fabricate complex, freeform 3D structures with digitally defined negative features ranging from 1 to 1000 microns. These capabilities have enabled the development of advanced biomedical devices, including shape-specific drug delivery systems, microneedle array patches, and synthetic angiosomes—perfusable, anatomically inspired 3D tissue constructs designed to overcome critical barriers in tissue engineering and islet transplantation. Through these innovations and interdisciplinary collaboration, our work supports new strategies for disease monitoring, intervention, and long-term diabetes treatment.