Professor Sean Palecek
Sean graduated from the University of Delaware, majoring in chemical engineering with a minor in biology. He began graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, working with Doug Lauffenburger in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Alan Horwitz in the Department of Cell and Structural Biology. Sean moved with Lauffenburger to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, continuing his collaboration with Horwitz, and completing his PhD at MIT focusing on cell adhesion and migration. After this, he served as a post-doctoral researcher with Stephen Kron at the University of Chicago where he focused on yeast adhesion, morphogenesis, and invasive growth.
Sean started the lab group in the fall of 2000. He is currently the Milton J. and Maude Shoemaker Professor and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Sean also serves as the Director of Research for the NSF Engineering Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies and a fellow at the Allen Institute of Cell Sciences.
