Professional History

Smith College, 2013–present, AssociateProfessor of Chemistry

Mills College, 2012–13, Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry

California Institute of Technology, 2010–12, Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Maren Buck is interested in organic and polymer chemistry and the assembly of macromolecular materials useful for applications in medicine. Her lab is currently working on two primary projects. The first project involves the synthesis of amphiphilic block copolymers that assemble into nanostructured micelles in aqueous media. These micelles are chemically modified in ways that permit the targeted and controlled delivery of encapsulated therapeutics for applications in cancer therapy. The second major area of research in the Buck Lab involves the assembly of topographically and chemically patterned hydrogels for the development of cell-instructive scaffolds. These materials are of interest in the context of wound healing and tissue engineering and regeneration. 

Selected Publications

Dooling, L., Buck, M. E., Zhang, W., Tirrell, D. A. “Programming molecular association and viscoelastic behavior in protein networks.” Advanced Materials 2016, 28, 4651-4657.

Buck, M. E., Tirrell, D. A., Artificial Proteins in Comprehensive Polymer Science, second edition, Elsevier, Vol. 9.

Buck, M. E., Lynn, D. M., "Azlactone-Functionalized Polymers as Reactive Platforms for the Design of Advanced Materials: Progress in the Last Ten Years," Polymer Chemistry, 2012, 3, 66-80.

Buck, M. E., Lynn, D. M., "Layer-by-Layer Fabrication of Covalently Crosslinked and Reactive Polymer Multilayers Using Azlactone-Functionalized Copolymers: A Platform for the Design of Functional Biointerfaces," Advanced Engineering Materials, 2011, 13, B343-B352.

Buck, M. E., Schwartz, S. C., Lynn, D. M., "Superhydrophobic Thin Films Fabricated by Reactive Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Azlactone-Functionalized Polymers," Chemistry of Materials, 2010, 22, 6319-6327.

Kinsinger, M. I., Buck, M. E., Abbott, N. L., Lynn, D. M., "Immobilization of Polymer-Decorated Liquid Crystal Droplets on Chemically Tailored Surfaces," Langmuir, 2010, 26, 10234-10242.

Sun, B., Liu, X., Buck, M. E., Lynn, D. M., "Azlactone-Functionalized Polymers as Reactive Templates for Parallel Polymer Synthesis: Synthesis and Screening of a Small Library of Cationic Polymers in the Context of DNA Delivery," Chemical Communications, 2010, 46, 2016-2018.

Buck, M. E., Lynn, D. M., "Reactive Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Suspended Thin Films and Semipermeable Membranes at Interfaces Created Between Aqueous and Organic Phases," Advanced Materials, 2010, 22, 994-998.

Buck, M. E., Breitbach, A. S., Belgrade, S. K., Blackwell, H. E., Lynn, D. M., "Chemical Modification of Reactive Multilayered Films Fabricated from Poly(2-alkenyl azlactone)s: Design of Surfaces That Prevent or Promote Mammalian Cell Adhesion and Bacterial Biofilm Growth," Biomacromolecules, 2009, 10, 1564-1574.

Buck, M. E., Zhang, J., Lynn, D. M., "Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Reactive Ultrathin Films Mediated by Click-Type Reactions of Poly(2-alkenyl azlactone)s," Advanced Materials, 2007, 19, 3951-3955.