Interdisciplinary Research

Ronit Freeman, an associate professor in the UNC Department of Applied Physical Sciences, is conducting research that has the potential to dramatically improve medical therapies and the body’s own healing process.

“My training in various disciplines including chemistry, computer science, nanotechnology and regenerative medicine drives me to investigate problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single area of research practice,” she said.

She works in an area called molecular self-assembly, creating molecules programmed with instructions that allow them to join together into complex structures with a specific shape.

“The potential of that process is breathtaking,” she said. “One day, the specialized molecules we are creating…could repair injuries and regenerate organs. Success would mean better lives for countless patients.”

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