Jorge Almodovar is an associate professor at the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). He earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University and his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Colorado State University (CSU). At CSU he investigated the delivery and stability of growth factors using polysaccharide-based biomaterials. After CSU, he worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Grenoble Institute of Technology in Grenoble, France investigating the formation of gradients on polyelectrolyte multilayer films, funded by the Whitaker International Program. Prior to joining UMBC, he was a faculty member at the Chemical Engineering Departments at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez and the University of Arkansas. His research interests include extracellular matrix mimetic biomaterials, cell-material interactions, and biomaterials as therapeutics. His research focus is on the engineering of biomimetic materials—inspired by the native cell environment—for fundamental studies, cell manufacturing, tissue engineering, therapeutics, drug delivery and regenerative medicine. His research team works multiple polymer-based biomaterials such as polyelectrolyte multilayers, microneedles, electrospun nanofibers, among others. He is an author of over 40 peer-reviewed research articles, 2 patents, 5 book chapters, and an editor for one textbook. He serves in the editorial board of the Cells Tissues Organs Journal. His group has been funded by the NSF, NIH, USDA, DoD among others. He has received multiple awards throughout his career including the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, Journal of Materials Chemistry B Emerging Investigator Award, and the, Cells Tissues Organs Journal Young Investigator Award.