CURRENT POSITION
Associate Professor, Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Associate Professor by courtesy, Department of Bioengineering
Associate Professor by courtesy, Department of Pediatrics (Endocrinology)
Faculty Fellow, ChEM-H Institute
Faculty Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment
Member, Stanford Bio-X
Member, Institute for Immunity, Transplantation, and Infection
Member, Stanford Cancer Institute
Member, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Faculty Affiliate, eWEAR Initiative
Stanford University
EDUCATION
PhD, Chemistry - Oct 2012
University of Cambridge
Thesis: Cucurbit[8]uril-based Supramolecular Hydrogels: From Fundamentals to Applications in Drug Delivery
BS, Chemistry + MS, Polymers and Coating Science; Minor, Spanish - June 2008
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
MS Thesis: Discrete Biodegradable Polymer Architectures by Macromolecular Self-Assembly
BS Thesis: Chemical Changes of Hydrocarbons during Natural Attenuation in Large-Scale Mesocosms
HONORS, AWARDS, and SCHOLARSHIPS
ACS PMSE Young Investigator, 2019
American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant, 2019-2021
American Diabetes Association Junior Faculty Development Award, 2018-2021
Hellman Faculty Fellowship, 2016-2017
PhRMA Foundation Research Starter Grant, 2017
Frederick E. Terman Faculty Fellowship, 2016-2018
Wellcome Trust-MIT Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2013-2017
Margaret A. Cunningham Immune Mechanisms in Cancer Research Fellowship Award, 2015-2016
NIH NRSA Post-doctoral Fellowship from the NIBIB (awarded and declined), 2013-2016
Jon Weaver PhD Prize, Royal Society of Chemistry (Macro Group UK), 2013
Graduate Student Award, Materials Research Society (USA), Fall 2012
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Feb 2013 - Feb 2016
Research Advisor: Prof. Robert S. Langer (scholar profile)
Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Sept 2008 - Jan 2013
Research Advisor: Prof. Oren A. Scherman (scholar profile)
Advanced Organic Materials Division, IBM Almaden Research Center, Aug 2007 - Sept 2008
Research Advisors: Dr. Robert D. Miller and Dr. James L. Hedrick
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Feb 2006 - Jul 2007
Research Advisors: Prof. Dane Jones and Prof. Max Wills
Research Advisors: Prof. Yarrow Nelson and Prof. Chad Immoos
ABOUT
Eric was born and raised in Long Beach, California. His pursuit of education moved him slowly up the Californian coast, first to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo for his undergraduate and masters level coursework, and then to the San Francisco Bay Area to perform masters thesis research at the IBM Almaden Research Center with Drs. Robert D. Miller and James L. Hedrick. He then married Nicki and the two had an incredible experience in Cambridge, England while Eric pursued his Ph.D. with Prof. Oren Scherman. While in England Nicki and Eric welcomed Paxton. After lots of research, traveling, and a wonderful time abroad, the Appel family moved "back" to the good old US of A for Eric to pursue postdoctoral research with Prof. Robert (Bob) Langer at MIT in Boston. After settling into their new surroundings, Eric and Nicki welcomed Callum to the family. The Appel family moved to California in early 2016 for Eric to pursue a position as Assistant Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at Stanford University. Shortly after arriving in Palo Alto, Eric and Nicki welcomed Shiloh to the family. The Appel family has been thoroughly enjoying their big adventure in California.
When he is not in the lab, Eric loves to snowboard (in bounds and off-piste), surf (although it has been a while since he could do this regularly), hike, cycle (road and mountain), run, rock climb, CrossFit, cook, and spend time with Nicki, Paxton, Callum, and Shiloh. He also loves to travel and read and is always up for good conversation over a drink or two and/or a spontaneous adventure.