About Pam

I am on the faculty job market this fall 2024! If you think I would be a good fit for your program, please reach out. Else, I hope to meet you at conferences in the upcoming months (listed below) to discuss my future research vision.

Hello, I’m Pam Cai – an Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow in the Tirrell Lab at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, where my focus is on synthesizing sustainable polymer materials from biopolymers by leveraging polyelectrolyte complexation. I successfully defended my Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University in May 2023. During my Ph.D., I worked with Professor Andrew Spakowitz and Professor Sarah Heilshorn, focusing on using polymer physics models to gain fundamental insight into biomaterial development and biological fluid physics. Prior to starting my Ph.D., I completed a B.S. in Chemical Engineering at MIT.

Besides research, I am also very dedicated to STEM outreach and have been a part of many mentoring organizations with missions to help women and underrepresented minorities to gain access to resources they need to succeed, including Minds Matter in New York City and Future Advancers for Science and Technology (FAST) at Stanford. I am especially passionate about introducing more students to the field of chemical engineering, which I think gives a great skillset to tackle most modern engineering challenges.

For fun, I love to play music (check out my Portfolio page!), bake, run, and explore the outdoors!

Speaking Appearances

• 8.18 - ACS Denver CME NASA Symposium Awards Session (3:40-4:05PM in Plaza Ballroom F, Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel)
• 8.19 - ACS Denver PMSE Future Faculty Symposium (8:50-9:10AM in Grand Ballroom II, Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel)
• 10.27 - AIChE Annual Meeting Meet the Faculty Candidates Poster Session (1:00-3:00PM)
• 10.28 - AIChE Annual Meeting Biomaterials Science and Eng: Faculty Candidates II (8:00-8:15AM in Aqua Salon D, Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel)

Notable Highlights

• May ‘24 - Our manuscript on the biophysical effect of filamentous bacteriophages on antibiotic tolerance is out in Science Advances!
• Apr ‘24 - Selected as a 2024 Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow
• Mar ‘24 - Received ACS Global Outstanding Student Award from PMSE
• Mar ‘23 - Won the prestigious Frank J. Padden, Jr. Award for Excellence in Polymer Physics Research from APS DPOLY
• Nov ‘22 - Won 1st Place Speaker for Graduate Excellence in Polymer Research at AIChE
• Sep ‘22 - Named MIT Rising Star in Chemical Engineering
• Apr ‘19 - Designated as a Stanford Bio-X Honorary Fellow
• Apr ‘19 - Received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP)