Manu O. Platt, Ph.D.

The Section on Mechanics and Tissue Remodeling Integrating Computational & Experimental Systems (MATRICES) studies the transition of tissue from healthy to a diseased state and the underlying mechanisms driving disease progression. Of particular interest are enzymes known as proteases, which degrade extracellular matrices and other proteins. The MATRICES Lab seeks to reveal opportunities for new diagnostics and therapeutics for sickle cell disease, cancer metastasis, orthopedic diseases and other conditions. To accomplish these goals, we employ both experimental and computational approaches including label-free MRI, mechanical testing, computational modeling and analysis of gene and protein expression. Through ongoing collaborations, we aim to develop and deploy technologies in low resource settings, with a focus on diseases related to health disparities in the U.S. and around the globe.

Manu Platt, Ph.D., is a senior investigator, Section on Mechanics and Tissue Remodeling Integrating Computational & Experimental Systems (MATRICES) in NIBIB's intramural research program. His lab studies the transition of tissue from healthy to a diseased state and the underlying mechanisms driving disease progression. He is also the director of the NIH-wide Center for Biomedical Engineering Technology Acceleration (BETA Center), housed within the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) Intramural Research Program. The BETA Center serves as a model to bring a focused engineering approach for NIH researchers across disciplines to accelerate the development, validation and dissemination of cutting-edge technologies.

Formerly, Dr. Platt was professor and Associate Chair of Graduate Studies in the Walter H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. He also was Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Cancer Scientist and Deputy Director, Interdisciplinary Bioengineering Graduate Program at Georgia Tech Walter H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty Fellow.

As a scientific investigator for cutting-edge biomedical research projects, Platt has received numerous grants and research support from NIH, the National Science Foundation, the International AIDS Society and the Georgia Cancer Coalition, among other public and private research institutions. He has served on numerous review committees at NIH, is a member the Biomedical Engineering Society board of directors and is a former member of the NIBIB National Advisory Council for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

Dr. Platt earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Morehouse College in Atlanta and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University in Atlanta. He was a postdoctoral fellow in biological engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.