Research Interests:
Cellular and Molecular Engineering
Biography:
Dr. Joel Finbloom is an Assistant Professor within the Nanomedicine and Chemical Biology research theme at the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The Finbloom lab designs bioinspired materials that interface with microbial communities to advance human health. By working at the intersection of chemical biology, nanotechnology, and bioengineering, the Finbloom lab tackles critical challenges in the pharmaceutical sciences—treating antibiotic resistant bacterial infections and improving the oral delivery of probiotics.
Dr. Finbloom started his scientific career at the NIH in 2008, where he worked at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the mentorship of Dr. Kathryn Zoon. Dr. Finbloom received his BA in chemistry in 2013 from Northwestern University, while conducting research in the laboratory of Professor Samuel Stupp. There, Dr. Finbloom developed stimuli-responsive peptide nanomaterials for cancer drug delivery. Dr. Finbloom earned his PhD in chemistry in 2018 from the University of California Berkeley, working in the lab of Professor Matthew Francis to combine the fields of biomaterials and chemical biology for applications in protein modification and nanomedicine. Dr. Finbloom then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Professor Tejal Desai at the University of California San Francisco, where he developed nanomaterials-based strategies for antimicrobial drug delivery and regenerative medicine. A central theme throughout Dr. Finbloom’s research is how to better design the physicochemical properties of nanomaterials to direct interactions with biological systems and improve biomedical applications.
Awards & Recognitions:
Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar (2025)
Gairdner Early Career Investigator Award in Precision Therapeutics (2025)
University of California Presidents Fellowship (2021)
UCSF Health Innovation Via Engineering Postdoctoral Fellowship (2020)
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (2015)