Faculty Directory
Matthew Lazzara headshot
ML

Matthew J. Lazzara

Associate Professor
+1 (434) 924-3428
Unit: School of Engineering and Applied Science
Department: Department of Chemical Engineering
Office location and address
Chemical Engineering Building, Room 310
385 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903
Education
B.S. University of Florida, 1997
Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003
Post-Doc ​Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003-2007
Biography

Matthew Lazzara received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering (with highest honors) from the University of Florida and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he trained in the lab of William Deen. He remained at MIT for postdoctoral studies in the lab of Douglas Lauffenburger and was the recipient of an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellowship. Dr. Lazzara is presently Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Work in the Lazzara Lab employs a combination of experimental and computational methods to study problems in cell signaling, the complex biochemical process cells use to make decisions. Current projects focus on the rational (model-driven) identification of combination therapies for brain and pancreas cancers and on fundamental studies of the spatiotemporal regulation of cell signaling by phosphatases and receptor trafficking.

The lab's work is funded by grants from the American Cancer Society, National Science Foundation, and National Institutes of Health. Dr. Lazzara is also the recipient of several teaching awards, including the S. Reid Warren, Jr. Award and the Outstanding Faculty Award of the AIChE Delaware Valley, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, FL, one of the largest science centers in the country.

Recent sponsored awards as provided by ResearchUVA:
Optimal control models of epithelial-mesenchymal transition for the design of pancreas cancer combination therapy
Source: U.S. NIH Cancer Institute
August 01, 2019 – July 31, 2024
Engineering ERK-specificity for cancer suicide gene therapy
Source: U.S. NIH Cancer Institute
September 01, 2020 – August 31, 2022
Collaborative Research: Modeling Spatiotemporal Control of EGFR-ERK Signaling in Gene-edited Cell Systems
Source: U.S. NSF - Directorate For Biological Sciences
August 01, 2017 – July 31, 2022
Promoting Receptor Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Activity by Targeting Transmembrane Domain Interactions
Source: Lehigh University
September 20, 2020 – June 30, 2022
EN-CHE Dissecting Sprouty2's Role in Glioblastoma to Engineering New Therapies
Source: American Cancer Society
July 01, 2016 – December 31, 2020
Investigating the role of SPRY2 in regulating drug resistance of GBM tumors and interactions between GBM tumor cells and macrophages
Source: U.S. NIH Cancer Institute
January 01, 2019 – December 01, 2020
EN-CHE Developing Quantitative Models of SHP2-Mediated Signaling Regulation in Glioma for Rational Identification of Improved Therapeutic Aproaches
Source: U.S. NSF - Directorate For Engineering
September 01, 2016 – August 31, 2020
RPTP domains regulating homodimerization and EGFR activity bia heterodimerization
Source: Lehigh University
July 01, 2017 – November 30, 2018
Engineering Proteins for Reabsorption in the Renal Proximal Tubule, CBET-1264807
Source: U.S. NSF - Directorate For Engineering
September 01, 2016 – August 31, 2018
Recent courses as listed in the Student Information System (SIS) Course Catalog:
CHE 4561: Special Topics in Chemical Engineering
Credits: 1–3
Applies engineering science, design methods, and system analysis to developing areas and current problems in chemical engineering. Topics are announced at registration. Prerequisite:Third or Fourth-year standing and instructor permission.
CHE 4995: Chemical Engineering Research
Credits: 1–3
Library and laboratory study of an engineering or manufacturing problem conducted in close consultation with a departmental faculty member, often including the design, construction, and operation of laboratory scale equipment. Requires progress reports and a comprehensive written report. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
BME 4995: Biomedical Engineering Advanced Projects
Credits: 1–3
A year-long research project in biomedical engineering conducted in consultation with a department faculty advisor; usually related to ongoing faculty research. Includes the design, execution, and analysis of experimental laboratory work and computational or theoretical computer analysis of a problem. Requires a comprehensive report of the results. Prerequisite: third- or fourth-year standing, and instructor permission.
CHE 5561: Special Topics in Chemical Engineering
Credits: 1–3
Applies engineering science, design methods, and system analysis to developing areas and current problems in chemical engineering. Topics are announced at registration.
CHE 6625: Transport Processes
Credits: 3
Integrated introduction to fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and mass transfer. Development of the basic equations of change for transport of momentum, energy, and mass in continuous media. Applications with exact solutions, consistent approaches to limiting cases and approximate solutions to formulate the relations to be solved in more complicated problems. Prerequisite: Undergraduate transport processes
CHE 6630: Mass Transfer
Credits: 3
Fundamental principles common to mass transfer phenomena, with emphasis on mass transfer in diverse chemical engineering situations. Detailed consideration of fluxes, diffusion with and without convection, interphase mass transfer with chemical reaction, and applications. Prerequisite: CHE 6625 and 6665.
CHE 8897: Graduate Teaching Instruction
Credits: 1–12
For master's students.
CHE 8998: Master's Research
Credits: 1–12
Formal record of student commitment to master's thesis research under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Registration may be repeated as necessary.
BME 8999: Master's Research
Credits: 1–12
Master's Research
CHE 9897: Graduate Teaching Instruction
Credits: 1–12
For doctoral students.
CHE 9999: Dissertation Research
Credits: 1–12
Formal record of student commitment to doctoral research under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Registration may be repeated as necessary.
PATH 9999: Non-Topical Research
Credits: 1–12
Dissertation research credit for students who have completed their advancement to candidacy.