Erika Moore, PhD profile page

Dr. Erika Moore is an assistant professor in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2013 and her PhD in biomedical engineering from Duke University in 2018. As principal investigator of the Moore Lab, Moore engineers biomaterial platforms to study and harness the regenerative potential of macrophage immune cells in tissue repair and disease. Her research focuses on understanding how immune–vascular–matrix interactions drive health disparities, with projects spanning age-associated macrophage dysfunction, macrophage–endothelial inflammation in lupus, integrin–ligand signaling in extracellular matrices, and the role of macrophages in uterine fibroid progression. Through these systems, her lab integrates biomaterials, immunology, and women’s health to develop more physiologically relevant models of disease and regeneration. In addition to her research, Moore is a dedicated educator and mentor and the founder of Moore Wealth Inc., a nonprofit organization that equips students—particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds—with financial literacy and career readiness skills. Moore’s work has been recognized with numerous honors, including the NIH R35 Maximizing Investigators Research Award, NSF CAREER Award, and the 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award. She was named a 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in Healthcare and a 2024 TED Fellow. More recently, she was selected as a 2025 Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine by the National Academy of Medicine, a 2025 Science News Scientist to Watch, an invited participant in the National Academy of Engineering’s 2025 Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, and a member of the National Academies Forum on Regenerative Medicine.