Daewon Park

Accomplished Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Denver, specializing in bioengineering. Proven expertise in research methodologies and grant writing, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. Recognized for innovative curriculum development and effective communication, driving student engagement and academic excellence. Committed to advancing knowledge through creative questioning and impactful research initiatives.

1R01EY031461-01, PI, 05/01/20 - 04/30/25, Engineered multi-therapeutic agents delivery system towards retinal ganglion cell axon regeneration, 1R21AG080257-01, PI, 01/01/23 - 12/31/24, Determining the role of tissue stiffness in the development of Alzheimer's disease pathology, NSF I-Corps (2318145), PI, 05/01/23 - 04/30/25, Developing and commercializing microbicidal surgical incision coating, 2R01EY029227-04, Sub-contract PI, 09/15/23 - 09/14/25, Opioid Modulation of Retinal Ganglion Cells Providing Photoentrainment of the Circadian Clock, DO 2023-2435 (SPARK|REACH commercialization program), PI, 05/15/23 - 04/30/25, Microbicidal Polymer Spray, 1R21AG093252-01, PI, 01/2025, Determining the treatment effect of cannabidiol on the development of Alzheimer's disease neuropathology, 1UG3NS143049-01, MPI, 01/2025, Peptide therapy for glaucoma, Dose Medical, Co-PI, 10/12-04/13, Ocular drug delivery using reverse thermal gel, Startup Funding, PI, 07/01/11-07/31/16, The goal of this fund is to set up my lab and earn preliminary data in Polymeric Biomaterials; Drug Delivery; Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, and apply for the second stage funding., NIH 1R01DE022348-01A1, Co-I, 07/01/12-06/30/17, Application of nanogel-modified resins for improved polymeric dental materials, Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant (UCD53252), PI, 07/01/14-06/30/17, Antimicrobial reverse thermal gel for surgical coating, NIH 1R21HL124100-01, PI, 07/22/14-06/30/17, A biomimetic reverse thermal gel for the treatment of myocardial infarction, NIH 1R21EY023711-01A1, PI, 09/01/14-08/31/17, A biomimetic reverse thermal gel for optic nerve regeneration, NIH R21 EY025333-01, PI, 07/01/15-06/30/18, A functional reverse thermal gel for retinal ganglion cell axon regeneration, AHA 17GRNT33661024, PI, 07/01/17-06/30/19, Engineered biomimetic injectable system towards cardiac repair, Colorado Pilot Program (CO-Pilot), PI, 05/01/20 - 04/30/21, Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) Engineered nanoparticles for the recovery of vision loss from optic neuropathies

• Park D, Kim HS, Jung JK, Haam S & Kim WS, Enzymatic synthesis of alkylglucosides by amphiphilic phase enzyme reaction, Biotechnology Letters, 22, 951-956, 2000
• Park D, Kim JS, Haam S, Kim HS & Kim WS, Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of methylglucoside esters containing a hydroxy acid, Biotechnology Letters, 23, 1947-1952, 2001
• Kim SS, Park D, Kim SY, Kim JH, Haam S, Kim EB and Kim WS, VOC treatment characteristics using biofilter and its performance enhancement with the addition of microorganisms, HWAHAK KONGHAK, 39, 340-345, 2001
• Park D, Kim SS, Haam S, Ahn IS, Kim EB & Kim WS, Biodegradation of toluene by a lab-scale biofilter inoculated with pseudomonas putida DK-1, Environmental Technology, 23, 309-318, 2002
• Park D, Haam S, Ahn IS, Lee TG & Kim WS, Enzymatic esterification of methylglucoside with acrylic/methacrylic acid in organic solvents, Journal of Biotechnology, 107, 151-160, 2004
• Kim JS, Haam S, Park D, Ahn IS and Kim WS, Biocatalytic esterification of methylglucoside for synthesis of biocompatible sugar-containing vinyl esters, Chemical Engineering Journal, 99, 15-22, 2004
• Park D, Haam S, Kim WS, Chemoenzymatic synthesis of sugar-containing biocompatible hydrogels: poly(methylglucoside acrylate) and poly(methylglucoside methacrylate), Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 71A, 497-507, 2004
• Park D, Jang K, Ahn IS, Haam S & Kim WS, Immobilization of starch-converting enzymes on surface modified carriers using single and co-immobilized systems: properties and application to starch hydrolysis, Process Biochemistry, 40, 53-61, 2005
• Park D, Wang J, and Klibanov AM, One-step, painting-like coating procedures to make surface highly and permanently bactericidal, Biotechnology Progress, 22, 584-589, 2006
• Weinman CJ, Finlay JA, Park D, Paik MY, Krishnan S, Sundaram HS, Dimitriou M, Sohn KE, Callow ME, Callow JA, Handlin DL, Willis CL, Kramer EJ, and Ober CK, ABC triblock surface active block copolymer with grafted ethoxylated fluoroalkyl amphiphilic side chains for marine antifouling/fouling-release applications, Langmuir, 25, 12266-12274, 2009
• Park D, Finlay JA, Ward RJ, Weinman CJ, Krishnan S, Handlin DL, Willis CL, Fischer DA, Angert ER, Kramer EJ, and Ober CK, Antimicrobial behavior of semifluorinated-quaternized triblock copolymers against airborne and marine microorganisms, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2, 703-711, 2010
• Park D, Weinman CJ, Finlay JA, Fletcher BR, Paik MY, Sundaram HS, Dimitriou MD, Sohn KE, Callow ME, Callow JA, Handlin DL, Willis CL, Fischer DA, Kramer EJ and Ober CK, Amphiphilic surface active triblock copolymers with mixed hydrophobic and hydrophilic side chains for tuned marine fouling-release properties, Langmuir, 26, 9772-9781, 2010
• Park D, Wu W, Wang Y, A functionalizable reverse thermal gel based on a polyurethane / PEG block copolymer, Biomaterials, 32, 777-786, 2011
• Park D, Larson AM, Klibanov AM, Wang Y, Antiviral and antibacterial polyurethanes of various modalities, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 169(4), 1134-1146, 2013
• Park D, Shah V, Rauck BM, Friberg TR, Wang Y, An anti-angiogenic reverse thermal gel as a drug delivery system for age-related wet macular degeneration, Macromolecular Bioscience, 13, 464-469, 2013
• Milgroom A, Intrator M, Madhavan K, Mazzaro L, Shandas R, Liu B and Park D
• Mesoporous silica nanoparticles as a breast-cancer targeting ultrasound contrast agent, Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 116, 652-657, 2014
• Yun D, Famili A, Lee YM, Jenkins PM, Freed CR and Park D
• Biomimetic poly(serinol hexamethylene urea) for promotion of neurite outgrowth and guidance, Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition, 25, 354-369, 2014
• Ritfeld G, Rauck B, Novosat TL, Park D, Patel P, Roos R, Wang Y, Oudega M, The effect of a polyurethane-based reverse thermal gel on bone marrow stromal cell transplant survival and spinal cord repair, Biomaterials, 35, 1924-1934, 2014
• Rauck BM, Friberg M, Medina CA, Park D, Shah V, Bilonick R and Wang Y, Biocompatible reverse thermal gel sustains the release of intravitreal bevacizumab, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 55, 469-476, 2014
• Snyder TN, Madhavan K, Intrator M, Dregalla RC, Park D
• A fibrin/hyaluronic acid hydrogel for the delivery of mesenchymal stem cells and potential for articular cartilage repair, Journal of Biological Engineering, 8, 10, 2014
• Tan W, Madhavan K, Hunter KS, Park D, Stenmark KR, Vascular stiffening in pulmonary hypertension: cause or consequence?, Pulmonary Circulation, 4(4), 560, 2014
• Yun D, Laughter R, Park D
• A biomimetic reverse thermal gel for 3-dimensional neural tissue engineering, Austin Journal of Biomedical Engineering, 1(4), 1019, 2014
• Famili A, Kahook MY, Park D
• A combined micelle and poly(serinol hexamethylene urea)-co-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) reverse thermal gel as an injectable ocular drug delivery system, Macromolecular Bioscience, 14, 1719-1729, 2014
• Castellanos BP, Shandas R, Park D
• A heparin-mimicking reverse thermal gel for controlled protein delivery, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 103A, 2102-2108, 2015
• Yun D, Lee YM, Laughter MR, Freed CR, Park D
• Substantial differentiation of human neural stem cells into motor neuron on a biomimetic polyurea, Macromolecular Bioscience, 15(9), 1205-1211, 2015
• Jenkins PM, Laughter MR, Lee DJ, Lee YM, Freed CR, Park D
• A nerve guidance conduit with topographical and biochemical cues: potential application using human neural stem cells, Nanoscale Research Letters, 10(1), 1-7, 2015
• Taylor M, McCollister B, Park D
• Highly bactericidal polyurethane effective against both normal and drug-resistant bacteria for use as an air filter coating, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 178(5), 1053-1067, 2016
• Pena B, Martinelli V, Jeong M, Bosi S, Lapasin R, Taylor MRG, Long CS, Shandas R, Park D
• Mestroni L
• Biomimetic polymers for cardiac tissue engineering, Biomacromolecules, 17(5), 1593-1601, 2016
• Lee DJ, Fontaine A, Meng X, Park D
• Biomimetic nerve guidance conduit containing intraluminal microchannels with aligned nanofibers markedly facilitates in nerve regeneration, ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 2(8), 1403-1410, 2016
• Laughter MR, Ammar DA, Bardill JR, Pena B, Kahook MY, Lee DJ, Park D
• A self-assembling injectable biomimetic microenvironment encourages retinal ganglion cell axon extension in vitro, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 8(32), 20540-20548, 2016
• Marwan AI
• Williams S, Bardill JR, Gralla J, Abdul-Aziz NM, Park D
• Characterization of a reverse thermal gel for in-utero coverage of Spina Bifida defects: An innovative bioengineering alternative to open fetal repair, Macromolecular Bioscience, 17, 1600473, 2017
• Pena B, Bosi S, Aguado B, Borin D, Farnsworth N, Rowland TJ, Martinelli V, Jeong M, Taylor MRG, Long CS, Shandas R, Sbaizero O, Prato M, Anseth KS, Park D
• Injectable carbon nanotube-functionalized reverse thermal gel promotes cardiomyocytes survival and maturation, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 9(37), 31645-31656, 2017
• Madhavan K, Frid MG, Hunter K, Shandas R, Stenmark KR, Park D
• Development of an electrospun biomimetic polyurea scaffold suitable for vascular grafting, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Part B, 106(1), 278-290, 2018
• Bortot M, Laughter MR, Stein M, Rocker A, Patel V, Park D
• Quaternized Q-PEIPAAm-based antimicrobial reverse thermal gel: A potential for surgical incision drapes, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 10(21), 17662-17671, 2018
• Pena B, Laughter MR, Jeff S, Rowland TJ, Taylor MRG, Mestroni L
• Park D
• Injectable hydrogels for cardiac tissue engineering, Macromolecular Bioscience, 18(6), 1800079, 2018
• Laughter MR, Bardill JR, Ammar DA, Pena B, Calkins DJ, Park D
• Injectable neurotrophic factor delivery system supporting retinal ganglion cell survival and regeneration following optic nerve crush, ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 4(9), 3374-3383, 2018
• Lee DJ, Rocker AJ, Bardill JR, Shandas R, Park D
• A sulfonated reversible thermal gel for the spatiotemporal control of VEGF delivery to promote therapeutic angiogenesis, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 106(12), 3053-3064, 2018
• Bardill JR, Williams SM, Shabeka U, Niswander L, Park D
• Marwan AI
• An injectable reverse thermal gel for minimally invasive coverage of mouse myelomeningocele, Journal of Surgical Research, 235, 227-236, 2019
• Pena B, Maldonado M, Bonham AJ, Laughter MR, Rowland TJ, Bardill JR, Ramon NA, Taylor MRG, Anseth KS, Shandas R, Park D
• A gold nanoparticle functionalized reverse thermal gel for tissue engineering applications, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 11(20), 18671-18680, 2019
• Lee DJ, Cavasin MA, Rocker AJ, Soranno DE, Meng X, Shandas R, Park D
• An injectable sulfonated reversible thermal gel for therapeutic angiogenesis to protect cardiac function after a myocardial infarction, Journal of Biological Engineering, 13(1), 6, 2019
• Bardill JR, Park D
• Improved coverage of mouse myelomeningocele with a mussel inspired reverse thermal gel, Journal of Surgical Research, 251, 262-274, 2020
• Rocker AJ, Lee DJ, Shandas R, Park D
• Injectable polymeric delivery system for spatiotemporal and sequential release of therapeutic proteins to promote therapeutic angiogenesis and reduce inflammation, ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 6(2), 1217-1227, 2020
• Lim JW, Na W, Kim HO, Yeom M, Kang A, Park G, Park C, Ki J, Lee S, Jung B, Jeong HH, Park D, Song D, Haam S, Co-delivery of antigens and immunostimulants via a polyersome for improvement of antigen-specific immune response, Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 8(26), 5620-5626, 2020
• Bardill JR, Williams SM, Laughter MR, Park D
• Evaluation of scaffolding, inflammatory response, and wound healing support of a reverse thermal gel for myelomeningocele patching, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 138(11), 50013, 2021
• Laughter MR, Nelson AL, Bortot M, Pena B, Liu B, Park D
• Multifunctional fluorocarbon-conjugated nanoparticles of varied morphologies to enhance diagnostic effects in breast cancer, Nano Biomed Eng, 13(1), 52-61

Department of Bioengineering

University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus

303-724-6947

Title: Associate Professor

• 2004, Korean Science and Engineering Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
• 2010, Ocular Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Ophthalmology Postdoctoral Fellowship funded by Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration
• 2021, Mentor of the Year, University of Colorado School of Medicine Mentored Scholarly Activity Program

• Research Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Yonsei University, South Korea, 09/03-09/04
• Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus, 07/11-08/17
• Associate Professor (Tenured), Department of Bioengineering, University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus, 09/17-present