Dr. Helen Zha received her B.Sc. (2007) from MIT and her Ph.D. (2013) from Northwestern University in Materials Science & Engineering. After pursuing postdoctoral research at Eindhoven University of Technology and UC Berkeley, Helen started as a tenure-track assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering in 2018. She is an affiliate faculty in the Biochemistry and Biophysics graduate program and a member of the Center for Engineering and Precision Medicine. Additionally, Helen is an Associate Director of the recently founded NY Fashion Innovation Center.

Helen’s research focuses on the study of natural materials and the synthesis of biomimetic materials. Helen has received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the National Institutes of Health R35 MIRA Early Career grant. She is a Scialog fellow and was named an Emerging Investigator by RSC Biomaterials Sciences in 2019.

Externally, Helen was the 2023 Chair of the Biomaterials program area of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. She is also an active member of the American Chemical Society and the Society for Biomaterials.