Jessica Schiffman

Associate Professor, James M. Douglas Career Development Faculty Fellow

Mailing Address:
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Massachusetts Amherst
N533 Life Sciences Laboratories
240 Thatcher Rd
Amherst MA 01003-9364

Schiffman Research Group

schiffman@ecs.umass.edu

413.545.6143 (office)

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Education

B.S., Rutgers University, Ceramic & Materials Engineering, 2003
M.Eng., Cornell University, Materials Science & Engineering, 2004
Ph.D., Drexel University, Materials Science & Engineering, 2009
Post-Doc, Yale University, Chemical & Environmental Engineering

Research

Materials science and engineering
Renewable biopolymers and bioactive natural products
Nanostructure synthesis
Antibacterial surfaces
Water and wastewater treatment

The Schiffman Lab aims to elucidate and employ the materials properties of renewable biopolymers and bioactive products for the sustainable synthesis of novel nanostructures. Polymers derived from natural sources have inherent qualities that make them superior to synthetic polymers. They are antibacterial, biodegradable, biocompatible, chelate ions, and have coagulation capabilities. Natural products, like plant derivatives exhibit wide-spectrum antimicrobial activity. By analyzing the chemistry, processability, and biological functionality of these agents we are able to engineer and characterize devices that address public health concerns in biomedical and environmental fields. Currently, applications of interest include antibiofilm coatings, nanofiber scaffolds for wound healing, as well as membranes that selectively remove contaminants. Our research is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing influences from chemical engineering, materials science engineering, environmental engineering, and microbiology.

Publications

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=V2923usAAAAJ

Rieger, K.A., Birch, N.P., Schiffman, J.D. “Electrospinning chitosan/poly(ethylene oxide) solutions with immiscible oils: Correlating solution rheology to nanofiber formation” Carbohydrate Polymers 2016, 139, 131–138. DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2015.11.073
Li, Y., John, J., Kolewe, K.W., Schiffman, J.D., Carter, J.D. “Scaling up nature ― Large area flexible biomimetic surfaces” ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 2015, 7(42), 23439–23444. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b04957
Kolewe, K.W., Peyton, S.R., Schiffman, J.D. “Fewer bacteria adhere to softer hydrogels” ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 2015, 7(35), 19562–19569. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b04269
Birch, N.P., Pandres, E.P., Barney, L., Peyton, S.R., Schiffman, J.D. “Thermal-responsive behavior of a cell compatible chitosan:pectin hydrogel” Biomacromolecules 2015, 16(6), 1837–1843. DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.5b00425
Dobosz, K.M., Kolewe, K.W., Schiffman, J.D. “Green materials science and engineering reduces biofouling: Approaches for medical and membrane-based technologies” Frontiers in Microbiology 2015, 6:86, DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00086
Rieger, K.A., Schiffman, J.D. “Electrospinning an essential oil: Cinnamaldehyde enhances the antimicrobial efficacy of chitosan/poly(ethylene oxide) nanofibers” Carbohydrate Polymers 2014, 113, 561–568. DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.06.075
Birch, N.P., Schiffman, J.D. “Characterization of self-assembled polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles formed from chitosan and pectin” Langmuir 2014, 30(12) 3441–3447. DOI: 10.1021/la500491c
Rieger, K.A., Birch, N.P., Schiffman, J.D. “Electrospun nanofiber mats accelerate wound healing.” Journal of Materials Chemistry B 2013, 1(36) 4531 - 4541. DOI: 0.1039/C3TB20795A

Honors

Professor James M. Douglas Career Development Faculty Award, 2014
Doctoral Award, Drexel University, 2009

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