About the Phelps Lab

History of the lab

The lab was founded in January 2017 when Ed Phelps joined the UF BME Department as an Assistant Professor. Our initial mission was focused on building foundations in beta cell physiology, biomaterials engineering, and immunoengineering to study and treat type 1 diabetes. Our expertise has grown to include advanced bioimaging techniques, next-generation hydrogel engineering, beta cell replacement, and islet physiology/metabolism.The Phelps Lab is a member of the UF Diabetes Institute, a leading center for investigating the history, prediction and prevention of type 1 diabetes. The location of the laboratory in the Biomedical Sciences Building, which colocalizes the Department of Biomedical Engineering together with the University of Florida Diabetes Institute and nPOD (the Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes) under one roof, is a unique strength of our research program. Activities in the Phelps Lab have been financially supported by research grants from the NIH/NIDDK, NIH Human Islet Research Network (HIRN), Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), Diabetes Research Connection, and Immunocore Ltd.

About Dr. Phelps

Before coming to UF, Phelps completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Life Sciences and Bioengineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. His postdoctoral co-advisors were Drs. Steinunn Baekkeskov, Melody Swartz, and Jeffrey Hubbell. Phelps received his B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering and Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His doctoral advisor was Dr. Andrés García. Phelps’s doctoral thesis work focused on engineered bioactive hydrogel for therapeutic angiogenesis and pancreatic islet transplantation.Outside of the lab Phelps is passionate about the great outdoors and enjoys hiking, kayaking, cooking and exploring the world, both near and afar, with his wife and three daughters.