Renita Horton
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Renita Horton is a post-doctoral research associate who previously completed her Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences at Harvard University with a concentration in Biomedical engineering. She was first exposed to research here at Harvard through the REU program. She studied the effects of fatty acid ethyl esters on red blood cells in Professor Howard StoneŐs laboratory. This experience triggered her interest in using engineering to study biological systems. After completing her bachelorŐs degree at Mississippi State University in chemical engineeering, she returned to Harvard to pursue her interests in biomedical engineering. She explored the role of extracellular matrix cues in cardiomyogenesis in human embryonic stem cells with Professor Debra Auguste. Her current research focuses on exploring heart failure using microcontact printing techniques to engineer cardiac tissues with Professor Kevin Kit Parker in the Disease Biophysics Group in the MRSEC Active Soft Materials group. Renita has served as mentor to REU and Harvard undergraduate students during her time at Harvard. Upon completing her degree and postdoctoral fellowship, she plans to return to Mississippi as an assistant professor in biomedical engineering. Renita will be finishing up her post-doctoral research and starting her new position as an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Agriculture and Biological Engineering at Mississippi State University at the end of the year.
