Jennifer Curtis is a Professor in the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology and ADVANCE Professor for the College of Sciences. She received her Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Chicago in 2002 and her B.A. in Physics from Columbia University in 1997. Curtis's research specializes in cell biophysics, focusing on the mechanics of cell adhesion, migration, and dynamics; immunophysics and immunoengineering; hyaluronan glycobiology; hyaluronan synthase; and the physics of tissues. Her work explores the physics of cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions within glycobiology and immunobiology contexts, including collective and single cell migration in vitro and in vivo, immunophage therapy as an immunoengineering strategy combining immune cells and phages against bacterial infections, and molecular biophysics and biomaterials applications of hyaluronan synthase.

At Georgia Tech, Curtis has served as director or co-director of the School of Physics Research Experiences for Undergraduates program since 2016, funded by the National Science Foundation to broaden participation in physics through collaborations with the Atlanta University Center, resulting in at least ten REU students advancing to graduate programs there. She is an Editorial Board Member of the Biophysical Journal and holds memberships in the American Physical Society, Biophysical Society, and International Society for Hyaluronan Science. Her honors include the NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program CAREER Award in 2010, Georgia Tech College of Sciences Faculty Mentor Award in 2015, Georgia Tech College of Sciences Cullen Peck Award for Innovative Research in 2020, and Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship in 2004. Notable publications comprise "Self-regenerating giant hyaluronan polymer brushes" in Nature Communications (2019), "O-specific antigen-dependent surface hydrophobicity mediates aggregate assembly type in Pseudomonas aeruginosa" in mBio (2021), "Nanopatterning reconfigurable magnetic landscapes via thermally assisted scanning probe lithography" in Nature Nanotechnology (2016), and "Spatial organization and mechanical properties in the pericellular matrix on chondrocytes" in Biophysical Journal (2013).

Professional Email: jcurtis6@gatech.edu