Caroline Cvetkovic

For More Information

• Prof. Cvetkovic's LinkedIn Profile
• Prof. Cvetkovic's Google Scholar Profile

Education

• Ph.D., Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2017
• M.S., Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013
• B.S., Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011

Academic Positions

• Teaching Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Bioengineering, 2021-present

Other Professional Employment

• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Center for Neuroregeneration and Department of Neurosurgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, 2017-2021

Resident Instruction

• NE 431: Neural Cell & Tissue Engineering Lab (FA25, FA26)
• BIOE 360: Transport & Flow in Bioengineering (SP22, SP24, SP25, SP26)
• BIOE 306: Biofabrication Lab (SP23)
• BIOE 303: Quantitative Physiology Lab (FA21, SP22, SP23, FA23, SP24, FA24, SP26)
• BIOE 199: Bioengineering Experience - Campus Honors Program (SP25)
• BIOE 120: Introduction to Bioengineering (FA23, FA24)

Research Interests

• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
• Neural Engineering
• Biofabrication
• Biomedical Engineering Education

Research Topics

• Neural Engineering
• Research in BME Education

Chapters in Books

• Cvetkovic C, Ko E, Kaufman C, Grant L, Gillette M, Kong H, Bashir R. (2018). “Rapid prototyping of soft bioactuators,” in 3D Bioprinting in Regenerative Engineering: Principles and Applications, 1st ed., A. Khademhosseini and G. Camci-Unal, Eds. Taylor & Francis.

Selected Articles in Journals

• Cvetkovic C, Lindley S, Golecki HM, Krencik R. (2024). Biofabrication of Neural Organoids: An Experiential Learning Approach for Instructional Laboratories. Biomed Eng Education, 4 (2).
• Cvetkovic C, Patel R, Hogan MK, Shetty A, Anderson M, Basu N, Ramesh S, Sardar D, Ward ME, Deneen B, Horner PJ, Krencik R. (2022). Assessing Gq-GPCR induced human astrocyte reactivity using bioengineered neural organoids. J Cell Biol, 221 (4): e202107135.
• Zinger A*, Cvetkovic C*, Sushnitha M, Naoi T, Baudo G, Anderson M, Shetty A, Basu N, Tasciotti E, Amit M, Xie T, Taraballi F, Krencik R. (2021). Humanized Biomimetic Nanovesicles for Neuron Targeting. Adv Sci, 8(19):e2101437.
• Kaufman CD, Liu SC, Cvetkovic C, Lee C, Naseri Kouzehgarani G, Gillette R, Bashir R, Gillette MU. (2020). Emergence of Functional Neuromuscular Junctions in an Engineered, Multicellular Spinal Cord-Muscle Bioactuator. APL Bioeng, 4(2):026104. Cover Image.
• Cvetkovic C, Basu N, Krencik R. (2018). Synaptic Microcircuit Modeling with 3D Cocultures of Astrocytes and Neurons from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells. JoVE, 138.
• Cvetkovic C*, Ferrall-Fairbanks MC*, Ko E, Grant L, Kong H, Platt MO, Bashir R. (2017). Investigating the Life Expectancy and Proteolytic Degradation of Engineered Skeletal Muscle Biological Machines. Sci Rep, 7(1):3775.
• Cvetkovic C, Rich MH, Raman R, Kong H, Bashir R. (2017). A 3D Printed Platform for Modular Neuromuscular Motor Units. Microsyst Nanoeng, 3(1):17015.
• Raman R, Cvetkovic C, Bashir R. (2017). A Modular Approach to Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Muscle-Powered Biological Machines. Nat Protoc, 12(3), 519-533. Cover Image.
• Raman R, Cvetkovic C, Uzel SGM, Platt, RJ, Sengupta P, Kamm RD, Bashir R. (2016). Optogenetic Skeletal Muscle-Powered Adaptive Biological Machines. PNAS, 113(13), 3497-3502.
• Cvetkovic C*, Raman R*, Chan V, Williams BJ, Tolish M, Bajaj P, Sakar MS, Asada HH, Saif MTA, Bashir R. (2014). Three-Dimensionally Printed Biological Machines Powered by Skeletal Muscle. PNAS, 111(28), 10125-10130.

Articles in Conference Proceedings

• Ansell K, TerBush J, Cvetkovic C, Schulte E, Schmitz C, Radhakrishnan, C. (2025). Working effectively with your teaching team: Tips and Tricks from Laboratory and Design Course Instructors. American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference & Exposition, Montreal Canada, June 2025.
• Golecki H, Wright A, Mann J, Althaus EW, Cvetkovic C, Hajj R, Chang W, Ansari A. (2025). Reflective Teaching Practices for Equity-Minded Engineering Instructors. Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD) Conference, San Antonio TX, February 2025.
• Cvetkovic C, Jahnke K, Miriyala M, Owen B. (2024). Empowering Future Engineers by Integrating Science Communication into Undergraduate Labs. 2024 Frontiers in Education (FIE) Conference, Washington DC, October 2024.
• Reck R, Golecki H, TerBush J, Cvetkovic C, Schmitz C, Mussulman D, Ansell K, Radhakrishnan C. Getting Started Teaching an Undergraduate Engineering Laboratory. American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland OR, June 2024.

Patents

• “Neurosome/astrosome compositions and methods of use.” WO 2021/091582 A1. (2021)
• “Muscle-Powered Biological Machines.” US Patent 10,906,169 B1. (2021)
• “Locomotive Biological Machines.” US Patent 10,156,560. (2018)

Teaching Honors

• Mara H. Wasburn Early Engineering Educator Grant - American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Women in Engineering Division (2025)
• Amy L. Devine Faculty Recognition Award - Alpha Omega Epsilon (2024)
• List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent: BIOE 360 (SP24, SP25)
• List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent: BIOE 303 (SP24)
• Excellence in Mentoring Award - Houston Methodist (2020)

Other Honors

• Career Development Award - Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) (2019)
• Trainee Professional Development Award - Society for Neuroscience (SfN) (2018)

Recent Courses Taught

• BIOE 120 - Introduction to Bioengineering
• BIOE 199 - Bioengineering Experience
• BIOE 303 - Quantitative Physiology Lab
• BIOE 306 - Biofabrication Lab
• BIOE 360 - Transport & Flow in Bioengrg
• BIOE 497 CEC (BIOE 297 CEC) - Individual Study
• NE 431 - Neural Cell/Tissue Engr Lab