Dr. Vivian Feig is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. Dr. Feig obtained her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford with Prof. Zhenan Bao, and conducted postdoctoral training as a Schmidt Science Fellow with Profs. Giovanni Traverso and Robert Langer at MIT and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Feig’s research has been recognized with awards from the American Chemical Society, the Materials Research Society, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

2025 NASA Symp

In situ forming devices: Reimaging medical interventions for spaceflight

Traditional medical interventions must be reimagined for spaceflight due to limited clinical resources. Our group develops in situ forming medical devices, which are administered in a flowable state and transform into functional therapeutic structures inside the body. These devices are designed to be compatible with minimally invasive delivery methods, such as needle injection, without the need for complex procedures. This talk will highlight our strategies for in situ device formation, focusing on recent work creating long-acting therapeutic implants.

2022 NASA Symp

Conductive hydrogels for next-generation bio-electronic interfaces: stiffness, stretchability, and dimensionality

The bio-electronic interface is the next frontier of several biomedical therapies, from implanted devices that therapeutically stimulate organs, to regenerative medicines that use electrical cues to guide stem cell differentiation towards target lineages. Yet, severe mismatch in mechanical properties at this interface remains a major challenge. In this talk, I will describe how we use conjugated polymers to design next-generation conductive materials with tissue-level stiffness, high stretchability, and the capability to interface with biological targets in 3 dimensions.