Natasha C. Brigham

Natasha earned her B.S. from Allegheny College in 2017 where she investigated crystallization trends of semicrystalline copolymers and wrote her first first-author publication. She joined the Becker Lab in June of 2017, and obtained her M.S. two years later (2019) working on using polymeric systems as a means to control drug delivery for alternatives in pain management. She successfully defended her doctoral work in March 2023 at Duke University entitled “Extended, Localized, and Tailorable Delivery of Therapeutics from Poly(ester urea) Systems.” Outside of her research, Natasha loves being outside and going on hikes in the local area with her husband and her dogs (Flynn and Copper).

Publications:

NC Brigham, RR Ji, & ML Becker “Degradable polymeric vehicles for postoperative pain management” Nature Communications 12, 1367 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21438-3

NC Brigham, R Nofsinger, X Luo, NZ Dreger, AK Abel, TP Gustafson, SP Forster, A Hermans, RR Ji, ML Becker* “Controlled Release of Etoricoxib from Poly(ester urea) Films for Post-operative Pain Management” Journal of Controlled Release 329, 316-327 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.11.052

NC Brigham, C Nardi, A Carandang, K Allen, RM Van Horn* “Manipulation of Crystallization Sequence in PEO-b-PCL Films Using Solvent Interactions” Macromolecules 50 (22), 8996–9007 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.7b02004

SP Nikam, YH Hsu, JR Marks, C Mateas, NC Brigham, SM McDonald, D Guggenheim, D Ruppert, JI Everitt, H Levinson, ML Becker. Anti-adhesive bioresorbable elastomer-coated composite hernia mesh that reduce intraperitoneal adhesions. Biomaterials. 292, 121940 (2023). https://doi.org /10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121940

L Kang, TS Hudson, AJ Mirando, NS McMillian, NC Brigham, SM Agarwal, ML Becker, J Fernandez-Moure. Platelet Rich Plasma Enhances Rib Fracture Strength and Callus Formation In Vivo. Journal of Trauma and Acute Surgery, accepted (2023).

J Zhao, H Tong, A Kirillova, WJ Koshut, A Malek, NC Brigham, ML Becker, K Gall, BJ Wiley. “A Synthetic Hydrogel Composite with a Strength and Wear Resistance Greater than Cartilage” Adv. Funct. Mater. 32, 2205662 (2022).

NC Brigham-Stinson, Y Matsuoka, A Agarwal, RR Ji, & ML Becker. Pre-clinical Assessment of Bupivacaine-loaded Poly(ester urea) Thin Films for Effective Pain Management to Promote Post-surgical Recovery. Manuscript in preparation

NC Stinson, Y Matsuoka, S McDonald, RR Ji, & ML Becker. Understanding Differences in Drug Distribution in Poly(ester urea) Films Through Drug-Polymer Interactions and Impacts on Drug Release. Manuscript in preparation

K Williams-Pavlanto, NC Brigham-Stinson, ML Becker, C Wesdemiotis. “Application of Surface Layer Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging to Pharmaceutical-Loaded Polymer Films.” Manuscript in preparation