Welcome to the Comparative Biomaterials Lab at Chapman University led by Dr. Douglas Fudge. We study a wide range of materials made by animals, including nano-scale filaments within cells, slimes secreted to ward off predators, and large structures like the keratinous plates of baleen whales. Our work on the biomechanics of predator defense in hagfishes has led us to explore many other aspects of hagfish biology, including bioenergetics, burrowing behavior and biomechanics, reproduction, and biodiversity. Recent work in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador led to the discovery and description of four new species of hagfishes.
We are also committed to applying what we learn from the study of biomaterials to real-life challenges. Animals make outstanding materials for a wide variety of functions without the benefit of petroleum and without fouling their environments. Our expertise in biomaterials creates rich opportunities to collaborate with engineers on bio-inspired design projects, including efforts to produce biomimetic hagfish slime.
To learn more about our research, click on the links below and check out our Publications.
Fudge Lab News
Galápagos Take 2
Dr. Fudge returned to the Galápagos in January 2020 with collaborator Michael Mincarone to continue their research there on hagfishes. They finished a whole bunch of data collection and also collected hi-res video of four species of hagfishes at depth. Below is a...
McCord lab starting up at CSU Dominguez Hills
Postdoc Charlie McCord landed a job as an assistant professor at CSU Dominguez Hills, where she will be starting in Fall 2019. Congrats Charlie!
Galapagos Island Expedition
The Fudge Lab recently got back from a research expedition to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador as part of an NSF-funded project on the biogenesis and evolution of hagfish slime and slime glands. Other members of the team include Charlie McCord and Tim Winegard from...
Searching for the elusive black hagfish
Members of the Fudge Lab had an awe-inspiring day on the water aboard the R/V Yellowfin with Dr. Chris Lowe and the CSU Shark Lab. It was the Fudge Lab's first contact with black hagfish, which are common off the California coast, but are found only in deep water. We...
Fudge Lab Class of 2019 graduation plans
Chris Hoang has been accepted into Chapman's MS program in Computational and Data Sciences. Emma Whitely is headed to Medical School at the University of Toledo. Lauren Friend will be attending Columbia University to get a Masters in Biomedical Engineering focusing on...
Research Projects in the Fudge Lab
