MSU Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez
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Anja Kunze, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Principal Investigator Kunze Neuroengineering Lab Electrical & Computer Engineering Department | Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering Montana State University Post-doc: UCLA, California | Ph.D.: EPFL, Switzerland | M.Sc.: TUD, Germany 610 Cobleigh Hall Bozeman, MT 59717-3780 Email: [email protected] Personal faculty webpage at MSU NeuroTree |
Short Biography
Dr. Anja Kunze is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Montana State University, where she directs the Neuroengineering Research Laboratory, since 2016. She earned her Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from TU Dresden, Germany in 2007 and later obtained her Ph.D. in Microsystems and Microelectronics from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland in 2012.
Her research has focused on microfluidic-based neural cell culture systems, which mimic cortical cell layer architecture in vitro, contributing to studies on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. During her postdoctoral research at UCLA (2012–2015), she won two postdoctoral fellowships from the Swiss National Science Foundation and the UC Systemwide Bioengineering Award for her work on intracellular nanoparticle-mediated neuronal cell engineering. She was also appointed as an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of Mathematics at UCLA (2015–2016).
Dr. Kunze has received several prestigious awards, including the NSF CAREER Award (2019) for her research on modulating calcium communication in neurons with nanomagnetic forces, the Cox Faculty Award for Creative Scholarship and Teaching, and the NACOE Research Award (2023). She is actively involved in NIH study sections as an ad-hoc reviewer and chair and recently co-founded NanoMagnetic Solutions, Inc., a startup focused on advancing neuroengineering technologies. Her research interests span micro- and nanotechnology tools, bioelectronics, BioMEMS, neurodegenerative diseases, tissue engineering, and mathematical modeling to develop innovative neuro-therapeutic solutions. Dr. Kunze continues to mentor students and lead groundbreaking research in her field.
Her research has focused on microfluidic-based neural cell culture systems, which mimic cortical cell layer architecture in vitro, contributing to studies on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. During her postdoctoral research at UCLA (2012–2015), she won two postdoctoral fellowships from the Swiss National Science Foundation and the UC Systemwide Bioengineering Award for her work on intracellular nanoparticle-mediated neuronal cell engineering. She was also appointed as an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of Mathematics at UCLA (2015–2016).
Dr. Kunze has received several prestigious awards, including the NSF CAREER Award (2019) for her research on modulating calcium communication in neurons with nanomagnetic forces, the Cox Faculty Award for Creative Scholarship and Teaching, and the NACOE Research Award (2023). She is actively involved in NIH study sections as an ad-hoc reviewer and chair and recently co-founded NanoMagnetic Solutions, Inc., a startup focused on advancing neuroengineering technologies. Her research interests span micro- and nanotechnology tools, bioelectronics, BioMEMS, neurodegenerative diseases, tissue engineering, and mathematical modeling to develop innovative neuro-therapeutic solutions. Dr. Kunze continues to mentor students and lead groundbreaking research in her field.
Awards and Grants
09/2024 - 06/2025 NASA EPSCoR Award
06/2024 - 05/2025 Bryan Innovative Instructional Grant
07/2024 - 06/2025 Thorson Excellence in Engineering Research (TEER) Grant
05/2023 Excellence in Research Award by the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering
02/2023 COX Faculty Award for Creative Scholarship and Teaching
01/2023 - 12/2023 USEDA award (#ED19HDQ0200091 #2)
01/2022 - 12/2022 USEDA award (#ED19HDQ0200091)
06/2021 - 05/2023 NIH R21 Award (NIA #1R21AG071691-01)
01/2021 - 12/2021 MSU "Catalyst" Gap Grant
06/2019 - 05/2020 Thorson Excellence in Engineering Research (TEER) Grant
06/2019 - 05/2025 NSF CAREER Award (Grant # CBET-1846271)
02/2019 ECE 2019 Donald A. Pierre Graduate Student Paper Award for Derek Judge's paper
10/2013 - 03/2015 2nd Postdoc Fellowship from Swiss National Science Foundation [link to report]
06/2013 UC Systemwide Bioengineering Award at UC Bioengineering Symposium, San Diego, CA, USA
04/2012 - 10/2013 1st Postdoc Fellowship from Swiss National Science Foundation [link to report]
11/2010 Nominated for the Art in Science Award, Lab Chip, 2011, 11, 993-994 DOI:10.1039/C1LC90007B
11/2007 ALA Award for Best Poster at NanoBioTech-Montreux, Switzerland
03/2005 Erasmus fellowship, TU Dresden
09/2004 Femtec Network Fellowship, TU Berlin
06/2024 - 05/2025 Bryan Innovative Instructional Grant
07/2024 - 06/2025 Thorson Excellence in Engineering Research (TEER) Grant
05/2023 Excellence in Research Award by the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering
02/2023 COX Faculty Award for Creative Scholarship and Teaching
01/2023 - 12/2023 USEDA award (#ED19HDQ0200091 #2)
01/2022 - 12/2022 USEDA award (#ED19HDQ0200091)
06/2021 - 05/2023 NIH R21 Award (NIA #1R21AG071691-01)
01/2021 - 12/2021 MSU "Catalyst" Gap Grant
06/2019 - 05/2020 Thorson Excellence in Engineering Research (TEER) Grant
06/2019 - 05/2025 NSF CAREER Award (Grant # CBET-1846271)
02/2019 ECE 2019 Donald A. Pierre Graduate Student Paper Award for Derek Judge's paper
10/2013 - 03/2015 2nd Postdoc Fellowship from Swiss National Science Foundation [link to report]
06/2013 UC Systemwide Bioengineering Award at UC Bioengineering Symposium, San Diego, CA, USA
04/2012 - 10/2013 1st Postdoc Fellowship from Swiss National Science Foundation [link to report]
11/2010 Nominated for the Art in Science Award, Lab Chip, 2011, 11, 993-994 DOI:10.1039/C1LC90007B
11/2007 ALA Award for Best Poster at NanoBioTech-Montreux, Switzerland
03/2005 Erasmus fellowship, TU Dresden
09/2004 Femtec Network Fellowship, TU Berlin
(c) 2015 - 2025 Kunze Lab