The Department of Bioengineering Welcomes Natsumi Komatsu

The Department of Bioengineering at The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is pleased to welcome professor Natsumi Komatsu to its faculty. With a strong background in multiple fields, including bioengineering, material science, and neural engineering, Komatsu is a perfect addition to a department that values interdisciplinary collaboration and pushing the boundaries of research. Learn more about Komatsu’s background and what she hopes to accomplish at Illinois below.

Tell us a little about your background.

I was born and raised in a small town called Nagano in Japan (home of the 1998 Winter Olympics!) I completed all of my schooling through undergraduate studies in Japan, but I spent a year at Rice University as an exchange student. I loved the experience so much that I decided to pursue graduate school in the United States. I earned my Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering at Rice University and then completed my postdoctoral training at UC Berkeley.

What aspects of Bioengineering at Illinois made this the right place for your next chapter?

One of the things that drew me most to Illinois was the new Neural Engineering degree program, which strongly aligns with my long-term research vision. I also saw great synergy between my work and the expertise of many faculty members in the department. More broadly, I was really drawn to the highly interdisciplinary and collaborative culture at Illinois. My research sits at the intersection of many disciplines, so being in an environment where collaboration is so deeply valued felt like a perfect fit.

Tell us about your previous work.

Although my degree is in electrical and computer engineering, the best way to describe my Ph.D. research is nanomaterials engineering. I focused on understanding and engineering the fundamental properties of carbon nanotubes, including their optical behavior. Toward the end of my Ph.D., I became fascinated by the work of professor Markita Landry at UC Berkeley, whose group uses carbon nanotubes as fluorescent sensors to study the brain. That inspired me to join her lab as a postdoc, where I developed and applied these sensors to answer neuroscience questions that conventional techniques could not easily address.

What research are you most excited to start at Illinois?

There are many directions I’m looking forward to exploring, both in sensor development and neuroscience applications. On the sensor side, I’m excited to build on my Ph.D. background to create new types of nanosensors. One particularly exciting aspect of carbon nanotubes is that different nanotube types emit different colors of light, which opens the possibility of developing multicolor sensors to monitor multiple neurochemicals in the brain simultaneously.

On the neuroscience side, most of my work so far has focused on brain slices. I’m looking forward to expanding into other systems, including 3D tissue models, organs-on-a-chip, and even other organs such as the intestine. Illinois has incredible strengths in these areas, and I’m excited about the opportunities to collaborate across disciplines.

You have a robust background in material science. Illinois has a very strong material science program and a great deal of interdisciplinary collaboration between the Material Science and Bioengineering Departments. Are there any collaborations between the two disciplines you’re looking forward to?

Absolutely! Materials engineering, device development, and advanced imaging and characterization techniques are all areas where Illinois has exceptional expertise and where I see many exciting opportunities for collaboration. My research naturally sits at the interface of these disciplines, so I’m really looking forward to working with faculty across both bioengineering and materials science to develop new technologies for studying the brain.

Will you be teaching, and if so, what are you looking forward to about working with undergraduates?

I’ll start teaching in Spring 2027, and my first course will be Neuroimaging. Looking back on my own undergraduate experience, one of the most important things for me was being exposed to career paths and opportunities that I hadn’t previously known about—including pursuing a Ph.D.! I hope I can help students discover different possibilities while introducing them to the many fascinating imaging techniques used to study the brain.

What are you looking forward to about working with graduate students?

Mentoring is one of the biggest reasons I chose a career in academia, so I’m incredibly excited to work with graduate students. Beyond learning how to become independent researchers, graduate school was also a time when I learned a lot about myself—what kinds of science I enjoy, where my strengths lie, and what paths felt meaningful to me. I hope to support students not only in developing as scientists, but also in discovering their own strengths and reaching their full potential.

With Illinois’ research infrastructure, what are some other long-term projects you would like to engage with on campus?

A major focus in neuroscience has been understanding how neurons are connected. I study neurochemicals—the chemical messengers that neurons use to communicate. At Illinois, there are many researchers studying these molecules from different perspectives and using complementary techniques. Long-term, I would love to contribute to building a more comprehensive “chemical map” of the brain, bringing expertise together from across campus to better understand how neurochemical signaling shapes behavior and health.

What are some other fun facts about yourself?

I’m a huge food lover, so I was very excited to discover how many great food options there are around campus! I also love reading and am always looking for book recommendations.