Professor Tara Meyer

Professor Tara Meyer
Department of Chemistry
University of Pittsburgh

The Effects of Sequence and Architecture on the Degradation of Polyesters

Renewable biodegradable polymers such as poly(lactic- co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) are widely used in materials and biomedical contexts, yet their degradation behavior is typically controlled through coarse variables such as overall composition or molecular weight. The Meyer group has found that molecular-level structure, specifically monomer sequence and macromolecular architecture, provides a more precise and predictive handle on degradation in PLGA-based materials. Dramatic differences in hydrolytic degradation are observed for polymers with identical composition but subtly different monomer order, revealing a strong sensitivity to local connectivity. Related effects emerge in PLGA brush architectures, where sequence combines with grafting density and backbone-side chain organization to further regulate water access and bond cleavage.

Tara Meyer

Tara Y. Meyer received her B.A. from Grinnell College in 1991 and her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1991 (Advisor Louis Messerle). She carried out postdoctoral work at both the University of Iowa (1991-2) under the supervision of Prof. Richard F. Jordan and at the University of California, Berkeley (1992-4) under the joint supervision of Prof. Robert G. Bergman and Bruce M. Novak. Dr. Meyer joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Chemistry in 1994 and has served the University in a variety of roles including as Asst. Dean for Graduate Studies and Senior Advisor to the Dean. Her research has been recognized by both CAREER and Sloan Foundation Awards and a sabbatical stay at MIT (2003) was supported by an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award. Dr. Meyer co-edited the first ACS symposium series on sequence-controlled polymers and was a co-organizer of symposia on the topic at 2013 & 2016 ACS Meetings and 2015 Pacifichem meeting.

Hosted by Professor Lamb