Community partners and Supporters
Gotham Foundry Materials Innovation Team
The Gotham Foundry Materials Innovation Team consists of an outstanding team of engineering and science faculty (40+) at Columbia, CUNY, and FIT, as well as the talented researchers, inventors, and students working with and collaborating across these premier NYC institutions, and within the wider community nationally and globally.
Gotham Foundry Executive Committee
Director, Gotham Foundry, Director of Foundry Hub at Columbia
Helen H. Lu, PhD
RESEARCH EXPERTISE: Regenerative Materials, Biofabrication, Biointerfaces, Bioactive materials for healthy aging
GF SECTOR: Fashion, Wellness and Health, Innovation and Partnership
Helen H. Lu’s research focuses on regenerative materials for extending health span, specifically degradable medical devices for sports medicine, oral health and women’s health. Lu’s collaboration with Theanne Schiros on building with biology has extended biofabrication to beyond health. She is currently the Percy K. and Vida L. W. Hudson Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Professor of Dental and Craniofacial Engineering at Columbia University, and a member of the National Academy of Inventors.
Co-director, Gotham Foundry, Director of FIT site
Theanne Schiros
RESEARCH EXPERTISE: Chemical Physics, Materials Innovation, Biofabrication, Life Cycle Impact Assessment
GF SECTOR: Fashion, Innovation, Workforce Development
Theanne Schiros’ work bridges advanced material development and sustainability, from renewable energy technology to regenerative textiles. She is currently a Professor of Materials Science at the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY-FIT), a National Geographic Society Explorer, and deeply engaged in both research and democratizing science access. She co-founded biomaterials startups (e.g. Keel Labs, Werewool) with Helen Lu and students.
Co-director, Gotham Foundry, Director of CUNY-ASRC site
Rein V. Ulijn
RESEARCH EXPERTISE: Peptide Materials, Nanomaterials
R&D SECTOR: Fashion, Health and Wellness, Workforce Development
Rein V. Ulijn’s research focuses on peptide nanotechnology, bioinspired materials and nanoscience, and their wide-ranging applications in energy, biomedicine, environmental protection, food, cosmetics, and personal care. He is currently the Albert Einstein and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Hunter College, CUNY, founding Director of the Nanoscience Initiative at CUNY’s Advanced Science Research Center, and Director of the ASRC Center for Advanced Technology.
Co-director, Gotham Foundry
Kate Ascher
RESEARCH EXPERTISE: Urban and economic development
GF SECTOR: Construction, real estate, partnerships
Kate Ascher’s expertise in structuring public-private partnerships for urban and economic development stems from her work earlier in her career with the Port Authority, NYC Economic Development Corporation, PWC and Vornado. She specializes in urban infrastructure and planning, and currently serves as the Milstein Professor of Urban Development at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP).
Executive Director, Genspace
CASEY LARDNER
GF SECTOR: Workforce development, partnerships
Casey Lardner is the Executive Director of Genspace, the world's first community biology lab. A neuroscientist by training, she earned her doctorate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai studying epigenetic regulation in the mammalian brain and later explored how urban environments shape brains and behavior. At Genspace, she and her team advance a mission of radical access to science through hands-on education, workforce development, artist residencies, and community-driven research. Named a Next Generation Leader at the 2025 “Spirit of Asilomar” Summit, Dr. Lardner joins a global fellowship catalyzing the next 50 years of effective governance for bioinnovation.
