Interfaces and adhesions between materials present some of the greatest engineering challenges in nature, medicine, and structural design. My group studies how connections between dissimilar materials occur in nature, and applies this knowledge to propose and develop treatments and interventions. My group’s current thrust areas include adhesion of tendon to bone, interfaces within the heart in cardiomyopathy, and adaptive interfacial structures in plants. In each case, experimental and computational structural mechanics techniques and tools are at the core of our cross-disciplinary approaches.