Author

Maxwell Polanek

University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignORCID 0000-0002-2433-7607Unclaimed ORCID profile · follow to get notified of new preprints

Biology Disciplines

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Bioengineering· 2

Signature Assays, Organisms & Methods

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Research Focus:cell type annotation· 2 Approach:experimental assay· 2 Assay:proteomics· 2 Assay:bulk RNA-seq· 1 Research Focus:cancer & tumor microenvironment· 1 Research Focus:cell-cell communication· 1 Research Focus:development & morphogenesis· 1 Research Focus:differential expression· 1

Frequent Co-Authors

Brendan A.C. HarleyiD· 2 shared Hashni Epa Vidana GamageiD· 2 shared Kara L. SpilleriD· 2 shared Melisande Wong Yan Ling· 2 shared Vasiliki KolliopoulosiD· 2 shared Aleczandria S. TiffanyiD· 1 shared Angela LiniD· 1 shared Erik R. Nelson· 1 shared

Activity by Year

2026-2026 · peak 2/yr

Co-Author Collaboration Network

10 top collaborators · 39 mutual co-author links

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2 shared papersBioengineering

Brendan A.C. HarleyORCID

Mutual co-authors in cluster

Author profile →

2 papers

Recent·Most cited

Reciprocal macrophage-MSC crosstalk drives immunomodulatory and regenerative phenotypes in a mineralized collagen scaffold

Vasiliki Kolliopoulos, Maxwell Polanek, Hashni Epa Vidana Gamage, Melisande Wong Yan Ling, Aleczandria S. Tiffany, Erik R. Nelson, Kara L. Spiller, Brendan A.C. Harley

This study shows that MSC-macrophage interactions in a mineralized collagen scaffold drive immunomodulatory and regenerative responses through IL-6 secretion and M2-like macrophage polarization.

Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A · Jun 1, 2026Peer-reviewedBioengineering

Mineralized collagen scaffold pore architecture and glycosaminoglycan content biases anti-inflammatory macrophage phenotype

Vasiliki Kolliopoulos, Hashni Epa Vidana Gamage, Maxwell Polanek, Melisande Wong Yan Ling, Angela Lin, Robert E. Guldberg, Erik Russell Nelson, Kara L. Spiller, Brendan A.C. Harley

This study shows how scaffold pore size, alignment, and glycosaminoglycan content influence macrophage polarization toward M2-like phenotypes in 3D mineralized collagen scaffolds.

bioRxiv · Mar 12, 2026 · PreprintBioengineering