Aaron Kushner, Ph.D. Email & Phone Number

San Diego, California, United States

Greater San Diego Area

Consulting on Smart and Nano materials innovation and commercialization projects

Greater San Diego Area

Evaluate investment opportunities in the advanced materials space

Commercialize advanced materials IP

Advisor: Dr. Zhibin Guan• Coordinate multiple projects as senior member of bio-inspired materials team• Refine self-healing nanocomposite system to advance commercialization of UC intellectual propertyPatents• Guan, Z., Kushner, A. M., Chen, Y. Williams, G. Synthesis of multiphase self-healing polymers from commodity monomers. PCT 15/736,210, 2015 • Guan, Z., Kushner, A. M., Bio-inspired method to obtain multifunctional dynamic nanocomposites. WO 2013134569 A1, 2012Publications• Cheung, J-Y., Kushner, A. M., Weisman, A., Guan, Z.; Direct Correlation of Single Molecule Behavior with Bulk Mechanical Properties for a Biomimetic Polymer, Nat. Materials., 2014, 13, 1055-1062. • Hentschel, J., Kushner, A. M., Guan, Z.; Supramolecular Block Copolymers for Self-healing Thermoplastic Elastomers, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2012, 42, 10561-10565.• Kushner, A. M., Chen, Y., Williams, G. A., Guan, Z.; Multiphase Design of Autonomic Self-healing Materials, Nat. Chem., 2012, 4, 467-472.

Irvine, Ca

Dissertation Title: Biomimetic Modular Polymers with Advanced Mechanical PropertiesAdvisor: Dr. Zhibin GuanResearch Skills• Multifunctional Materials Design, Conversion of Laboratory Research to New IP• Multi-step Organic Synthesis • Molecular Characterizationo NMR, IR, MS, X-ray, GPC, DLS• Materials Characterizationo DSC, TGA, DMA, Instron• Nano-structure Characterizationo AFM, SEM, TEM, SAXSPublications• Kushner, A. M.; Guan, Z.; Modular Design in Natural and Biomimetic Soft Materials, Review; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2011, 50, 39, 9026-9057.• Kushner, A. M.; Vossler, J. D. ; Williams, G. A. ; Guan, Z.; A Biomimetic Modular Polymer with Tough and Adaptive Properties J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 25, 8766-8768.• Kushner, A. M.; Gabuchian, V.; Johnson, E. G.; Guan, Z., Biomimetic Design of Reversibly Unfolding Cross-Linker to Enhance Mechanical Properties of 3D Network Polymers. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 46, 14110-14111.Awards and HonorsUC Regents Dissertation Fellowship, 2010Hal Moore Award, Outstanding Senior Graduate Student, UC Irvine, Dept. of Chemistry 2009Eli Lilly Graduate Fellowship, 2008Sponsored attendee, 56th Annual Meeting of the Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, 2006Mike Zach Award: Most Promising Future Faculty Member in Organic Chemistry, UC Irvine, Dept. of Chemistry, 2005

San Francisco Bay Area

A nutraceutical company founded to explore the commercialization potential of employing Traditional Chinese Medicine to relieve the common side effects of modern Western pharmaceutical treatments. Idea formed during medicinal chemistry effort to develop an over-active bladder drug that did not cause drymouth forcing stoppage of therapy in 40% of patients. TCM is known to be effective against common side-effects such as headache, nausea, dry-mouth, diarrrhea, and insomnia. If a >$100 million drug development effort could be replaced by combining a working Western therapy with a TCM therapy that is classified as a food by the FDA, there would be significant economic advantage.

Advisor: Dr. Mathai Mammen• Synthesized and characterized over 900 new compounds, from 0.1 g to 10 g scalePatents:• Mammen, M.; Ji, Y.-H.; Mu, Y.; Stangeland, E. L.; Kushner, A. M. ; Husfeld, C. Preparation of biphenyl compounds useful as muscarinic receptor antagonists. U.S. Pat. Publ. 2005-77345 2005203131, 20050310., 2005.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

•Synthesized and characterized monomers and hydrogels for contact lens applications

Ph.D., Chemistry (Multifunctional Polymers And Nanocomposites)

Dissertation Title: Biomimetic Modular Polymers with Advanced Mechanical Properties Advisor: Dr. Zhibin Guan

Mechanical And Electrical Engineering

B.S., Chemistry

Education record