Michael Gower is a Research Scientist at the Columbia VA Health Care System and an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of South Carolina. His laboratory investigates how biomaterials regulate cellular function and applies these insights to develop drug‑delivery strategies for tissue repair and regeneration. He earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Davis, where he studied inflammation in atherosclerosis. He completed postdoctoral training at Northwestern University focused on immune responses to biomaterials and the use of polymer scaffolds for islet transplantation. His research is supported by the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Service and the National Science Foundation.