Abstract: The present invention provides for a biochemically and physically defined extracellular microenvironment prepared from mussel adhesive proteins recombinantly functionalized with a variety of bioactive peptides such as extracellular matrix-derived or growth factor-derived peptides. The synthetic extracellular microenvironment can be customized to regulate cellular behavior such as cell adhesion, growth, differentiation and morphogenesis in a variety of cells. The invention provides for a modulatory extracellular microenvironment by presenting a matricryptic site into said mussel adhesive proteins. The invention also provides for devices and methods for screening for optimal combinations of ECM derived peptide motifs in order to create a microenvironment that can regulate specific cellular behavior.