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Directory of Faculty by Research Thrust

Postdocs

Meet the postdoctoral research fellows from the Center for Engineering in Medicine & Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Raheel Ahmad, PhD

Raheel Ahmad, PhD

Education:
PhD (Magna Cum Laude), Process and Systems Engineering, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self- Organization Goettingen, Germany and Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany, 2022
MS, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST, Republic of Korea, 2016
BS (Dean's Honour Roll), Chemical Engineering, UET Lahore, Pakistan, 2014

Contact:
Contact by email

Research:
My research focuses on a dual barcoding approach to observe T-cell activation and correlate the activation profile with fluorescent and DNA barcodes using a droplet microfluidic approach. The fluorescent barcodes can then be used to enrich highly active cell pairs by droplet sorting, while the DNA barcodes allow annotation of the T-cell sequence with the observed T-cell's activation. I am also interested in imaging and characterizing heart-derived extracellular vesicles.


Ezgi Antmen headshot

Ezgi Antmen, PhD, MSc

Education:
Ph.D., Biotechnology, METU, 2017
M.Sc., Biology, METU, 2013
B.Sc., Molecular Biology and Genetics, METU, 2011
 
 
Research: 
My current research focuses mainly on the microfluidic T-cell isolation and expansion from leukapheresis products for cancer immunotherapy manufacturing. I also work on 3D culturing of tumor cells and targeted nanoparticles for drug delivery to tumor cells.
 

Bradley W Ellis, PhD

Bradley W Ellis, PhD

Education:
BS, Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, 2015
MS, Bioengineering, University of Notre Dame 2019
PhD, Bioengineering, University of Notre Dame, 2022"

Contact:
Contact by email

Research:
My main research focuses on developing novel models and treatments to improve liver preservation for transplant. By utilizing tissue engineering and molecular biology techniques, I develop benchtop models to better understand the role of various parameters on liver health and functionality. We hope that this knowledge will lead to an increased use of marginal livers in transplant scenarios thus expanding the donor pool and patient access to liver transplant.


Shijie He, PhD

Shijie He, PhD

Education:
PhD, Biomechanics, Beijing Institute of Technology, 2016
BS, Engineering of Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, 2010

Contact:
Contact by email

Research:
I am mainly interested in cell mechanics, i.e. the roles of physical/mechanical factors including forces, stiffness, geometries in cell migration, proliferation and differentiation. Currently I am studying the effects of extracellular matrix on intestinal organoids which are derived from primary intestinal stem cell.


Ziya Isiksacan, PhD

Ziya Isiksacan, PhD

Education:
PhD, Materials Science & Nanotechnology, Bilkent University, 2020
MS, Bioelectronics & Biosensors, Edinburgh University, 2014
BS, Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Koc University, 2012

Contact:
Contact by email

Research:
I study red blood cell dynamics to measure blood material properties and key hemorheological parameters. To this end, I develop portable diagnostic platforms and fabricate microfluidic chips using novel fabrication techniques. I am interested in optimizing red blood cell storage conditions through deep supercooling to enable safer blood transfusion. I focus on biochemical and biophysical aspects of blood coagulation and thromboembolism.


Rohil Jain, PhD

Rohil Jain, PhD

Education:
PhD, School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, 2021
Bachelor of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, 2013

Contact:
Contact by email

Research:
My research at the CEMS primarily focuses on developing liquid biopsy assay for analyzing circulating biomarkers of injury and rejection in solid organ transplants. I also develop non-invasive technologies for analyzing the quality of liver grafts for liver transplants. These technologies are used for analyzing health of the organ before the transplant when it may be machine perfused, or for analyzing health of the graft after transplantation in a patient.


Justyna Jaskiewicz

Justyna Jaskiewicz, PhD, MSc, DVM

Education:
PhD, Infectious Diseases, Tufts University, 2020
MSc, Control of Infectious Diseases, Royal Veterinary College, 2012
DVM, Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 2008

Contact:
Contact by email

Research:
As a biomedical researcher with background in veterinary medicine I am interested in studying zoonotic and One Health pathogens of global health importance. My investigations at the CEMS focus on methods of preservation of apicomplexan parasites of Cryptosporidium and Plasmodium species.


Purva Joshi headshot

Purva Joshi, PhD

Education:
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2021
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2017
B.E. Mechanical Engineering, Pune University, 2015
 
 
Research: 
I am a mechanical engineer with a background in thermal sciences, solid mechanics, computation and engineering modeling. At CEMS, I am working on developing and optimizing preservation strategies for Anopheles mosquito and Drosophila embryos.


Murat Kaynak, PhD

Murat Kaynak, PhD

Education:
Ph.D., École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 2021
M.Sc., The Pennsylvania State University, 2016
B.Sc., Istanbul University, 2011

Contact:
Email: Contact by email

Research:
I am interested in the design, fabrication, and applications of microengineered devices. I utilize these devices to study the mechanics of living systems, by exploring the relationship between diseases and their emergent mechanical properties in single cells and tissues.

My current research involves developing acoustofluidic methods to measure the stiffness of spheroids during nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) progression. I employ micro/nanofabrication methods to build high-precision platforms that can continuously analyze the disease stages at high throughput.


Michelle E. McCarthy

Michelle E. McCarthy, MD MS

Education:
BSE, Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, 2015
BS, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Tulane University, 2015
MS, Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, 2015
MD, Tulane University, 2020

Research Interests:
I have two main research thrusts, 1) developing novel techniques for improving radiation burn wound healing and 2) developing methods for the decellularization and recellularization of vascular composite allografts.

In the case of radiation burn wound healing, my work focuses on creating chemical modified mRNA for the treatment radiation-induced cellular injury. Our work aims to lessen the side effect of radiation skin injury in cancer patients, and allow them to continue receiving radiation treatments.

Vascular composite allografts (VCAs) allow for the transplantation of whole functional units of tissue, such as the whole hand or face. Recipients however require lifelong immunosuppression, and rejection can be catastrophic. Decellularization of VCAs remove all cellular material from the donor, and recellularization of the graft with the recipient’s cells would create a non-immunogenic biologic graft. My work focuses on developing methods for creating these grafts for the digits, nipple & areola complex, and face.


Khanh Nguyen

Khanh T. Nguyen, PhD

Education:
Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2022
B.Eng., Biomedical Engineering, International University of Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City, 2017

Contact: knguyen77@mgh.harvard.edu

Research:
I am working on developing novel methods to quantitatively assess organ injury and viability biomarkers that are predictive of transplantation success/outcomes. I am also interested in cryopreservation methods that utilize tools from molecular and cell biology to support cardiac and liver transplantations. These projects draw on my prior experience with a multidisciplinary research approach at the interface of engineering, chemistry, and life science. They also expand my training expertise in the areas of animal models and ex-vivo research techniques. Working at CEMS enables my passion for performing high-impact translational research that address clinically relevant problems with direct benefit to patients.


Daniel C Rabe, PhD

Daniel C Rabe, PhD

Education:
PhD, Cancer Biology, University of Chicago, 2017
MS, Translational Research, University of Chicago, 2014
BA (with honors), Chemistry, University of Chicago, 2007
BS (with honors), Biochemistry, University of Chicago, 2007

Contact:
Contact by email

Profile:
Researchgate

Research:
My current project is utilizing single-cell in droplet (inDrop) RNAseq to understand how tumor extracellular vesicle (EV) secretion is altering the tumor microenvironment in glioblastoma. Additionally, we are examining how tumor and immune EVs isolated using microfluidics developed in the Stott laboratory can be utilized as biomarkers for response to immunotherapy.


Gurit Singh, PhDGurjit Singh

Education:
PhD, Biology, Carleton University, Canada, 2022
MS, Biotechnology, University of Houston, Clear Lake, 2013
Bachelor of Technology, Biotechnology, Kurukshetra University, India, 2010

Contact:
Contact by email

Profile:
LinkedIn

Research:
My graduate training involved understanding unique biochemical and molecular adaptations in stress-tolerant animals. At CEMS, I am specifically interested in utilizing this knowledge to improve strategies in heart preservation and transplantation using classic model organisms (such as Zebrafish) and transitioning to a mammalian model to improve cardiac ischemia tolerance and recovery. Overall, the ultimate goal is to scale up this work in humans to alleviate organ shortage and transplantation in marginal hearts.


Zhan headshot

Li Zhan

Education:
PhD, Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, 2020
BS, Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, 2014

Contact:
lzhan@mgh.harvard.edu

Research:
My research background lies in cryopreservation, point-of-care diagnostics, and laser-nanoparticle interaction. My project at the CEMS primarily focuses on the enrichment of skin stem cells using microfluidic techniques.


Technical Staff

Abby Callahan-Muller

Abby Callahan-Muller

Education
B.S., Biology, Elon University, 2021

Contact:
Contact by email

Research:
Daphnia, anopheles, drosophila and various cell lines are utilized to help determine CPA cocktails and protocols to try and better cryopreserve them. 


Other Personnel

Personnel at the Center for Engineering in Medicine & Surgery, part of the Department of Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Jon F. Edd, PhD

Jon F. Edd, PhD

Education
PhD, Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 2006
BS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 2001

Contact:
Contact by email

Research:
As a member of the innovation team at the Center for Engineering in Medicine & Surgery, my primary focus is to develop rare cell isolation technologies. This includes antigen-agnostic isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), CTC clusters, and bacteria, from whole blood.


Ravi Kupur, PhD

Ravi Kupur, PhD

Education
PhD, Bioengineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 1995
MS, Bioengineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 1991
BE, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, India, 1989

Contact:
Phone: 781-363-3530
Contact by email
Website: www.micro-medicine.com

Research:
Innovation to bring nascent technologies through development, clinical translation and commercial launch. Specializing in rare cell isolation for detection, diagnosis and therapy. Current initiatives include the transition to commercial setting of the circulating tumor cell isolation platform & commercial development of automated microfluidic platform for autologous cellular therapy and diagnosis.


Christian Godfrey

Research Engineer

Education
BS, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 2022

Contact:
Contact by email

Research:
My research focuses on developing novel tools and methodologies to characterize neutrophils. In addition, I fabricate, optimize, and employ a "swarming assay" to probe the collective behavior of neutrophils in response injury and infection.


Jaime Greatorex

Research Technician

Education:
B.S. in biochemistry from Roger Williams University, 2023

Contact:
Contact via email

Research:
I am currently working on neutrophil swarming assay's that will help study neutrophil behavior and activity.


Catherine Heremans

Catherine Heremans

Administrative Staff

Education
PhD, Materials Science and Engineering, MIT, 1993
MS, Materials Science and Engineering, MIT, 1989
Eng Dipl, Materials Science, UCLouvain, Belgium, 1987

Contact:
Contact by email