Teaching Team
Previous Instructors
Dr. Brandi Omerod, Dr. Blanka Sharma, Dr. Stephen Arce, Dr. Peter McFetridge
Fall 2020 Supervised Teaching Students
madeline fuchs
Juanpablo (JP) olguin
janny pineiro llanes
alexander weber
Spring 2020 Supervised Teaching Students
Michele dill
Michele is a second year PhD candidate in Dr. Chelsey Simmons’ lab within the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Florida where she focused on the phosphate-chelation properties of chitosan for applications in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease. Currently, she is investigating mechanical signaling of fibroblasts from the regenerative mammal, the African Spiny Mouse, which may assist in scar-free wound healing applications for humans. In her free time, Michele enjoys hiking and playing the clarinet (she was in Gator Band during her time in Undergrad!)
natalia fabela
Nat is a second year PhD student in the labs of Dr. Benjamin Keselowsky and Dr. Gregory Hudalla. She received her BS in Biomedical Engineering from Texas A&M University where she focused on biomaterials and tissue engineering. Her research now focuses on the immobilization of anti-inflammatory enzymes on peptide-based biomaterials. In her free time, she likes cooking and reading.
janny pineiro llanes
Janny got her B.S in Materials Science and M.S in Biomedical Engineering at UF. During her master’s degree she worked on a model systems of Pancreatic Cancer. Janny enjoys working at the interstice of different fields; for this reason, she interned at NASA LaRC where she contributed to the integration of concepts commonly used in the medical diagnostic field to non-destructive evaluation of components for aerospace applications. Specifically, she studied the used of ultrasonic backscatter theory to characterize fiber reinforced composites. Janny returned to Simmons Mechanobiology Lab to pursue a PhD in BME with focus on Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering. Currently, she is working on engineering microenvironments for stem cell differentiation in collaboration with Pacak’s Lab. During her leisure time, Janny enjoys outdoors activities, traveling and learning about other cultures.
jared rozowsky
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magdalena samojlik
Magda is a second year PhD student in Dr. Cherie Stabler’s lab where she is focused on engineering a 3-D dynamic islet-immune platform for controlled interrogation of human Type 1 Diabetes pathogenesis. She received her B.S in Biomedical Sciences from University of South Florida, and her Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from University of Florida. She then worked as a Research Assistant in the Stabler lab for a year before joining the PhD program. Her research interests include cell-cell interactions, immunology, and immunomodulatory biomaterials. Magda’s free time revolves around her two dogs, but also includes baking, and reading true crime books.
jorge santini
Jorge is currently a second year PhD student in Dr. Ed Phelps’s lab developing biomaterials for local immune tolerance in type 1 diabetes. His research interests include high-resolution microscopy, cell-matrix interactions and smart biomaterials. He graduated from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez in 2017 with a dual bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and industrial biotechnology. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, learning about other cultures and new languages.
Fall 2019 Supervised Teaching Students
Kiara Chan
Kiara is a third year Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Kyle Allen’s lab. She received her bachelor’s degree in Materials Science & Engineering from Cornell University where she performed work characterizing the composition of articular cartilage with Raman spectroscopy. Currently, she is studying osteoarthritis pain and pathophysiology, with a focus on how exercise and physical activity alter inflammatory events. In her spare time, Kiara enjoys running, watching gymnastics, and spending time with friends.
Walker Hagan
Walker is a third year PhD student in the Phelps Lab. As a bioengineering undergraduate at Clemson University, he investigated the dielectric properties of single cells using microwave interferometry. His current project utilizes engineering tools for discovery of non-vesicular neurotransmitter signaling within pancreatic islets. With 20 years of piano experience, Walker has been awarded by the National Piano Guild and spends his free time on music production and composition.
Shreedevi Kumar
Shree is a third year Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Blanka Sharma’s lab where she does targeted drug delivery research using nano and microparticles in osteoarthritis. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at Cornell University and she conducted drug delivery and polymer research with Dr. David Putnam’s lab in Biomedical Engineering. After her undergrad degree, Shree was an operations and strategy consultant with Deloitte Consulting for a few years before she came to her senses and returned to engineering.
Bethsymarie Soto Morales
Bethsymarie is a third year PhD student in Dr. Gregory Hudalla’s lab. She received her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez in 2017. Bethsymarie, under the guidance of Dr. Hudalla, develops biomaterials fabricated from co-assembling peptides for local delivery of immunomodulatory enzymes.
Jenn Simonovich
Jenn is a second year PhD student in Dr. Ben Keselowsky’s lab. She received her bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering from Olin College of Engineering in 2012, where she did research on directional cell migration, as well as engineering education. After undergrad, she worked at the Stanford Genome Technology Center, and was a part of a team of biologists and engineers who spun off their research into the next-generation DNA sequencing startup, Sirona Genomics. After Sirona was bought out by a larger biotech firm, she returned to academia, and now studies the effect of localized metabolic programming on immune cells.
Spring 2019 Supervised Teaching Students
Robert Accolla
Robert is a 2nd-year PhD student in Dr. Cherie Stabler’s lab. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biological systems engineering from Virginia Tech in 2017. Robert’s research focuses on designing platforms for controlled release of therapeutics and oxygen for use in type 1 diabetes treatment. Outside of lab, Robert enjoys running and rock climbing when he’s not caring for his 1-year-old pet parrot.
Alexander Kwiatkowski
Alex is a second-year graduate student in the Keselowsky Lab. He received his bachelor’s degree in Biological Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2016. His research involves using a dual microparticle system to treat multiple sclerosis in vivo. In his free time he enjoys playing intramural sports and watching Netflix.
Brittany Partain
Brittany is currently a third year PhD student in Dr. Kyle Allen’s lab. She received her bachelor’s degree in biopharmaceutical engineering from Lehigh University in 2016. Brittany’s research now focuses on using the unique properties of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles to explore osteoarthritis disease progression. When not in lab, Brittany loves spending time with her catahoula cur dog Leo, spending time with friends, and training for a half marathon.
Dillon Seroski
Dillon is currently a third year graduate student in Dr. Hudalla’s lab. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Florida in 2015. Dillon’s research is now focused towards designing unique biomaterial platforms for uses in recombinant enzyme immobilization and enzyme mediated glycosylation. Outside of the lab, Dillon enjoys playing frisbee with his Australian Shepherd, Koda (yes you can ask him for pictures), maintaining my aquarium, video games, and traveling to new cities for great photo opportunities.
Fall 2018 Supervised Teaching Students
Matthew Becker
I am a second year PhD student in Dr. Ed Phelps’s lab studying bioengineered strategies to induce tolerance in type 1 diabetes. My research interests include high resolution microscopy, immune cell-islet cell interactions, and immune cell derived exosomes. I earned my bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering at The Ohio State University and did an undergraduate thesis on nanoparticle synthesis for targeted drug delivery.
Deanna Bousalis
Deanna Bousalis is a 3rd-year PhD student in the lab of Dr. Christine Schmidt. She graduated from Florida State University in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and performed undergraduate research on cellulose hydrolysis kinetics. Deanna’s current research involves creating hydrogel cardiac tissue mimics that serve as in vitro test beds for congenital heart disease. In her spare time she enjoys cooking and crafting.
Mary Kasper
I am a second year PhD student in Dr. Christine Schmidt’s lab where I am studying the effects of extracellular organization on peripheral nerve wound healing and regeneration. I received my bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from North Carolina State University where I performed research in characterizing ferroelectric and piezoelectric materials via x-ray diffraction. Aside from research, in my spare time, I enjoy hiking, cooking, and watching terrible television series (currently: Bachelor in Paradise Season 3).
Sydney Wiggins
Syd is a third year Ph.D. student in Dr. Stabler’s lab. Her research focusses on optimizing cell-replacement therapies for type 1 diabetes through the use of biomaterials, drug delivery, and immune engineering. She graduated with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Arkansas (#WPS) in 2016. Away from the bench she enjoys antiquing, playing tennis, and cooking.
Spring 2018 Supervised Teaching Students
Shaheen Farhadi
I’m a PhD student interested in enhancing the pharmaceutical properties of protein drugs by molecular self-assembly. When not working towards this goal, I mostly enjoy staying home for long periods of time reading, listening to music, and watching Netflix until spontaneously deciding to travel somewhere new.
Sabrina Freeman
Sabrina Freeman is a 2nd year Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Benjamin Keselowsky. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering at Arizona State University in 2016. Sabrina’s research interests are in the field of immune engineering, and how engineers can improve the lives of people affected by autoimmune disease.
Benjamin Goolsby
Benjamin Goolsby is a third year PhD student in Dr. Karim Oweiss’ lab. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Central Florida in 2014. His research interests are in neural engineering and working memory, specifically recording neural activity and affecting neural state in animal models during behavioral tasks.
Jonathan Griffin
Jonathan Griffin is a 2nd year PhD student in biomedical engineering. He received his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Texas A&M University. There he worked for two years in a bone & cartilage tissue engineering lab where he developed and characterized nanocomposite biomaterials. Now he works in Dr. Christine Schmidt’s lab where his focus is on the development of naturally derived biomaterials for neural regeneration. In his free time he enjoys practicing martial arts, reading, and watching horrible movies
May Mansy
May is a 5th year Ph.D. candidate studying Neural Engineering and Neuroscience. She has worked on somatosensory integration in the rodents’ whisker system, neural modulation using optogenetic perturbation, optical-tetrode assembly, and fiber-photometry. She is experienced in surgical procedures of cranial injections, implantation of recording/imaging devices and vagus nerve stimulation. Her active research topic is to characterize cholinergic projections from the nucleus basalis of the forebrain to the medial aspect of prefrontal cortex using calcium imaging.
Smit Patel
Smit is currently a second year PhD student at the University of Florida. Smit is passionate about using principles of microfluidics to develop lab-on-a-chip models to enhance predictive powers of clinical trials. His most recent work involves developing the Islet-on-a-chip platform that mimic the peri-islet microenvironment for long-term multiparametric monitoring of pancreatic beta cells.
Madison Temples
I am a second year PhD student in biomedical engineering at UF. I obtained my bachelor’s degree in BME at Pennsylvania State University and did undergraduate research in a chemical engineering lab. At UF, I work in Dr. Blanka Sharma’s lab, with research focusing in creating biomimetic three dimensional models to study the immunosuppressive behavior of cancer cells on natural killer cell interaction
Taylor Yeater
I am a first year PhD student in Dr. Kyle Allen’s lab studying the effects of exercise on osteoarthritis pain in preclinical models. My research interests include behavioral analysis, gait mechanics, and central and peripheral sensitization. I earned my bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering at The Ohio State University and did an undergraduate thesis on the cellular mechanisms of chronic low back pain. When I am not in the lab I enjoy cooking, watching Netflix (currently on season 3 of Gilmore Girls), and playing with my one year old corgi, Kali
Fall 2017 Supervised Teaching Students
Adam Grippin
I am an MD/PhD student in my third year of PhD studies at the University of Florida. My research focuses on the use of RNA to stimulate immune responses against malignant brain tumors. I am specifically interested in engineering nanoparticles to deliver that RNA directly to dendritic cells in vivo.
Angelie Rivera Rodriguez
I am a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering in the University of Florida. I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Industrial Biotechnology from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez and I started to do research in the Chemical Engineering Department. Also, I went to the University of Wisconsin as a summer research intern and I was a MARC fellow during my senior year. After a lot of effort I was granted with the NSF fellowship to continue graduate studies. Her research interests include developing and characterizing tumor-targeted nano-particles (NPs) for a localized delivery and release of chemotherapy drugs.