Biography

I am a senior PhD candidate in Biology at Caltech supervised by Professor Mikhail Shapiro. My research centers upon noninvasive surveillance and perturbation of neural circuits to study brain functions and to treat disorders in central nervous system. I am currently focusing on engineering viral vectors for acoustically targeted gene transfer to achieve noninvasive, site-specific, cell type-specific, ultrasound-mediated genetic material delivery to the brain in various animal models. My long-term research goal is to develop primary/translational technologies for nonintrusive, real-time in vivo gene circuit monitoring and interfering in the brain through integration of biomolecular ultrasound, synthetic biology, tissue engineering, and vector engineering.

Interests
  • Biomolecular Ultrasound
  • Neuroengineering
  • Vector Engineering
  • Tissue Engineering
  • Gene Therapy
Education
  • PhD in Biology & Biological Engineering, 2024

    California Institute of Technology

  • BSc in Biomedical Engineering, 2017

    Washington University in St. Louis

Experience

 
 
 
 
 
PhD Candidate
Jan 2020 – Present Pasadena, CA
Noninvasive neuroengineering through applicaiton of biomolecular ultrasound, synthetic biology, and vector engineering.
 
 
 
 
 
Research Associate
Jan 2016 – May 2018 St. Louis, MO
Utilizing the microfluidic platform supporting in vitro functional arteriole maturation developed in previous tissue engineering project, to explore the role of endothelial FGFR1/2 signaling in the pathogenesis of neonatal hypoxemia-related pulmonary hypertension.
 
 
 
 
 
Research Assistant
Sep 2014 – May 2017 St. Louis, MO
Determined the independent roles of shear, normal, and circumferential stress in the maturation of a capillary into an arteriole via developing a microfluidic platform to tissue engineer functional arterioles using fluid-flow-derived mechanical forces. The platform is also being used to gain a deeper understanding of vessel maturation mechanisms.
 
 
 
 
 
Research Associate
Jan 2015 – May 2018 St. Louis, MO
Applied Parameterized Diastolic Filling (PDF) formalism, a lumped kinematic model based on heart working as a suction pump, to evaluate diastolic ventricular function in human subject for early detection of drug toxicity.
 
 
 
 
 
Lab Manager & Researcher (Advisor since 2014)
Jan 2014 – Dec 2015 St. Louis, MO
Using synthetic biology to distinguish/overcome regulatory functional barriers related to N2 fixation by genetically engineering hybrid promoters and Nif Clusters from Cynotheces strains to transfer E. coli strains and enable N2 fixation.

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