Graduate Students
Omar
Banda
Matriculated: Fall 2014
Program: PhD
Research Area: Biofunctional materials and cellular engineering
Research Adviser: John Slater
Previous Degrees: BS Cell Biology and Biochemistry from Rice University
Honors & Awards: 2015 IGERT Fellow
Email: obanda@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Jamie Benson
Matriculated: Fall 2017
Program: PhD
Research Area: Cartilage biomechanics and tribology
Research Adviser: David Burris and Christopher Price
Previous Degrees: BE in Biomedical Engineering, CUNY City College of New York
Honors & Awards: 2017 Chair’s Fellowship
Email: jmbenson@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: 333 Spencer Laboratory
Ellen Bloom
Matriculated: Fall 2017
Program: PhD
Research Area: Mechanics of fiber-reinforced tissues and tendinopathy
Research Adviser: Dawn Elliott
Previous Degrees: BBmE in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota
Honors & Awards: 2017 Robert W. Gore Fellowship, 2017 Biomedical Engineering Chair’s Fellowship
Email: etbloom@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: 160 (office)/148 (lab) DuPont
Charlotte Chaze
Matriculated: Fall 2016
Program: PhD
Research Area: Brain tissue mechanics, functional neuroimaging, MRI, MR elastography
Research Adviser: Curtis Johnson
Previous Degrees: BS Chemistry
Honors & Awards: 2017 George W. Laird Fellowship; 2017 BME Grad Student Service Award; 2016 BME Chair’s Fellowship; 2014 Max Planck Society Fellowship; 2013 Floyd A. Blankenship Memorial Award
Email: cchaze@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: STAR Campus, 540 S. College Ave, Room 125
Meg
an Dang
Matriculated: Fall 2017
Research Area: Targeted nanomedicine for cancer therapy
Research Adviser: Emily Day
Previous Degrees: BS Bioengineering, University of Maryland
Honors and Awards: Biomedical Engineering Chair’s Fellowship 2017
Email: mndang@udel.edu
Location: Delaware Tech Park, 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Michael David
Matriculated: Fall 2013
Program: PhD
Research Area: Drug Delivery Treatment Strategies for Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis
Research Adviser: Christopher Price
Previous Degrees: BS in Biomedical Engineering (Cell & Tissue Engineering concentration) and minor in Chemical Engineering from University of Rochester
Honors & Awards: 2016 UD Graduate University Fellow Award; 2014 and 2016 UD Biomedical Engineering Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
Email: mdavid@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Peyton Delgorio
Matriculated: Fall 2017
Program: PhD
Research Area: MR Elastography for Brain and Muscle Biomechanics
Adviser: Curtis Johnson
Previous Degrees: BS in Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Email: delgorio@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: STAR Campus, 540 S. College Ave, Room 125
J
ohn DeLucca
Matriculated: Fall 2012
Program: PhD
Research Area: Spine Biomechanics
Research Adviser: Dawn Elliott
Previous Degrees: BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Delaware with minors in Biomedical Engineering and Math
Email: deluccaj@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: 160 (offc)/148 (lab) DuPont
Rachel Edelstein
Matriculated: Fall 2013
Program: PhD
Research Area: Nanomedicine for cancer management
Research Adviser: Emily Day
Previous Degrees: BS in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Rowan University
Honors & Awards: Honorable Mention in 2015 NSF GRFP competition
Email: edelstr@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200, Room 133
Cindy Farino
Matriculated: Fall 2017
Program: PhD
Research Area: Microfluidics and biomaterials
Research Adviser: John Slater
Previous Degrees: BS in Biomedical Engineering from Rutgers University
Email: cjfarino@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park -5 Innovation Way
Margot Farnham
Matriculated: Fall 2016
Program: PhD
Research Area: Articular Cartilage Biomechanics
Research Adviser: Christopher Price
Previous Degrees: BS in Biomedical Engineering, minor in Mathematics from Bucknell University, PA
Honors & Awards: 2016 Biomedical Engineering Chair’s Fellowship
Email: mfarnham@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Andria Farrens
Matriculated: Fall 2016
Program: PhD
Research Area: Motor learning, functional MRI, MR compatible robotics
Research Adviser: Fabrizio Sergi
Previous Degrees: BS in Mechanical Engineering, Minor Biomedical Engineering
Honors & Awards: 2016 Biomedical Engineering Chair’s Fellowship; 2013 Harold Robert Grant Memorial Prize; 2013 Robert A and Denzil M Kepner Scholarship
Email: afarrens@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: STAR Campus, 540 S. College Ave., Suite 124
Rachel Gilbert
Matriculated: Fall 2015
Program: PhD
Research Area: Regenerative Medicine/Mechanics of Development
Research Adviser: Jason Gleghorn
Previous Degrees: B.S. Cornell University – Major: Biological Engineering Minor: Biomedical Engineering M. Eng. Cornell University – Biomedical Engineering
Honors & Awards: 2015 NSF GRFP Honorable Mention 2015 Biomedical Engineering Chair’s Fellowship 2015 Gore Fellow 2016 NSF GRFP Honorable Mention
Email: rgilbert@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Brian Graham
Matriculated: Fall 2013
Program: PhD, Mechanical Engineering
Research Area: Cartilage Biomechanics
Research Adviser: Christopher Price and David Burris
Previous Degrees: BS in Mechanical Engineering from the College of New Jersey
Honors & Awards: 2016 IBBM Fellow
Email: btgraham@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park, 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Aditya Jagarapu
Matriculated: Fall 2015
Program: PhD
Research Area: HIV Modeling
Research Adviser: Ryan Zurakowski
Previous Degrees: Bachelor of Technology, Chemical Engineering, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India Masters of Engineering, Chemical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Ohio
Email: srihari@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Patricia Johnson
Matriculated:Fall 2013
Program: PhD
Research Area: N/A
Research Adviser: N/A
Previous Degrees: B.S. in Biochemistry from Michigan Technological University, M.S. in Business Administration from Texas A&M University, Emphasis: Systems Engineering
Email: pjohns@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: N/A
Keely Keller
Matriculated: Spring 2014
Program: PhD
Research Area: Microfluidics and biomaterials
Research Adviser: John Slater
Previous Degrees: BS in Bioengineering and MS in Chemical Engineering from Oregon State University
Honors & Awards: 2015 Laird Fellowship
Email: kheintz@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
ANDREA LEE
Matriculated: Fall 2014
Program: PhD
Research Area: Mechanics of fiber-reinforced tissues
Research Advisor: Dawn Elliott
Previous Degrees: BS in Biomedical Engineering from University of Rochester
Honors & Awards: 2014 Gore Fellow, 2015 IGERT Fellow
Email: andylee@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: 160 (office)/148 (lab) DuPont
Phone Number: (302) 831-7135
Connor Leek
Matriculated: Fall 2016
Program: PhD
Research Area: Biomechanics
Research Adviser: Megan Killian
Previous Degrees: BS in Biomedical Engineering
Email: connorle@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park, 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Ryan Locke
Matriculated: Fall 2016
Program: PhD
Research Area: Tendon-to-bone interface
Research Adviser: Megan Killian
Previous Degrees: B.S. Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware
Email: rlocke@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way
Ryan
McDonough
Matriculated: Fall 2015
Program: PhD
Research Area: Cartilage Mechanotransduction Engineering
Research Adviser: Christopher Price
Previous Degrees: Honors B.S. in Computer Engineering with minor in Biomedical Engineering – University of Delware
Email: ryanmcd@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Robert McGrath
Matriculated: Fall 2016
Program: PhD
Research Area: Wearable robotics
Research Adviser: Fabrizio Sergi
Previous Degrees: Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware
Email: rmcgrath@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: STAR Campus, 540 S. College Ave, Suite 124
Jilian Melamed
Matriculated: Fall 2013
Program: PhD
Research Area: Developing multifunctional nanomedicine for cancer therapy
Research Adviser: Emily Day
Previous Degrees:BS in Biomedical Engineering from Rutgers University
Honors & Awards: 2015 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship, 2014 BME Grad TA Award
Email: jrmelamed@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200, Room 133
Geoffrey Ming
Matriculated: Fall 2017
Program: PhD
Research Area: Musculoskeletal development and biomechanics
Research Adviser: Megan Killian
Previous Degrees: B.S. in Biomedical Engineering – Rutgers University
Email: gming@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Catherine Millar-Haskell
Matriculated: Fall 2016
Program: PhD
Research Area: Tissue Engineering
Research Adviser: Jason Gleghorn
Previous Degrees: Biomedical Engineering, M.S., B.S.
Email: cmillarh@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way
Daniel Minahan
Matriculated: Fall 2017
Program: PhD
Research Area: Regenerative Medicine, Translational Medicine
Research Adviser: Jason Gleghorn
Previous Degrees: BS in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University
Honors & Awards: 2017 Biomedical Engineering Chair’s Fellowship, 2017 Gore Biomedical Engineering Graduate Fellowship
Email: dminahan@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Saurabh Modi
Matriculated: Fall 2015
Program: PhD
Research Area: HIV Modeling
Research Adviser: Abhi Singh
Previous Degrees: BS & MS in Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute Tech-Bombay
Email: saurmodi@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Evans Hall
Ashutosh Parajuli
Matriculated: Fall 2012
Program: PhD
Research Area: Mechanotransduction in bone
Research Adviser: Liyun Wang
Previous Degrees: BS in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University, UT.
Honors & Awards: 1st place prize for podium presentation at 2015 CBER Biomechanics Research Symposium, 2012 Gore Fellowship
Email: parajuli@udel.edu
Location: 206 Spencer Lab
Babak N. Safa
Matriculated: Fall 2014
Program: PhD, Mechanical Engineering
Research Area: Tissue damage mechanics and inelasticity
Research Advisers: Professors Dawn Elliott and Michael Santare (ME)
Previous Degrees: B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, 2014
Email: safa@udel.edu
Location: 160 Dupont Hall
Hisham Sherif
Matriculated: Fall 2012
Program: PhD
Research Area: Probability-based Bioinformatics and Decision Making in Cardiovascular Disease
Research Adviser: Ottoh-Okine Nii
Previous Degrees: MBBCh, MD
Honors & Awards: Two full patents for implantable artificial ventricle and total aortic arch replacement graft; artificial ventricle project short-listed for Medical Futures Innovation Awards, UK, 2008.
Email: hisham@udel.edu
Jasmine Shirazi
Matriculated: Fall 2015
Program: PhD
Research Area: 3D Organotypic Models
Research Adviser: Jason Gleghorn
Previous Degrees: BS in Biomedical Engineering, Drexel University MS in Biomedical Engineering, Drexel University
Honors & Awards: 2016 IGERT Fellow
Email: jshirazi@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Daniel Smith
Matriculated: Fall 2016
Program: PhD
Research Area: MR Elastography of Anisotropic Tissue
Research Adviser: Curtis Johnson
Previous Degrees: BS Mechanical Engineering, Minor Biomechanical Engineering from University of Delaware
Email: drsmitty@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: STAR Campus, 540 S. College Ave, Suite 125
John Sperduto
Matriculated: Fall 2016
Program: PhD
Research Area: Metastatic Cancer, Microfluidics, in vitro Disease Models, Organ-on-a-Chip Devices
Research Adviser: John H. Slater
Previous Degrees: BS in Mechanical Engineering, The College of New Jersey
Honors & Awards: 2017 IGERT Fellow, 2016 Gore Fellowship, 2016 Chair’s Fellowship
Email: jsperdu@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Wade Stewart
Matriculated: Fall 2015
Program: PhD
Research Area: Regenerative Medicine and the Mechanics of Development
Research Adviser: Jason Gleghorn
Previous Degrees: BSE in Biomedical Engineering and Minor in Polymer Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University
Honors & Awards:
Email: wadegs@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Nicholas Trompeter
Matriculated: Fall 2015
Program: PhD
Research Area: Cytomechanics and regenerative medicine
Research Adviser: Randall Duncan
Previous Degrees: Bachelor of Science, Penn State University, Biology
Email: ntromp@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park, 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Danielle Valcourt
Matriculated: Fall 2015
Program: PhD
Research Area: Nanomedicine for cancer therapy
Research Adviser: Emily Day
Previous Degrees: BS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Biomolecular Engineering concentration, University of Notre Dame
Honors & Awards: 2016 George W. Laird Merit Fellow, 2015 Biomedical Engineering Chair’s Fellowship
Email: dvalcour@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab: Delaware Technology Park – 5 Innovation Way, Suite 200
Alap Verma
Matriculated: Fall 2013
Program: PhD
Research Area: Systems Biology
Research Adviser: Babatunde Ogunnaike, Rajanikanth Vadigepalli (Thomas Jefferson Univ)
Previous Degrees: Bachelor of Technology in Engineering Physics from IIT Delhi (India) and MS in Physics from University of Texas at Dallas
Email: averma@udel.edu
Location Office/Lab:
Peter Worthington
Matriculated: Fall 2012
Program: PhD
Research Area: Cell hydrogel interactions for cancer modeling
Research Adviser: Darrin Pochan, Sigrid Langhans
Previous Degrees: BS in Biomedical Engineering from Rutgers University
Honors & Awards: 2013 Fraunhofer-UD exchange student
Email: pworth@udel.edu
Location: Nemours Children’s hospital, Wilmington
Aidan Zerdoum
Matriculated: Fall 2012
Program: PhD
Research Area: Tissue engineering of functional vocal fold lamina propria
Research Adviser: Xinqiao Jia
Previous Degrees: BE in Biomedical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology
Honors & Awards: 2012 IGERT Fellow
Email: azerdoum@udel.edu
Location: 244 DBI
“You can’t build a strong team with five people who all think the same way.”
Ashutosh Khandha