Dr. Emilia Entcheva’s laboratory conducts pioneering research in cardiac optogenetics, combining biophotonics tools with human stem-cell-derived cardiomyocyte technology and gene editing approaches to aid the advancement of personalized medicine. Their innovative work on high-throughput, all-optical cardiac electrophysiology has received media attention, and is being extended by recent collaborative multi-disciplinary research awards from the NSF (a $2 million EFRI grant) and from the NIH (a $2.8 million grant).
Dr. Matthew Kay's laboratory uses innovative opto- and chemogenetic approaches to understand how the nervous system modulates cardiac function during healthy and disease states. The lab, with its collaborators, is also working to understand the impact of hypoxia on cardiac mitochondria and electromechanics using novel optical assessments and perfluorocarbon nanoparticles. The lab is funded by multiple awards from the National Institutes of Health and the the American Heart Association.
Dr. Zhenyu Li's group is developing wearable and portable sensors for pediatric asthma in collaboration with Children's National Medical Center (funded by an NIH/NIBIB U01 grant) to monitor a patient’s air pollution exposure and asthma symptoms to help better understand and manage this complex condition.
Dr. Luyao Lu is conducting innovative research to develop advanced multimodal optical stimulation and electrical recording microsystems to better understand heart and brain function.
Dr. Anne-Laure Papa’s laboratory focuses on developing cell-based therapeutic approaches and diagnostic technologies in cancer and thrombosis. She is the recipient of the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Breakthrough Award, which has been pivotal in the development of a novel platelet-derived cellular therapeutic to target the metastatic dissemination of cancer.
Dr. Chung Hyuk Park is conducting pioneering research with his NIH/NICHD R01 grant that develops an interactive robotic framework and computational human-robot interaction algorithms to assist children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in engaging with socio-emotional interactions and interventions.
Quick Facts
Full-time faculty: 11
Affiliated faculty: 15
Undergraduate students: 187
Graduate students: 78
Annual research expenditures: $2.5 million
Research Areas
Biomedical signal processing and signal analysis
Bio-integrated electronics
Biosensors
Cancer detection and therapy
Cardiac optogenetics
Cardiovascular engineering
Disease and pathogen detection
Drug delivery
Electrophysiology (cardiac and neural)
Heart disease and heart failure
Medical imaging and image analysis
Microfluidics and nanotechnology
Nanomedicine, cellular therapeutics, and diagnostic platforms
Physiological flows
Robotics and Human-Robotic Interactions
Simulation and modeling
Therapeutic ultrasound
Research Laboratories
Advanced Bio-Integrated Electronics Laboratory
Assistive Robotics and Tele-Medicine (ART-Med) Laboratory
Cardiac Ischemia Research Laboratory
Cardiac Optogenetics and Optical Imaging Laboratory
Cardiovascular Engineering Laboratory
Medical Imaging and Image Analysis Laboratory
Nanomedicine, Cellular Therapeutics, and Diagnostic Platforms Laboratory
