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Research
The research mission of my Physiomimetic Microsystems Laboratory is on building microscale functional mimics of different organ systems for applications such as drug testing, stem cell maturation, disease modeling and creating better transplants. These in vitro systems replicate the key functional unit of an organ within physiologically relevant microenvironments, are amenable to microfluidic integration, and provide quantifiable structural, functional and genomic data over time.
Currently, my lab is funded by NIDDK consortium on human islet biomimetics (UG3DK122638), and NCI industry-academic consortium on liquid biopsy (U01CA233363) that leverages a multidisciplinary consortium of platform development engineers, clinicians, and bioengineers to engineer Human Pancreatic Islets on a Chip, and Human Circulating Tumor Cells on a Chip, respectively. Central to all these efforts is engineering primary tissues within specialized chip architectures and engineered microenvironments. We are also dedicated to removing the translational barriers for widespread adoption of these platforms for drug screening and development. Based on our key patents, and a commercialization grant from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation for Translational Research, we have spun out two start-up companies from the lab, Bio-Vitro Inc. (fluidic platforms to enable PDMS-free organ on chip applications), and Circulogix Inc. (rapid isolation and enumeration of circulating tumor cells in an antigen-agnostic manner).
I inculcate a culture of open dialogue, ethical research, cordial working relationships, and a strong emphasis on technical speaking and writing. I am currently training 2 Postdoctoral Fellows (both female), 4 PhD students (2 female), and 7 undergraduate students (5 female). I serve as the faculty advisor for UM student chapters of Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and National Society of Black Engineering (NSBE). I run a 100k/year paid research internship and tiered mentorship program for UM Black Undergraduate students, and Black High-School students who are in the Miami-Dade County foster-care system. The interdisciplinary nature of my laboratory and strong collaborations with a multitude of research labs, especially at medical schools, provides an enriching training environment for my trainees.