Principal Investigator
Dr. Shuichi (Shu) Takayama, PhD
Professor, GRA Eminent Scholar
Price Gilbert, Jr. Chair in Regenerative Engineering and Medicine
Dr. Shu Takayama earned his BS and MS in Agricultural Chemistry at the University of Tokyo. He earned a PhD in Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California studying bio-organic synthesis with Dr. Chi‐Huey Wong. He then worked as a postdoc with Dr. George Whitesides at Harvard University where he focused on applying microfluidics to studying cell and molecular biology.
Dr. Takayama began his career at the University of Michigan, where led his lab in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Macromolecular Science & Engineering for over 17 years. In 2017, the lab moved to Georgia Tech where Shu became the Georgia Research Alliance Price Gilbert Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Dr. Takayama’s research interests are diverse and motivated by clinical and biotechnology needs. He is always interested in hearing from stakeholders in these areas who are seeking engineering collaboration.
Research Scientists and Postdoctoral Researchers
Soojung Lee, PhD
Research Scientist II
Joined: Fall 2018
Research Interests: Organoids, organotypic microenvironments, cancer
Education: BS, PhD
Jamie A.G. Hamilton, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Joined: Fall 2023
Research Interests: Lung transwell models, E-cigarette health effects
Education: BS, PhD
Tas Ahmed, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Joined: 2016
Research Interests: ATPS, bioassays, cell & molecular biology
Education: BS University of Michigan, PhD Georgia Institute of Technology
Katherine Nguyen, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Joined: Fall 2019
Research Interests: Neutrophil extracellular traps, Biomaterials, Organotypic microenvironments
Education: BS Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, PhD Georgia Institute of Technology
Graduate Students
Vishwa Vasani, MS
Bioengineering, Mechanical Engineering
Joined: Fall 2019
Research Interests: Microfluidics, Cancer biomechanics, Pulmonary physiology
Education: BS, MS Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Eashaan Godbole
Chemical Engineering
Joined: Spring 2021
Research Interests: Aqueous two-phase systems
Coadviser: Dr. Cheung (https://cheunglab.chbe.gatech.edu/)
Badiallo Diani
Biomedical Engineering
Joined: Fall 2022
Research Interests: Pulmonary physiology, endothelial organoids, asthma
Education: BS Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Honors College
Coadvisor: Dr. Anne Fitzpatrick
Alejandro de Janon
Bioengineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Joined: Spring 2023
Research Interests: Bone marrow organotypic microenvironments, cancer biology, normal and malignant hematopoiesis
Education: BS Chemical Engineering, National Technological University (Argentina), MS Biotechnology, Texas A&M University
Co-advisor: Dr. Graham/Dr. DeRyckere
Kelsey Brew
Biomedical Engineering
Joined: Fall 2023
Research Interests: Air-liquid interface transwell model, Microfluidics, Cystic Fibrosis, Immunology
Education: Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech
Co-advisor: Dr. Tirouvanziam
Nathan Ocampo
Biomedical Engineering
Joined: Fall 2023
Research Interests: High throughput lung airway organoids
Education: BS Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University
So Young Eom
Biomedical Engineering
Joined: Fall 2024
Research Interests: Microfluidics, Organoids, Cell Therapy
Education: BS, Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Ewha Womans University (Korea); MS, Mechanical Engineering, Korea University (Korea)
Seongeun Kim
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Joined: Fall 2024
Research Interests: Aqueous two-phase systems, Neutrophil extracellular traps, NET-Alginate coacervates
Education: BS Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University
Undergraduate Students
Sindhu Nama
Biomedical Engineering
Joined: Fall 2022
Mentor: Vishwa Vasani
Pranitha Kaza
Biochemistry
Joined: Summer 2023
Mentor: Alejandro de Janon
Ayan Guha
Biomedical Engineering
Joined: Summer 2024
Mentor: Liang-Hsin Chen
Jasmine Brown
Biomedical Engineering
Joined : Spring 2025
Mentor: Badiallo Diani