People

 

PI: Samir Ghadiali, Ph.D

I am Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Ohio State University and a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at OSU Wexner Medical Center’s Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute. I have broad training in biomedical engineering, multiscale modeling, and respiratory biomechanics. I have been the lead PI on several NIH and NSF funded research programs and my laboratory currently conducts translational research in the areas of acute lung injury, cancer metastasis, pre-term birth and Eustachian tube dysfunction. The goal of my laboratory is to use a combination of engineering, biophysical and molecular/cell biology techniques to investigate the mechano-biological mechanisms responsible for disease pathogenesis.

Current Lab Members

Yuji Tomizawa, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Scholar

Yuji received his Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Connecticut in 2023. He is currently working on 1) making a cardiac fluid-electromechanics finite element model incorporating blood flow in the coronary microcapillary bed, myocardial mechanics, and electrical excitation of cardiac muscle fibers, 2) making a 3D modeling system of healthy and damaged lungs from CT scans, and 3) fluid-structure interaction and drug nanoparticle diffusion analysis of the healthy/damaged lung models.

 

 

 

Tricia Oyster, M.S. – Ph.D. candidate in biomedical engineering

Tricia is a PhD student in biomedical engineering. She is currently studying 1) Macrophages effect on cell injury during simulated ventilator induced lung injury 2) Cell-specific delivery of microRNA to prevent lung injury and 3) Modeling cell mechanics during lung ventilation. In her free time Tricia enjoys volunteering at a local animal rescue and rock climbing at the gym.

 

 

Jon Fritz, M.S. – Ph.D. candidate in biophysics

Jon is a fourth-year biophysics PhD candidate in the labs of Dr. Ghadiali & Dr. Joshua Englert (Department of Internal Medicine). He primarily studies how alveolar epithelial cells respond to injury using biomedical engineering devices and computational biophysics. In his free time, Jon enjoys playing board & video games with friends as well as exchanging piping-hot gossip. Say hi if you see him around campus, usually in Fontana, DHLRI, or the Union!

 

 

Celine Ertin – Research technician

Celine received her B.S in Biomedical Engineering at The Ohio State University in 2024 and is working as a research technician prior to applying to medical school. She primarily studies the role of fibroblasts in extracellular-matrix remodeling through confocal microscopy and finite element analysis. In her free time, Celine enjoys figure skating, reading and hanging out with her friends.

 

 

Skylar Trent – B.S. student in biomedical engineering

Skylar is a third-year Biomedical Engineering student in Dr. Ghadiali’s Lab. Skylar works on device fabrication, computer modeling, and experimentation with our lab’s ventilator-on-a-chip (VOC) device. Skylar spends his free time playing video games and sports. Currently, Golf, Softball, Spikeball, and Pickleball are his favorites!

 

Austin Carlin – B.S. student in biomedical engineering

 

Lab Alumni

• Basia Gabela-Zuniga, Ph.D. – Scientist I, Sarepta Therapeutics
• Qinqin Fei, Ph.D. – Gene Editing Research Scientist, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
• Chika Nkwocha, B.S.
• Vasudha Shukla, Ph.D. – FDA
• Jordan Peiffer, B.S. – Technology Solutions Engineer, Epic HealthCare Systems
• Caymen Novak, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan-Dearborn
• Justo Juvian Torres-Rodriguez, Ph.D.
• Christopher Bobba, M.D.-Ph.D.
• Youjin Cho, M.D.-Ph.D.
• Natalia Higuita-Castro, Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering & Department of Neurological Surgery, The Ohio State University
• Jen Malik, Ph.D. – Data Scientist, Battelle
• Chris Chang, M.S. – M.D. candidate class of 2022, University of Cincinnati
• Kevin Nelson, Ph.D. – Process Development Engineer, Nanofiber Solutions Inc.
• Leo Volakis, Ph.D. – Research Scientist, Vapotherm