Md Nazibul Islam, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, Berkeley Stem Cell Center Postdoctoral Fellowship (CIRM), University of California, Berkeley
2023 Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University
2015 B.S. Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Nazibul is interested in developing easy to use diagnostic and analytical platforms to address unmet medical needs. During his Ph.D, he leveraged the insulating properties of paper fibers to demonstrate, for the first time, insulator based dielectrophoresis in paper. Currently, his work focuses on organoid based assays and on creating same cell, single cell resolution multiomic tools that enable integrated proteomic and genomic measurements from individual patient derived samples.
Xin Wang, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Berkeley
2024 Ph.D. Biomedical/Medical Engineering, Columbia University
2017 B.S. Bioengineering & Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Xin brings 7+ years of expertise in immunoengineering, including her research at Columbia where she devised assays to study chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in patient-derived isolated T cells, developing assays of T cell spreading and proliferation. She brings additional expertise in cell therapy, deep learning & computer vision, and industry experience from a recent summer at Takeda.
Harrison Khoo, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Berkeley
2026 Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
2018 B.S. Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley
Harrison is interested in developing novel microfluidic tools that leverage microscale phenomena for biomedical needs. His Ph.D. work was focused on the design and implementation of multiscale fluidic devices that harnessed passive hydrodynamic forces for point-of-care diagnostics, single-cell sorting, and whole organism manipulation applications. He has prior experience at Johns Hopkins University, UC San Francisco, ETH Zurich and Correlia Biosystems.
Kin Gomez Canales, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Berkeley
2026 Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University
2021 B.S. Bioengineering, ITESM, Monterrey Mexico
Kin is interested in advancing our understanding of neurobiology with the goal of preventing and treating neurological diseases. During his PhD, he developed microfluidic and computational platforms to study HIF-1-dependent neuro-regenerative mechanisms that C. elegans uses to preserve the healthy morphology of its neuronal projections after suffering from low oxygen periods. He is currently developing single-cell technologies for proteomic analysis of small neuronal cells.
Maya Overton
Ph.D. Candidate, University of California, Berkeley
2020 B.A., Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology, Yale University
2020 B.A., Economics, Yale University
Maya’s research interests are rooted in building analytical and diagnostic tools that provide higher resolution and are more streamlined than traditional techniques in molecular and cellular biology. Maya received her Bachelor’s degree from Yale University in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Economics. When she isn’t listening to relaxing tunes at the bench, she enjoys hiking, finding hidden swimming holes, and collecting comic books.
Iyla Rossi
Ph.D. Candidate, NIH Doctoral Fellow (2024-2025 Biology & Biotechnology of Cell and Gene Therapy T32 Training Grant), and Chancellor’s Fellow (2026), University of California, Berkeley
2023 B.A., Computational and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology
2023 B.A., Business, Economics, and Management, California Institute of Technology
Iyla is interested in the development of diagnostic tools for precision health. During her undergraduate studies, Iyla developed a framework for wearable and portable neural imaging with dual-modality: ultrasound and photoacoustic computed tomography. Currently, Iyla is working on the optimization of the single cell Western Blot protocol for studying coral cells. Iyla is also investigating applications of machine learning for microfluidics.
Yaxuan (X) Sun
Ph.D. Candidate, Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
2012 BS Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
X’s expertise lies in advanced manufacturing, microfluidics, and environmental engineering, with a strong focus on leveraging cutting-edge fabrication techniques to address global sustainability challenges. Working now in the Herr Lab & the Hayden Taylor Lab, she has worked across disciplines, applying advanced manufacturing, soft materials engineering, and microfabrication to develop innovative solutions for a variety of applications.
Aparna Kamath
Undergraduate Lab Manager
2029 (expected) B.S., Bioengineering, UC Berkeley
Aparna has experience as an intern at the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science of Portland State University. She has volunteered at the Kaiser Permanente ICU and is also a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant.
Bhavya Sabbineni
Masters of Engineering Candidate, UC Berkeley
2025 BASc, Bioengineering & Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia
Bhavya has experience as an intern at the UC Berkeley Coleman Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership, as a STEM Fellowship Associate Editor, and as a Research Assistant at UBC.
Maylee Tan
Masters of Engineering Candidate, UC Berkeley
2025 B.S., Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley
Maylee has experience as a Research Affiliate at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, at UC Berkeley, and as a student assistant at Orange Coast College.
Samantha Lee
Masters of Engineering Candidate, UC Berkeley
2024 B.S., Biology & Biological Sciences, Imperial College London
Samantha has experience as a research assistant at the NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation center, as well as an internship at InventisBio.
Catherine Dea
Executive Assistant
374 Stanley Hall
cdea@berkeley.edu | (510) 666-2767
April Alexander
Research Administrator
aprilalexander@berkeley.edu | (510) 982-6742