Catherine Dea
Executive Assistant
374 Stanley Hall
cdea@berkeley.edu | (510) 666-2767
April Alexander
Research Administrator
aprilalexander@berkeley.edu | (510) 982-6742
Anna Fomitcheva Khartchenko, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
2020 Ph.D., Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2016 M.Sc., Biomedical Engineering, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2012 B.Sc., Cellular and Molecular Biotechnology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
Anna’s interests lie in developing technologies which aid the diagnosis and understanding of human disease. Particular interest is in profiling tumors and improving diagnostic methods to understand and predict the behavior of cancer. She aims to design technologies for improving immunoassay performance, which can underpin more sensitive and precise diagnostic tools.
Trinh Lam, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
2022 Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago
2017 B.S. Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University
During her Ph.D., Trinh investigated bacterial cell-cell interaction and bacterial genetic transformation for antibiotic resistance using microfluidics and sequencing technology. In her postdoctoral studies, her research interests lie in developing microfluidic tools for single-cell studies, host-pathogen protein-protein interactions, and epigenetic modifications. Trinh is a fan of horror and crime movies. In her free time, she can be found either at a bowling alley or an orchestra.
Fangchen Liu, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
2023 Ph.D. Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University
2017 B.S. Materials Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Fangchen is interested in integrating engineering and quantitative biology to address problems arising from climate change. During her PhD, Fangchen studied the impact of complex environmental cues in harmful algal blooms by a microfluidic platform capable of modeling algae microenvironment. She is moving forward to develop next generation tools for analyzing corals, with a focus on coral-algal symbiosis, aiming to help address the pressing issue of coral reef bleaching.
Md Nazibul Islam, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
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 diagnostics to solve unmet medical needs. During his Ph.D, Nazibul leveraged the insulating properties of paper fibers to demonstrate for the first-time insulator-based dielectrophoresis (iDEP) in paper. Currently, Nazibul is working on synthetic chromatophore displays and Electro-mechanical integration of droplet-microwell-planar microfluidics.
Cyril Deroy, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
2021 Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, University of Oxford
2016 M. Eng. Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London
Cyril is a multidisciplinary scientist interested in the development of analytical tools to solve unmet needs in biology. During his Ph.D., Cyril developed fluid-walled microfluidic systems to study immune cell migration and bacterial response to antibiotics. Cyril subsequently worked on the development of lipid nanoparticles for nutrient and vaccine delivery in aquaculture. Currently, he is working on the design of microfluidic methods to culture and characterize coral reef ecosystems, with the aim to develop prevention strategies against coral bleaching
Ana E. Gomez Martinez
NSF Graduate Research Fellow, GEM Full Fellow, Frank Shwabacher Graduate Fellow
2018 BS Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle
Anna’s interests lie in developing technologies which aid the diagnosis and understanding of human disease. Particular interest is in profiling tumors and improving diagnostic methods to understand and predict the behavior of cancer. She aims to design technologies for improving immunoassay performance, which can underpin more sensitive and precise diagnostic tools.
Maya Overton
Doctoral Student
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.
Kano Kajie
Visiting Scholar
2021 B.E., Mechanical Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Kano is developing liposomes as reagent delivery vesicles for on-chip mRNA point mutation detection. She is a visiting student researcher from Tokyo Institute of Technology where she studies transdermal drug delivery systems using liposomes and ultrasound. She likes eating spicy food, swimming, traveling, and doing her friend’s and her own gel nails!
Dulanya Cooray
Undergraduate Researcher
2024 (expected) B.S., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, UC Berkeley
Dulanya’s research interests include electrokinetics and MEMS with biomedical applications. Outside of the lab, Dulanya enjoys building rockets, reading, roller skating, and talking about her cat, Rhea.