Principal Investigator
Hadi T. Nia, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Email: htnia@bu.edu
Education and Training
Postdoctoral training: NIH NCI Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology, Advisor: Rakesh K. Jain, Ph.D.
Doctoral training: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Biomedical Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering, Advisors: Alan Grodzinsky, Ph.D. and Christine Ortiz, Ph.D.
Honors and Awards
2025-2028
Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Awards in Aging Biology
2025
Cellular Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Rising Star
2024-2027
DoD Idea Award
2024-2026
Sloan Research Fellowship
2023-2026
Kilachand Fund Award for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering
2023
Career Excellence Award, College of Engineering, Boston University
2023
American Thoracic Society Science and Innovation Center Abstract Award
2023-2028
NSF CAREER
2022-2027
NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2)
2022-2026
Beckman Young Investigator Award
2022-2024
NIBIB Trailblazer Award
2020-2021
Center for Translational Multiscale Biomechanics Award
2020-2022
Dean’s Catalyst Award
2020-2021
ACS-BU pilot Award
2017-2019
National Cancer Institute, Ruth L. Kirschstein (NRSA) Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32)
2017
Best poster award (3rd place), Gordon Research Conference on Physical Sciences of Cancer
2016-2017
Tosteson Postdoctoral Fellowship Award
2016
MGPA Travel Award
2011-2013
Whitaker Health Sciences Fellowship Award
2011
YC FUNG Student Paper Competition in Bio-mechanics and Bio-physics, Finalist
2008-2011
Office of Naval Research (ONR) Research Fellowship Awards
2004-2005
Japan Student Service Organization Fellowship Award
2003
8th Iranian National Mechanical Engineering Olympiad, Finalist
1998
Silver Medal, Iranian National Computer Olympiad
Postdoctoral Fellows
Byungjung Kang
Postdoctoral Fellow (2024-present)
Email: bkang1@bu.edu
Byungjun obtained his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Yonsei University in South Korea. During his graduate courses, he developed acoustic wave devices for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and investigated the mechanical interaction between gas bubbles and soft materials in Prof. Hyungsuk Lee’s lab. On the basis of his previous research experience, he is now exploring the mechanisms of mechanoimmunity in the lung at the Nia lab. Outside of the lab, he enjoys hiking, running, and cycling and has recently discovered a passion for cooking.
Kathryn Regan
Postdoctoral Fellow (2025-present)
Email: kregan@bu.edu
A 2018 graduate from the University of San Diego with a degree in Biophysics, Kathryn spent her undergraduate and post-baccalaureate years in a soft matter lab studying conformational and diffusive dynamics of single DNA constructs in cytoskeletal networks under Dr. Rae Robertson-Anderson. She joins the Nia Lab excited to shift her work to the engineering realm, focusing on studying the solid stresses within the tumor microenvironment. An avid baker, Kathryn also enjoys running and hiking when not in lab.
Doctoral Students
Gabrielle Grifno
Biomedical Engineering PhD Student (2020-present)
Email: ggrifno@bu.edu
Gabrielle graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and a minor in Philosophy in 2020, and is now pursuing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. At Johns Hopkins she worked to optimize stem cells sources for generating 3D in vitro models of blood-brain barrier in Prof. Peter Searson’s lab. In the Nia lab, Gabrielle studies mouse models of normal and disease lung physiology using the crystal ribcage platform. Her work focuses on respiratory, vascular and lymphatic dynamics in health and during lung cancer cancer, at multiple spatial scales in the whole, functional mouse lung. Additionally, she is studying real-time immune dynamics in response to acute infection and in the tumor microenvironment.
Honors and Awards
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) – Fellow (March 2021-present)
- Gordon Research Conference Carl Strom Underrepresented Minority Fellowship (2023), Gordon Physical Science of Cancer Research Conference, Galveston TX
- Clare Booth Luce Graduate Fellowship, Boston University (2021-2023)
- NIH Translational Research in Biomaterials Training Grant, Boston University (2020-2021)
Ling Shi
Biomedical Engineering MD/PhD Student (2021-present)
Email: lingshi@bu.edu
Linzheng (Ling) Shi is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and a current MD/PhD candidate at Boston University. At Vanderbilt, he majored in biomedical engineering while researching cardiovascular and stem cell biology. Coming to the Nia lab, Ling is interested in studying mechanobiology and computational biology. In the future, he aspires to integrate his academic and clinical work together as a physician-scientist. On the side, one can often find Ling cycling outside of the city, playing the fiddle, and relaxing in nature.
Rob LeBourdais
Biomedical Engineering PhD Student (2021-present)
Email: rlebourd@bu.edu
Rob graduated from Boston University majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a chemistry minor in 2014. He focused on research in theoretical fluid mechanics. Post-undergraduate he worked at Beta Bionics as a software engineer developing the iLet for the past 6 years, developing components from UI, low-level hardware comms, BLE, iOS companion apps, and cybersecurity. His lab interests include biomechanics, CS, and AI. Outside lab his interests are reading (math, physics, software) and skiing.
Lauren Castle
Biomedical Engineering PhD Student (2023-present)
Email: castlelm@bu.edu
Lauren is a PhD student who graduated from MIT in May 2023 where she majored in biological engineering. At MIT, Lauren did research in the Furst lab on the development of electrochemical sensors for detecting foodborne pathogens and Covid-19. In the Nia lab, she is interested in studying the dynamic immune landscape of the lung in health, aging and disease. In her free time, Lauren enjoys playing soccer, skiing and spending time outside.
Andrew Tsao
Biomedical Engineering MD/PhD Student (2024-present)
Email: actsao@bu.edu
Andrew Tsao is a graduate of Columbia University and a current MD/PhD student at Boston University. During his time at Columbia, he studied Biomedical Engineering and conducted research with Dr. Elizabeth Hillman, using functional optical techniques to investigate neurovascular coupling. Currently, in the Nia lab, Andrew is working on the development of the Crystal Skull platform, an adaptation of the Crystal Ribcage designed for the murine brain. Outside of research, Andrew enjoys playing piano, running along the Esplanade, and exploring Boston.
Celeste Deng
Biomedical Engineering PhD Student (2024-present)
Email: dengyq@bu.edu
Celeste graduated from Southern University of Science and Technology in Jun 2020 with a major in Biomedical Engineering and is currently pursuing her PhD in Mechanical Engineering. The area of her PhD focus is biomechanics in extracellular matrix of lung tissue, with a specific focus on the interactions between immune cells and collagen fibers. Outside lab her interests are watching movies, reading and snowboarding.
Master’s Students
Mitchell Jones
M.S. in Biomedical Engineering (2024-present)
Email: mitchwj@bu.edu
Mitchell graduated from Purdue University in 2023 with a major in Biomedical Engineering. During his undergraduate years, he worked on in-vitro cancer models under Dr. Luis Solorio, and he also got a glimpse of the cancer therapeutics industry while working at Marker Therapeutics. Joining Nia lab, he is now focusing on whole lung imaging techniques with interests in tissue analysis and engineering. Outside of lab, Mitchell enjoys climbing, gaming, and nature.
Research Fellows
Han Ali Kahvecioglu
B.S. Biomedical Engineering (2021-present)
Email: hanali@bu.edu
Han is a senior majoring in Biomedical Engineering, with a minor in Visual Arts. His past research experiences are mostly focused around fluorescent microscopy and microscopy data analysis. His work in the Nia lab focuses on studying lung dynamics in different disease models, and on developing data quantification methods for microscopy data. Outside of the lab, he is into drawing, cooking, and film photography.
Undergraduate Students
Thanadol Sangprasert
B.S. Mechanical Engineering (2021-present)
Email: tontun55@bu.edu
Thanadol is a senior in Mechanical Engineering. His work in the lab focus on developing the negative ventilator and fabrication. Outside of the lab, he is interested in music, playing guitar, photography and playing video games.
Vicky Travnik
B.S. Biomedical Engineering (2021-present)
Email: vtravnik@bu.edu
Vicky is a senior majoring in Biomedical Engineering at Boston University, with a minor in Mechanical Engineering. Her work in the lab focuses on studying lung dynamics. Outside of lab, Vicky enjoys weightlifting, painting, and traveling.
Winita Wangsrikhun
B.S. Biomedical Engineering (2021-present)
Email: ploywini@bu.edu
Winita is a Biomedical Engineering senior at Boston University. Her work involves studying lung mechanics and crystal ribcage fabrication. Outside of lab work, she enjoys baking and crocheting.
Alumni
Azeo Torre
Biomedical Engineering M.S. Student (2022-2023)
Jason Inirio
B.S. Computer Engineering (2022)
Elizabeth Hanchar
B.S. Biomedical Engineering (2022)
Joey Huang
B.S. Biomedical Engineering (2021)
Rachel Passaro
M.S. Biomedical Engineering (2021)
Cate Eberman
M.S. Biomedical Engineering (2021)
Kevin Peters
M.S. Biomedical Engineering (2021)
Aditya Jain
B.S. Biomedical Engineering (2021)
Logan O’Connor
B.S. Biomedical Engineering (2021)
Vinson Chu
M.S. Biomedical Engineering (2020)
Scott Gaines Jr.
B.S. Biomedical Engineering (2020)
Robby Boparai
M.S. Biomedical Engineering (2020)
Tasneem Jivanjee
B.S. Biomedical Engineering (2020)
Sung Yeon Kim
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering (2020)
Sunny Kapadia
M.S. Biomedical Engineering (2019)
Xin Li
M.S. Electrical and Computer Engineering (2019)