Solomon Abiola is a senior mechanical engineering major at Princeton University, where he is doing thesis research work on epidemiology and smartphones with adviser Prof. Howard Stone. The son of Nigerian parents, Solomon's interest span a variety of sub fields from robotics to malaria research. He has worked with Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering to develop an autonomous car and develop a novel technique for eradicating malaria parasites in Prof. Subra Suresh's lab at MIT. He intends to pursue a PhD in bioengineering, upon his completion of studies at Princeton.

Afshin Ameri is a third year Biomedical Engineering student at the University of Toronto. He has spent the past two summers at Harvard-MIT HST as a research intern where he worked on various projects related to bone & cardiac tissue engineering. He is the recipient of many scholarships and fellowships in the past including the Department’s Chairs' scholarship, Queen Elizabeth II Aiming for the Top Scholarship and Engineering Science Exceptional Opportunities Fellowship. He is also involved in many organizations at the university level. He has Co-Founded the University of Toronto Business Association and has served as the Co-President of Students Fighting Cancer for the past 2 years. In his free time he enjoys doing sports and playing guitar.

Jonathan Bernhard is a current Ph.D. student in the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering at Columbia University. His research focus is centered on endochondral bone formation and the creation of native-like engineered grafts for oseochondral repair. At Columbia, Jonathan is recognized as a Columbia University Presidential Fellow and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. He received his B.S. and M.S. as part of a 5-year accelerated program in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University.

Om Bhatt is a senior engineering student majoring in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto and will be graduating in June, 2013. Most recently, he has completed an undergraduate thesis project on the topic of resting state brain activity through functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, culminating in abstract at the ISMRM conference. He is currently exploring different fields of research for pursuit through graduate studies while working at a startup company, InteraXon, that develops EEG headsets for measuring brain waves. Outside of academia, he practices gymnastics, enjoys playing tennis and basketball and loves to dance.

Diana Cai is a Genetics and Genomics graduate student in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences program at Harvard University. Her research interests include gene regulation, computational biology, and neurobiology. She was previously an undergraduate at Columbia University, where she majored in biochemistry and worked to better understand neural development. Outside the lab, she enjoys the performing arts, doing various sports, reading for pleasure, hanging out with friends and family, and experiencing new things.

Keelia Doyle is am a sophomore undergraduate student at Marquette University majoring in biomechanical engineering and minoring in biological sciences. I am an undergraduate researcher under the direction of Drs. John LaDisa and Tom Eddinger in the area of vascular biomechanics and mechanisms of cardiovascular disease. This summer I am beginning my work as a cooperative education student at Medtronic in their Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management division. I will be involved with testing pacemakers in animal trials.

Ana Enriquez is a junior at the University of Arizona majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a specialization in biomechanics, pursuing a minor in Mathematics and French. She will be graduating in December of 2014. She has experience in research with gene therapy, stem cell differentiation and carcinoma cell cultures. She is currently part of the Soft Tissue Biomechanics Laboratory under Dr. Jonathan Vande Geest. In her free time, she enjoys reading, salsa dance, spending time with friends and family and traveling.

Ahil Ganesh is currently completing his undergraduate degree in Engineering Science Majoring in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. He will be continuing with graduate students at UofT with research interests in targeted drug delivery. In his spare time he enjoys music and traveling.

Alex Han is an undergraduate student in Biological Sciences and Statistical Science at Cornell University, and will be graduating in May 2014. Currently, he does research in Dr. Charles Aquadro’s lab for population genetics, where his current project focuses on the roles and evolutionary trends of germline stem cell genes in Drosophila species. He is also currently part of his college's iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) team, which will participate in a competition at the end of the year to create novel cellular systems and applications using synthetic biology. In his free time, Alex enjoys learning to cook new dishes and improvising on piano.

Joo Yeon Jung is a junior undergraduate student at Brown University concentrating in Biomedical Engineering. Her primary research focus is in upper extremity biomechanics, especially in the wrist CMC joint. Currently, she is pursuing an independent study project with Dr. Joseph Crisco and Prof. Jennifer Franck to analyze mechanical stress and wear in the CMC joint using comprehensive 3D wrist bone models reconstituted from 3D CT scanner and motion X-Ray images. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, snowboarding, drawing, and making new friends.

Kristen Kozielski is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Biomedical Engineering department of Johns Hopkins University. She is completing her thesis research in the laboratory of Dr. Jordan Green, specifically working on polymeric methods for siRNA delivery. She received her bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Biomedical Engineering.

Paula Lubina is a fourth year Biomedical Engineering student at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Poland. Most recently, she has completed her bachelor studies with the diploma thesis: “Galvanic skin response in multichannel stimulation”. She was also an Erasmus exchange student at the University of Siegen in Germany, where she worked as a student assistant of Prof. Dr. Marcin Grzegorzek in the Graduiertenkolleg 1564 – Imaging New Modalities. Outside her studies her biggest passions are foreign languages and singing. In 2011 she graduated the Secondary School of Music in Gliwice with distinction in Classic Vocal Performance. Since year 2005 she is an active member of the Academic Music Ensemble of the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice.

Eric Ma is a senior Engineering Science student at the University Toronto majoring in Biomedical Engineering. His past experiences include development for assistive mobile applications, gaze-tracking technology for ophthalmology research, and R&D for several minimally-invasive surgical tools for cardiology and radiology. His primary research interest is in the area of rehabilitation engineering, functional electrical stimulation, and brain-machine interfaces. Currently, he is actively involved in a research project with the long-term goal of developing a neuroprosthesis to unassisted standing in patients with stroke or spinal cord injury. In his spare time, he enjoys swimming, hiking, and discovering new experiences.

Michael J. Mitchell is a doctoral candidate in the Biomedical Engineering program at Cornell University, in the lab of Dr. Michael R. King. His research is focused on the development of computational and experimental models of cellular mechanotransduction in inflammation and cancer. Specifically, he is interested in fluid shear stress exposure as a regulator of receptor function and expression in both white blood cells and circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which is critical in the progression of inflammation and cancer metastasis. He has a secondary interest in developing novel strategies to trap and induce apoptosis in CTCs in the circulation.

Mohamad Ali Najia is a rising senior at the Georgia Institute of Technology pursuing B.S degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science. Since the fall of 2010 he has worked in Dr. Todd McDevitt’s Engineering Stem Cell Technologies Laboratory within the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He is the Managing Editor of Submissions and Review for the Georgia Institute of Technology’s undergraduate research journal and a statistical consultant in the Center for Bioengineering Statistics for bioengineering faculty and staff. In the summer he will be an undergraduate scholar in the Harvard-MIT Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics Program. He plans to pursue a PhD in Bioengineering and obtain a position in academia where he can combine his stem cell and computing knowledge in order to develop computational models of stem cell fate to ultimately elucidate novel methods to direct stem cell differentiation.

Ben Ouyang is a recent Engineering Science graduate at the University of Toronto, majoring in Biomedical Engineering. His research experiences include biomaterials, stem cells, and drug delivery, which he explored on a year-long internship at the Karp Lab of Brigham and Women's Hospital, developing a novel drug-delivery vehicle, and during his 4th year thesis work at the Santerre Lab of IBBME on the immune response to biomaterials. Upon graduation, Ben plans to continue education at the University of Toronto, as a candidate of the MD/PhD program. Outside of academia, Ben has a plethora of hobbies, including badminton, photography, and the violin.

Novalia Pishesha was born and raised in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. She started her academic odyssey in the United States at City College San Francisco. In her junior year, she transferred to University of California at Berkeley and graduated in 2011 with a B.S. in Bioengineering. She is currently a first year PhD student in the Biological Engineering program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and working in red blood cell lab under the tutelage of Prof. Harvey Lodish. Outside of the lab she enjoys traveling and learning new languages.

Salvatore Andrea Pullano is a third year Ph.D. student in Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science at University Magna Græcia, (Italy). He received his B.S. and M.S. in electronic engineering from University of Calabria (Italy). Currently, he is a visiting scholar at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (USA). His research interests include design and fabrication of piezoelectric and pyroelectric sensors for micro scale devices, electronic systems for biomedical data acquisition and electrical brain stimulation. He is involved in scientific projects and interdisciplinary activities in the field of nanotechnology research both in physics and biology.

Roya Hashemi Rad received a M.Sc degree in Biomedical engineering-track of neural-engineering at University of Southern California in May, 2013. She mainly directed her focus on computation neural-engineering and biological signal processing, and her current research is in Investigation of possible frequency-amplitude modulation using non-linear brain dynamics analysis. It uses advanced signal processing of EEG signal for modulating the phase of slow frequency and amplitude of fast frequency of internal segment of Globus Pallidus (iGP) in Parkinson disease patients. Her research interests include the relation between cellular/molecular processes, systems-level functions, and computational modeling of small biological neural network and large neural system.

Emilio Salazar Emilio Salazar is a recent graduate from the Georgia Institute of Technology in biomedical engineering and computer engineering. In the fall, he will be combining his two degrees in a PhD program in the neurosciences. He is currently working in Dr. Garrett Stanley's lab determining how sensory signals are encoded in the rat thalamus. During his undergraduate career he was a teaching assistant for four years, and in the future he expects to couple his interest in research with his enjoyment of teaching through a career in academia.

Janna Serbo is a third year Ph.D. student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, working in Dr. Lewis Romer’s laboratory at the School of Medicine. She received her B.S. in Bioengineering from University of California, Berkeley, graduating with High Honors. In her undergraduate research, she became fascinated with regenerative tissue engineering for its potential to tackle broad health issues, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and the need for full organ replacements. Her research interests are in the areas of cell-matrix interactions, microvascular development, and 3D microenvironmental control with relation to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Her graduate research involves the development of a 3D graft material to study microvessel growth as an in vitro model system for vasculogenesis. Through her Ph.D. research, Janna would like to make a significant contribution to science by enhancing our current understanding of the extracellular matrix and vascular biology. Outside of the laboratory, Janna is an active leader in the Graduate Student Association at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, representing student interests to faculty and administration. Her efforts focus on continually improving the quality of graduate student life and opening new opportunities for students to pursue all available careers paths. In her spare time, she enjoys dance, travel, and yoga.

Noyan Songur is a rising junior at Columbia University in the City of New York, studying biomedical engineering, specializing in bioimaging. Having participated in studies at Harvard Medical School and Chiba University in Japan, he is planning to start working in Prof. Andreas Hielscher’s lab, focusing on biophotonics and optical radiology. He is also interested in business, which he explored through interning at an investment bank and several medical device distributing and producing companies in Turkey. In his spare time, he likes playing basketball, which he did professionally for ten years until college, and competed in many national tournaments. Noyan also enjoys taking photos, with which he published a book and had an exhibition to help young enthusiasts in need. He is currently the vice chair of Columbia Photography Association and also the president of Columbia Turkish Students Association, aiming to bolster Turkish culture and to strengthen the Turkish community in Columbia University.

Megan Sperry Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Megan Sperry completed her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering at Boston University in 2012. She is currently a Whitaker Fellow at Imperial College London, working in the Biodynamics Laboratory at the Imperial College School of Medicine. Her research interests span the areas of spinal health, tissue mechanics, and diagnostic imaging. Following her year in London, Megan is looking forward to beginning her PhD in bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania this fall. In her free time, Megan enjoys figure skating, yoga, and traveling as much as possible!

Adriana Stêpieñ is a first year graduate student in Biomedical Engineering at Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Poland. This winter she compleded her bachelor studies with the diploma thesis: 'Development environment for the analysis of heart rate variability'. In fall 2012 she was engaged as an assistant to help organize 8th World Technopolis Association General Assembly. Outside her work at the University she is involved in travelling, she is also an amateur of scuba diving.

Kyle Tsang is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying at the University of Toronto in Engineering Science, majoring in the biomedical option. His past research experience has allowed him to gain a better understanding in the use of mesenchymal stem cells for anti-inflammatory purposes. He has also worked on a project in developing a soluble protein to activate Notch-Delta signalling to induce differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells into T-cells. His current research interests lie in using biomedical informatics to create new technologies to benefit hospitals, patients, and practitioners in a clinical environment. He is a member of the organization Refresh Bolivia and will be travelling there this summer to participate in a volunteer program to improve water access and sanitation in rural Bolivia. In his spare time, he enjoys watching professional sports including basketball, hockey, and baseball. He also likes playing Ultimate Frisbee, table tennis, and golf.

Karin Wang is a graduate student working for Dr. Delphine Gourdon, in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. Her research goal is to investigate how dysregulated matrices deposited by cells exposed to tumor soluble factors, present a microenvironment that would promote cancer progression. Specifically, she studies how altered ECM conformation disrupts mechanobiological signaling between matrix components and between the cell and its surrounding matrix.

Xiaoxi Yang is currently a Ph.D candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Tulane University, under the direction of Prof. Sergey S. Shevkoplyas. Her research focuses on paper-based fluidics technology for point-of-care medical diagnostics and the development of microfluidic devices for assessing the quality of stored red blood cells intended for transfusion. Xiaoxi was born in Beijing, simultaneously one of the oldest and most modern cities in China, and received a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Zhejiang University. In her spare time, Xiaoxi enjoys playing basketball, watching movies and traveling.

Alan Zambeli-Ljepovic is in his third undergraduate year at Columbia University in New York City, studying biomedical engineering, focused on imaging. Working in Dr. Andrew Laine’s lab, he has coauthored a paper on registration of lung CT scans to MR perfusion images to aid in the early diagnosis of emphysema in COPD patients. A Frank H. Buck and National Merit Scholar, Alan competed for the Division I varsity swim team in his first year at Columbia. Though he doesn’t compete anymore, when he is not in the lab, Alan is usually in the pool, either training or giving lessons to local enthusiasts. In the remaining time, he directs the New Scholar Selection Committee of the new Frank H. Buck Scholars Association does his best to keep alive his passion for languages and music (piano, electric guitar, and frequent opera outings).