department of chemical engineering

@ the university of michigan













current members   -   lab alumni   -   group photos








Khamir Mehta
Graduated: 2009
Ph.D. Thesis: Data inference for bone tissue engineering
Current Location: Merck

Geeta Mehta
Graduated: 2007, co-advised with Shuichi Takayama (Biomedical Engineering)
Ph.D. Thesis: Microenvironmental control in microfluidic bioreactors for long term culture of bone marrow cells
Current Location: Research Scientist, University of Michigan

Wendy Ankrom Comisar
Graduated: 2007, co-advised with David Mooney (Harvard)
Ph.D. Thesis: Engineering surfaces to control osteogenic differentiation through cell adhesion
Current Location: Merck

Stewart Chang
Graduated: 2007, co-advised with Denise Kirschner (Microbiology and Immunology)
Ph.D. Thesis: Receptor Dynamics during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection
Current Location: Postdoc, U. Washington

Prasanna Thwar
Graduated: 2007, co-advised with Mark Burns
Ph.D. Thesis: A microfluidic approach for studying transient cell signaling
Current Location: Advanced Liquid Logic, NC

Christopher Brinkerhoff
Graduated: 2006
Ph.D. Thesis: Theoretical investigation of the role of membrane protein spatial arrangements in cellular signaling.
Current Location: Postdoc, Rutgers University

Tamara L. Kinzer-Ursem
Graduated: 2005
Ph.D. Thesis: The role of ligand and cell specific parameters in influencing G-protein coupled receptor states and cell responses
Current Location: Postdoc, Caltech (soon to start as an Asst. Prof. of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University)

Peter Chang
Graduated: 2004
Ph.D. Thesis: Quantification of the Role of G-proteins in Modulating Cellular Responses of the Human Netrophil
Current Location: Postdoc, UC Santa Barbara

Peter Woolf
Graduated: 2001
Ph.D. Thesis: Computational Analysis of G-protein Coupled Receptor Screening, Dimerization and Desensitization
Current Location: CEO, FoodWiki

Anna Waller
Graduated: 2001
Ph.D. Thesis: Ligand Binding and Ligand Efficacy in the N-formyl Peptide Receptor System on the Human Neutrophils
Current Location: Scientist, University of New Mexico.

James Cunningham
Graduated: 2001
Ph.D. Thesis: Focal adhesions as mechanotransducers: Differential localization of focal adhesion components in response to mechanical strain
Current Location: Merck

Todd Riccobene
Graduated: 1999
Ph.D. Thesis: Analysis of G-Protein Coupled Receptor Signaling: The Relationship Between Signaling Parameters and Cellular Responses
Current Location: Forest Laboratories, Inc.

Lonnie Shea
Graduated: 1997
Ph.D. Thesis: Kinetics of Receptor, Ligand, and G-Protein Interactions for Signal Transduction: A Modeling Study
Current Location: Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University.

Grenmarie Agresar
Graduated: 1996
Ph.D. Thesis: A Computational Environment for the Study of Circulating Cell Mechanics and Adhesion
Current Location: High school teacher, Ann Arbor, MI

Nancy Berry Agrawal
Graduated: 1996
Ph.D. Thesis: Quantification of Helper T Lymphocyte/Antigen-Presenting Cell Interactions: A Single Cell Study
Current Location: Merck

Julie Hoffman
Graduated: 1995
Ph.D. Thesis: A Quantitative Characterization of ligand, Receptor, and G-Protein in Signal Transduction
Current Location: Calypte Biomedical Corp

James Adams
Graduated: 1995
Ph.D. Thesis: The Dynamics of Stimulated Actin polymerization in Human Neutrophils
Current Location: Ford Motor Company

Patricia Relue
Graduated: 1994
Ph.D. Thesis: Signal Transduction in Single Cells: Digital Fluorescence Imaging and Mathematical Modeling
Current Location: Associate Professor of Bioengineering, Department of Bioengineering, University of Toledo.

Debra Singer
Graduated: 1991
Ph.D. Thesis: A Quantitative Investigation of the Events of Antigen Processing and Presentation
Current Location: Dupont