Education and Training

Harvard University, Boston, MA
T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health
Program in Molecular and Integrative Physiology
  • Research Scientist, 2020—Present
  • Research Associate, 2016—2020
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2013—2016
  • Advisor: Jin-Ah Park, Ph.D., Co-advisor: Jeffrey Fredberg, Ph.D.

Brown University, Providence, RI
Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology
Center for Biomedical Engineering
  • Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, May 2013
  • Advisor: Diane Hoffman-Kim, Ph.D.
  • Thesis Project: Influence of microfabricated cues on the motility and growth of cells of the nervous system 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering
  • S.B. in Mechanical Engineering, June 2007
  • Minor in Biomedical Engineering

Research Experience

Project: Cell jamming in epithelial migration
Program in Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Harvard T.H. School of Public Health, Boston MA, 2013—2020
  • Postdoctoral training. Titles held: Research fellow, Research Associate, Research Scientist.
  • Goal: understand the physical and biological mechanisms of the epithelial unjamming transition. 
  • Main project: distinguishing between epithelial-mesenchymal transition and unjamming transition in confluent, differentiated epithelial tissues. 
  • Work resulted in a first-author publication in Nature Communications, plus five related contributing-author publications (Nature Physics, Nature Materials, PLoS One, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, Scientific Reports) and two review articles. Two contributing-author manuscripts currently under review.
  • Techniques: Live-cell imaging, cell motility & morphology analysis, immunofluorescence, western blotting, RT-PCR/qPCR, primary human cell culture, mathematical modeling, traction force & monolayer stress microscopy.
  • This work was funded through a T32 fellowship (2013—2016) and a Parker B. Francis Foundation Fellowship

Project: Mechanical compression triggers asthmatic airway remodeling
Program in Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Harvard T.H. School of Public Health, Boston MA, 2013—2020
  • ​Goal: Investigate how mechanical compression resulting from asthmatic bronchoconstriction drives pathogenesis.
  • Techniques: primary human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells in air-liquid interface (ALI) culture, the gold standard in airway epithelial biology. Isolation of HBE cells from bronchial brushings and maintenance from passage 0.
  • Work resulted in two first-author publications (American Journal of Physiology – Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology), five contributing-author publications, and a review article. A third first-author manuscript is currently under review. 

Project: Guidance of glial and neuronal growth and migration by micropatterned cues
Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, & Biotechnology
Brown University, Providence RI, 2007—2013
  • Goal: Investigate the role of micropatterned topographical and biochemical cues on growth, alignment and migration of neuronal and glial cells with an eye towards tissue engineered therapies for nerve damage repair.
  • Techniques: Isolation of primary rat neurons, culture of mammalian cell lines, soft lithography, micropatterning and microcontact printing, development of custom analysis algorithms.
  • Work resulted in 2 first-author publications (PLoS One, Journal of Neuroscience Methods) and 2 contributing-author publications, and 1 review.

Honors and Awards 1

2019—2022 | Parker B. Francis Foundation Fellowship
Fellowship awarded for the project entitled “Cell Jamming in Epithelial Migration and Repair”. The PBF Fellowship is a competitive grant awarded to promising young scientists to support research training (3yr support, $156,000 total award)
​​​           2017 | American Thoracic Society Abstract Scholarship Award
           2016 | “Red Alert” Highlighted manuscript in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology
           2015 | Best poster Award – Gordon Research Conference on Lung Development, Injury and Repair
           2014 | Harvard University School of Public Health Postdoc Association Travel Award
2013—2016 | T32 Training Grant in Interdisciplinary Pulmonary Sciences
2010—2012 | GAANN Fellowship               
           2011 | Robert and Susan Kaplan Fellowship
           2009 | Brown Institute for Brain Science Graduate Research Award

Honors and Awards 2 

2019—​2022 | Parker B. Francis Foundation Fellowship
​​​           2017 | American Thoracic Society Abstract Scholarship Award
           2016 | “Red Alert” Highlighted manuscript in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology
           2015 | Best poster Award – Gordon Research Conference on Lung Development, Injury and Repair
           2014 | Harvard University School of Public Health Postdoc Association Travel Award
2013—2016 | T32 Training Grant in Interdisciplinary Pulmonary Sciences
2010—2012 | GAANN Fellowship               
           2011 | Robert and Susan Kaplan Fellowship
           2009 | Brown Institute for Brain Science Graduate Research Award

Honors and Awards 3

Parker B. Francis Foundation Fellowship, 2019—​2022 
  • Fellowship awarded for the project entitled “Cell Jamming in Epithelial Migration and Repair”. The PBF Fellowship is a competitive grant awarded to promising young scientists to support research training (3yr support, $156,000 total award)
American Thoracic Society Abstract Scholarship Award, 2017
“Red Alert” Highlighted manuscript in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, 2016
Best poster Award – Gordon Research Conference on Lung Development, Injury and Repair, 2015
Harvard University School of Public Health Postdoc Association Travel Award, 2014
T32 Training Grant in Interdisciplinary Pulmonary Sciences, 2013—2016
GAANN Fellowship, 2010—2012
Robert and Susan Kaplan Fellowship, 2011
Brown Institute for Brain Science Graduate Research Award, 2009

Awards and Honors 4

2019—2022   Parker B. Francis Foundation Fellowship
​​​2017               American Thoracic Society Abstract Scholarship Award
2016               “Red Alert” Highlighted manuscript in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology
2015               Best poster Award – Gordon Research Conference on Lung Development, Injury and Repair
2014               Harvard University School of Public Health Postdoc Association Travel Award
2013—2016   T32 Training Grant in Interdisciplinary Pulmonary Sciences
2010—2012   GAANN Fellowship               
2011               Robert and Susan Kaplan Fellowship
2009               Brown Institute for Brain Science Graduate Research Award

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