Graduate Students

Katherine Vaidya 
[email protected]

I am a Materials Science & Engineering PhD student. I received a BSE and MSE in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Michigan. I worked in the aerospace and building materials industries for around 2 years before returning to grad school. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time outdoors and rock climbing.

Research Direction: I work on the development of a small molecule-based nanoparticle barcoding platform for pooled screening applications. I am optimizing many aspects of this platform, including barcode conjugation, extraction, and detection, to efficiently quantify these barcodes. My work will enable future high-throughput experiments for expedited nanotherapeutics discovery.

Amartya Viravalli
[email protected]

I am a Chemical Engineering PhD student. I’m from Hyderabad, India and received a B.Tech. (Hons.) in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Hyderabad. In my free time, I enjoy playing sports (racquetball, badminton, and volleyball), FPS games, and cooking.

Research Direction: My research aims to develop an intrinsically therapeutic lipid-based nanoparticle platform to tackle ovarian cancer by leveraging vulnerabilities linked to ferroptosis

Senjuti Karmaker 
[email protected]

I am a Chemical Engineering Ph.D. student from Dhaka, Bangladesh. I graduated with a B.S.  from Texas Tech University. Outside of work and school, I enjoy, singing, cooking, exploring the outdoors, and spending quality time with my friends.

Research Direction: I am investigating the interplay of surface and core chemistry of nanoparticles on biological responses in heterogeneous cellular environments. I am using findings from these studies to develop a targeted therapeutic delivery platform for ultrasound-mediated destruction of metastatic ovarian cancer.

Plinio Rosales Lopez
[email protected]

I am a Chemical Engineering Ph.D. student from Guatemala City, Guatemala. I received a B.S in Chemical Engineering and a B.S. in Biochemistry with minors in Theology and Mathematics from Calvin University. When I am not in the lab, I love playing guitar and piano, writing music, playing basketball, and being involved with my local church community.

Research Direction: My research focuses on developing a weaponized lipid nanoparticle (LNP) platform using gene silencing to address ovarian cancer. In addition, I leverage multiomics characterization and machine learning to understand biological responses to these nanoparticle treatments.

Barath Tirumuruhan 
[email protected]

I am a Materials Science Ph.D. student. I am originally from Chennai, India and received my B.E. in Mechanical Engineering and M.Sc. in Chemistry from BITS Pilani, India. Outside work, I like playing basketball, going to the gym, and listening to music.

Research Direction: My research interest lies in developing a barcoding platform that enables high-throughput pooled nanoparticle screens. We will be utilizing this to study the effect of immune system and tumor heterogeneity on nanoparticle fate.