CURRENT TEAM
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering
UT Austin
LAB MANAGER
RESEARCH FELLOW
Mohini Kamra (she/her)
Project: Probing cancer transformation and its relation to metabolic reprogramming and exploiting the process of protein condensation for functional roles in drug delivery.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Sam Freer (he/him)
Project: Elucidating cancer cell metabolic alternations using broadband and single-channel coherent Raman microspectroscopy.
Jacob Baker (he/him)
T-32 Training Grant Fellowship
Project: Optimizing a Laser microbiopsy device for less invasive and more rapid tissue analysis.
Madison Pickett (she/her)
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow
Project: Evaluating the impact of extracellular matrix orientation and density on postpartum breast cancer cellular metabolism.
Nick Scott (he/him)
Temple Foundation Graduate Fellowship
Thrust 2000 Graduate Fellowship in Engineering
Project: Researching cancer transport discrepancies and their causes as a means to exploit.
Advika Kamatar (she/her)
Project: A joint effort between Dr. Sapun Parekh's lab and Dr. Jeanne Stachowiak's lab to investigate the biophysical role that lipid droplets could play in the aggregation and fibrillation of alpha-synuclein, a protein that forms fibrils in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease.
Mateusz Brzezinski (he/him)
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Sowon Kang (she/her)
Project: Analyzing the dye uptake of the cell in regards to the nucleus shape.
Audrey Livingston (she/her)
Project: Exploring lipid droplet implications in Parkinson's disease.
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Kelsey Varodom (she/her)
Project: Simulating the extracellular matrix using electrospun shape memory polymers in order to better understand epithelial to mesenchymal transition in breast cancer cells.
LAB ALUMNI
Alexandra Paul (2023)
Role in Lab: Postdoc
PhD - Biological Engineering, Chalmers Univ. of Technology
Current Role: Technical Support Engineer, PerkinElmer
Daniel Wang (2022)
Role in Lab: Undergraduate Student
BS - Biomedical Engineering, UT Austin
Current Role: Medical Student, Creighton University
Sachin Kumar (2021)
Role in Lab: Postdoc
PhD - Biomaterials, IISc Bangalore
Current Role: Assistant Professor at IIT Delhi
Naomi Calhoun (2021)
Role in Lab: Summer REU Student
Current Role: Bachelor's Student: Howard University
Sayantan Chaterjee (2021)
Role in Lab: Postdoc
Current Role: Research Associate: Stachowiak Lab UT Austin
Xiao Ling (2018)
Role in Lab: PhD Student
Current Role: Research Scientist: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Frederik Fleissner (2017)
Role in Lab: PhD Student
Current Role: Senior Scientist: Merck
Miriam Koldevitz (2017)
Role in Lab: Diploma Student
Current Role: Chemist: Dottikon Exclusive Synthesis
Aleksandr Barulin (2016)
Role in Lab: Summer Intern
Current Role: Masters Student: Europhotonics
Jang Hyuk Lee (2016)
Role in Lab: Postdoc
Current Role: Research Fellow: Boppart Lab, UIUC
Shruti Pattanaik (2015)
Role in Lab: Summer Intern
Current Role: PhD Student: TU Munich
Will Rock (2015)
Role in Lab: Postdoc
Current Role: Senior Application Specialist: Headwall
Gustav Waschatko (2014)
Role in Lab: Postdoc
Current Role: COO Time Traveling Milkman
Henriette Jaurich (2013)
Role in Lab: Bachelors Student
Current Role: Masters Student: Rice University
Yujen Wang (2022)
Role in Lab: PhD Student
Current Role: Account Manager at Zuu Kong Electric Co.
Natasha Nehra (2022)
Role in Lab: Undergraduate Student
BS - Biomedical Engineering, UT Austin
Current Role: AI/ML Engineer, Medtronic
Hasan Heyadati(2022)
Role in Lab: Postdoc
PhD - Chemical Engineering, Colorado State University
Current Role: Senior Scientist, Danaher Corporation
Arsalan Nisar(2021)
Role in Lab: PostBac
BS - Biomedical Engineering, UT Austin
Current Role: MPH Student
Leah Gutzwiller (2021)
Role in Lab: Summer REU Student
Current Role: Bachelor's Student: UT Knoxville
Mischa Schwendy (2019)
Role in Lab: PhD Student
Current Role: Postdoc with Dirk Grimm: University of Heidelberg
Samet Varol (2017)
Role in Lab: PhD Student
Current Role: Humbolt Fellow: University of Bologna
Anchit Srivastava (2017)
Role in Lab: Summer Intern
Current Role: PhD Student: University of Koln
Zahra Rastian (2016)
Role in Lab: Visiting Postdoc
Current Role:
Ravi Dhiman (2016. 2018)
Role in Lab: Summer Intern
Current Role: PhD Student: Uniklinik Saarland
Nils Billecke (2015)
Role in Lab: Postdoc
Current Role: Senior Nutrition Scientist: Cargill
Christian Malm (2015)
Role in Lab: Diploma Student
Current Role: PhD Student: Hunger Lab, Max Planck Institute
Gerrit Best (2015)
Role in Lab: Postdoc
Current Role: Imaging Scientist: Continental
Sascha Schwendy (2013)
Role in Lab: Technical Intern
Current Role: Chemical Analyst: BASF
Gianluca Rago (2013)
Role in Lab: Inherited PhD Student
Current Role: Director of Strategy: Nike
OPEN POSITIONS
We are hiring graduate students and Postdoctoral fellows on the following topics:
1. Nonlinear microscopy and spectroscopy
2. Imaging molecular structure and mechanics in liquid-liquid phase separation in neurodegeneration (in collaboration with Jasper Michels (MPIP), Edward Lemke (EMBL/Mainz), and Nick Fawzi (Brown))
3. Imaging protein structure in cells and biomaterials under mechanical deformation
Please contact Sapun Parekh (sparekh@utexas.edu) with your CV, letter of motivation (<1 page), and a list of references.
* Prospective graduate students not currently enrolled at UT Austin MUST apply via the UT BME graduate program through the Graduate School. If you are interested in a PhD degree from the Max Planck Institute, please contact Sapun Parekh directly.