People

Principal Investigator

Dr. Yuan Tang

Dr. Yuan Tang joined the Bioengineering Department at the University of Toledo in August 2019. Prior to joining UToledo, he was a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Temple University. During his Ph.D. study at Florida International University and postdoctoral training at Widener University, Dr. Tang gained substantial expertise in the applications of nanotechnology in designing targeted drug delivery systems for the treatment of breast cancer and heart disease. His current research focuses on the applications of nanotechnology for developing vascularized microfluidics-based biomimetic systems for drug screening as well as studying the role of endothelial cell inflammation in a variety of different pathological conditions including cancer. He is also developing targeted drug delivery systems utilizing natural or induced inflammatory responses in human endothelium, which includes the identification and selection of upregulated adhesion molecules in endothelial cells, synthesis and characterization of nano- or micro-sized drug carriers, drug payload internalization and controlled release, and characterization of various drug delivery routes under different disease conditions. The work of Dr. Yuan Tang has applications in the fields of nanotechnology, molecular imaging, drug delivery and radiation oncology.

Current Students

Indira Sigdel

Indira Sigdel is a doctoral student in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Toledo. She grew up in Nepal and did her schooling there. Before starting her Ph.D. journey, she received her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from the College of Biomedical Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nepal. She joined the University of Toledo in Fall 2019 as a Graduate Assistant and joined Dr. Tang’s lab in Summer 2020. Her research focuses on creating a breast tumor microenvironment in vitro using a microfluidics-based approach. Currently, she is working with triple-negative breast cancer and endothelial cells to mimic the tumor microenvironment and move forward with assessing the cytotoxicity of various anti-cancer drugs.

Awurama Ofori–Kwafo

Awurama Ofori – Kwafo is a second year PhD student in Biomedical Engineering. Born and raised in Ghana, she obtained her Bachelor’s of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. She worked at the Biomedical Engineering Unit at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the third largest teaching hospital in Africa, working with the installation, monitoring and maintenance of hospital equipment. Subsequently, she worked as a research assistant at the Whitaker Group, an American consultancy which provides project development and investment facilitation in Africa, in the Ghanaian office. Awurama joined the University of Toledo in January 2021 as a Graduate assistant and PhD student and immediately joined the Biofluidics Lab. She is currently working on a pumpless high throughput microfluidic platform co-culture module.

Earshed Al Mamun

Earshed Al Mamun is a first year Ph.D. student in Biomedical Engineering. He is from Bangladesh. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Military Institute of Science & Technology in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He joined the University of Toledo in Spring 2023 and joined the UToledo Biofluidics lab in Fall 2023.

Lab Alumni

Niraj Gupta

Niraj Gupta completed his undergrad degree from the University of Toledo in Spring 2021. He worked in Dr. Tang’s lab from Spring 2020 to Spring 2021. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis.

Fairuz Faizee

Fairuz Faizee was a masters student in Dr. Tang’s lab. He joined the lab in Summer 2020 and successfully graduated with a M.S. degree in Summer 2021. Currently he is working as a Cancer Organoid Research Assistant at resistanceBio.

Khalid Khalaf

Khalid Khalaf, or simply Kal, was a bioengineering masters student. Though born in Toledo he lived most of his life overseas until he came back for his undergraduate degree at UToledo. He joined the lab in Fall 2021 and graduated from the university in Summer 2023. In addition to his academic work, he worked as the graduate hall director in UToledo residence halls, specifically at Ottawa East. He hopes to continue to a Ph.D. after completing his masters.

Robert Heizelman

Robert Heizelman, who goes by Rory, graduated in Bioenginering from the University of Toledo in Summer 2023. He joined Dr. Tang’s lab in Spring 2021. At present, he is pursuing a M.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering, at the University of Michigan.

Highschool Trainee

Srestha Chattopadhyay, senior at Sylvania Northview High School, joined in Summer 2023
Jacob Hennon, rising 11th grader when interned in the lab during Summer 2023. Maumee Valley Country Day School.
Rachel Cheng, rising 11th grader when interned in the lab during Summer 2022. Maumee Valley Country Day School.
Maya Mohanty, sophomore at Maumee Valley Country Day School. Summer 2021.
Kimmi Zhao, sophomore at Maumee Valley Country Day School. Summer 2021.