Members
Laboratory Manager
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Ronak Afshari
Dr. Ronak Afshari received her B.Sc. in Chemistry from Tehran University (2010); M.Sc. in Organic Chemistry from Amirkabir University of Technology (2013) and Ph.D. degree in Organic Chemistry from Shahid Beheshti University (2019), Tehran-Iran, for studies concerning functionalization of carbonaceous nanomaterials as well as metal/polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery and catalysis. Meanwhile, she has been awarded the best researcher of 2019 among Ph.D. students at Shahid Beheshti University. She also pursued a postdoctoral course in the Department of Physics at the Sharif University of Technology with a focus on the synthesis and functionalization of nanobubbles as neoteric medicinal platforms. She has over 25 papers, reviews and science books and made over 5 announcements at international scientific conferences. Her current research interests lie in designing novel organic synthetic routes for the functionalization of nanomaterials including carbon nanostructures and biopolymers, in developing multifaceted and stimuli-responsive biomaterials. Her hobbies include reading, traveling and spending time with her friends/family.
Postdoctoral Scholars
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Tess De Maeseneer
Dr. Tess De Maeseneer joined the Annabi lab in March 2024. She obtained a B. Sc. degree in Engineering Sciences from KU Leuven (Belgium) in 2017. Afterwards, she enrolled in a M. SC. program in Chemical Engineering at KU Leuven (Belgium). In 2019, she decided to join the Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology lab (KU Leuven,Belgium) as a PhD student. Her PhD work was centered around the development of a novel breast reconstruction method in close collaboration with UGent (Belgium), VUB (Belgium) and UZGent (Belgium). Her main research focus was on the structural characterization of injectable hydrogels intended to be used as scaffold materials. She currently works for the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and the Department of Medicine at UCLA under joint mentorship of Dr. Nasim Annabi and Dr. Renea Sturm. The main focus of her work is on the use of advanced fabrication methods for the regeneration of a hierarchical blood vessel network in urological tissues. In her free time, she likes to do sports, meet with friends and travel to the world’s most famous surf spots.
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Arpita Roy
Dr. Arpita Roy joined the research group of Prof. Annabi as a postdoctoral researcher in 2022. She obtained her B.Sc. degree from the University of Burdwan, India in 2014 and completed her M.Sc. degree in chemistry (Gold Medalist) from Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India in 2016. Then, she received her Ph.D. degree from Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad, in 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Sagar Pal at IIT (ISM) Dhanbad. Prof. Santanu Dhara from School of Medical Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT KGP) was her external supervisor. Her research interests include the synthesis and design of various hydrogels/composites and their biomedical applications. In leisure time she likes to dance, travel, and spend time with her family and friends.
Visiting Scholar
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Sabooh ul Ain
Sabooh ul Ain is a PhD scholar from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. Her research area is ‘Designing Biocompatible Materials for Tissue Regeneration’. She worked on the ‘Fabrication of Biodegradable Metallic Bone Implants’ in her Masters at the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Institute of Advance Materials, at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan with Prof. Dr. Muhammad Najam-ul-Haq. Now she is working on Composite Nano-Materials for Bone Tissue Regeneration in Ph.D Research. She also works on Oxidized Regenerated Cellulose (ORC) based hemostatic materials and alginate-based wound dressing with Masters students in Pakistan. She joined the Annabi Lab on 1 st February 2024 as a visiting scholar for 6 months on the Research Support Initiative Program (IRSIP) from the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Here she is working on the Interphase Tissue Regeneration for Dental Pulp by 3D Bioprinting. She is enjoying her time here in the States learning and exploring her field of studies and also exploring LA with her new friends and colleagues. She also likes to spend her free time listening to music and talking to her family and friends back home in Pakistan.
Graduate Students
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Yuting Zheng
Yuting began her research in Professor Annabi’s lab as a PhD student at UCLA in the Fall of 2020. She received her bachelor’s degree with a major of Chemistry from University of Shanghai for Science and Technology and received her master’s degree from University of California, Berkeley, majoring in Chemical Engineering. During her master’s degree, she worked in Prof. Phillip Messersmith’s lab as a student researcher. Her research fields mainly focus on developing functional biomaterials with tunable mechanics, self-healing properties and stimuli-responsive behaviors for a wide range of biomedical applications such as tissue regeneration, tumor therapy, wound healing, immunomodulation, etc. She aspires to develop these therapies to improve the quality of healthcare around the world by engineering smart hydrogels and nanocomposites for drug/cell delivery and dynamically crosslinked materials that suit their drug cargo and delivery needs on a molecular level. Yuting also worked as a full-time analytical assistant in Estee Lauder R&D center for half a year. In her free time, Yuting likes to travel, planting and enjoy her time with the family!
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Saumya Jain
Saumya received her B.S. in Biochemistry from Seattle University in the spring of 2020. Three years of her undergraduate studies were dedicated to carbohydrate chemistry research in the lab of Dr. Joseph Langenhan. She worked on developing a novel synthetic route to produce a glycosylated asparagine residue that is vital in post-translational cellular modifications and, therefore, in many areas of drug development. Among various technical skills she has learned during undergraduate research, Saumaya most enjoys synthesis, analysis by NMR, and recombinant gene expression using PCR. Saumya joined Dr. Nasim Annabi’s lab in the fall of 2020 as she pursues her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at UCLA. Outside of the sciences, Saumaya loves listening to music, learning new songs on the guitar, hiking, teaching new crafts to her younger sister, and spending time with friends.
![Joyce](http://www.annabilab.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Joyce-250x300.jpeg)
Joyce Huang
Joyce is a PhD student in Bioengineering at UCLA. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Bioengineering from University of Washington Seattle (2020). She previously worked with Dr. Rajiv Saigal at UW in developing electronic drug delivery microneedles for treatment of spinal cord injuries. Her current research interests lie in developing functional and stimuli responsive biomaterials.
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Zhanpeng (Jim) Liu
Jim joined Professor Annabi’s lab as a Ph.D. student in the fall of 2023. He received his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China (2023). For his undergraduate research, he focused on developing the microbially induced polyetheretherketone (PEEK) surface modification approach and investigating the unique mechanics of the generated structure, as well as fabricating the novel drug delivery system which could be used for bone regeneration. He is now interested in the design of biomaterials which is inspired by nature or could mimic the characteristics of bio-interface in human body, for example, the hard-soft tissue interface, for tissue adhesive or regeneration applications. In his free time, Jim likes reading books, listening to J-pop music, learning finger-style guitar, playing computer games and spending time with family and friends.
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Min-Hsuan (Jessie) Lin
Jessie joined Dr. Annabi’s lab in 2023 as a PhD student of Chemical Engineering. She received her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University (NTU) (2020). She then worked in Dr. Ying-Chih Chang’s lab at Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan, in which she helped develop an in vitro drug screening system for circulating tumor cells (CTCs). After that, she came back to NTU to study for her master’s degree with Dr. Jiashing Yu, focusing on the research of conductive biomaterials for tissue engineering. She is now interested in exploring biomaterials that have multifaceted applications and unlocking their potential to solve pressing real-world challenges. In her free time, Jessie enjoys watching comedies and animes and spending time with friends.
![Gayatri Patel](http://www.annabilab.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Gayatri-Patel-225x300.png)
Gayatri Patel
Gayatri received her B.Sc. in Bio-convergence in 2019 from Yonsei University, South Korea. Her undergraduate research was focused on the purification of surface receptor proteins. She is currently a master’s student in Bioengineering at UCLA. In Dr. Annabi’s lab she is working on a 3D bioprinting project for dental applications. Outside of the lab, Gayatri enjoys listening to music, cooking and spending time with family.
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Fang Zhou
Fang became a member of Professor Annabi’s lab as a master student in the fall of 2023. She received her bachelor’s degree of Chemical Engineering from Soochow University in 2019 and studied the photo-induced self-assembly polymerization of biodegradable polyester as her undergraduate dissertation. After
working as a research assistant in a scientific corporation, Fang got familiar with the techniques to obtain polymer-stabilized metallic nanoparticles and their medical applications. Now she has great interest in electroconductive biomaterials for myocardial infarction repair, meanwhile, to achieve a combination with her
research background. In her spare time, Fang enjoys singing, watching anime and jogging.
![Albert](http://www.annabilab.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Albert-223x300.png)
Albert Lee
Albert received their B.S. in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Philosophy from UCLA in 2021. During his studies, he had experience working in two different laboratories, the first of which was focused on developing nanopatterned bactericidal polyurethane for medical devices in Dr. Albert Yee’s lab at UC Irvine in 2016. The second focused on working with nanoencapsulation of proteins for drug delivery in Dr. Yunfeng Lu’s lab at UCLA during his undergraduate studies. His interests are currently focused on the applications of nanotechnology and nanostructures in biological devices. Albert joined the Annabi Lab in the fall of 2021 and hopes to focus on research involving nanostructured scaffolding and tissue repair devices. Outside of the lab, he dedicates his time to esports, visiting national parks, traveling, teaching, and spending time with their friends and family,
![IMG_0323](http://www.annabilab.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/IMG_0323-254x300.jpg)
ZHONGHONG KONG
Zhonghong received his B.S. in Materials science from Technion in 2022. During his studies, he worked in surface engineering and corrosion lab and mainly focused on nanoporous anodic oxides for the functionalization of metal surfaces. He joined the Annabi Lab in the winter of 2022 and focuses on developing mucoadhesive nanoparticles for drug delivery. Outside of the lab, he enjoys playing table tennis, electric guitar and video games.
zhkong@g.ucla.edu
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Steven Vo
Graduating from UCLA in June of 2023 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Steven returned to his alma mater to continue his research with Dr. Annabi in the Annabi Lab as a graduate student in chemical engineering. His time as an undergraduate in the Annabi Lab primarily consisted of tough hydrogel optimization and characterization for ocular drug delivery and wound healing. As a graduate student, his focus has shifted into exploring tough hydrogels capable of supporting tissue growth. More specifically, he is working on utilizing hydrogels for creating neovaginas to assist in male to female bottom gender reassignment surgery. Outside of the lab, Steven’s hobbies include cooking new recipes around the world, playing competitive online games, spending time with family, and listening to music.
Undergraduate Students
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Parmida Abbasi
I am Parmida Abbasi. I am a third-year Biology major interested in learning more about 3D bioprinting and hydrogel applications. I am a dental assistant, and I love how the 3D printing relates to creating dental crowns. Outside of school, I enjoy spending time with friends, movies, trying different restaurants, and going to the beach.
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Edrees Mahmood
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Lakshmi Mohan
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Tiffany Jean
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Ethan Mai
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Cindy Wang
![Attachment](http://www.annabilab.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Attachment-200x300.jpeg)
Ketan Yadav
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Sara Nejad
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Enza Nikolic
Alumni
Spencer Kelly, Undergraduate Student
Ashlyn Harris, Undergraduate Student
Karina Bender, Undergraduate Student
Shea Zenker, Undergraduate Student
Kaimana Lum, Undergraduate Student
Nina Ofitserova, Undergraduate Student
Jacob Pearl, Undergraduate Student
Yavoz Oz, Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA
Zijian Zhong, Visiting Scholar
Boyi Wang, Undergraduate Student
Cathy Lu, Undergraduate Student
Lorin Danielsen, Undergraduate Student
Yimin Gu, M.S Student, UCLA 23′
Yadi Huo, M.S Student, UCLA 23′
Annabella Budiman, M.S Student, UCLA 23′
Hossein Montazerian, Ph.D Student, UCLA 23′
Avijit Baidya, Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA
Jose Chevalier, Visiting Scholar, Undergraduate Student, UCLA 22′
Esha Sharma, Undergraduate Student
Heather Griffiths, Undergraduate Student
Diya Kapur, Undergraduate Student
Hamed Nilchi, M.S Student, UCLA 22′
Emily Dunn, Undergraduate Student, UCLA 22′
Daniel Booth, M.S Student, UCLA 22′
Shameek Mitra, Undergraduate Student, UCLA 21′
Mahsa Ghovvati, Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA
Reza Moonesirad, Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA
Jharana Dhal, Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA
Yangcheng Liu, M.S. Student, UCLA
Chen Xi, M.S Student, UCLA
Mahtab Bayani, Visiting scholar, Iran
Mitchell Nguyen, Undergraduate, UCLA
Azadeh Mostafavi, Visiting Ph.D. Student, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Shima Gholizadeh, Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA
Sevana Baghdasarian, M.S. Student, UCLA
Pradeep Sharma, Visiting Scholar, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, India
Hojin Choi, Undergraduate Student, UCLA
Jonathan Soucy, PhD Student, Northeastern University
Jessii Chun, Undergraduate, UCLA
Nicole Prusty, Undergraduate, UCLA
Yizhen Guan (Yvonne), Undergraduate, UCLA
Gokberk Unal, Master’s Student, UCLA
Mustafa Nakipoglu, Visiting Scholar, Middle East Technical University (Turkey)
Gabriela Djuhadi, Undergraduate, UCLA
Ehsan Shirzaei Sani, PhD Student, UCLA
Brian Walker, PhD Student, UCLA
Sohyung Lee, PhD Student, UCLA
Senne Seneca, Visiting Scholar, University of Hasselt (Belgium)
Marianna Cosentino, Visiting Scholar, University of Rome (Italy)
Ashley Dickman, Undergraduate, UCLA
Ziqing Wang, Undergraduate, Central South University China (China)
Sinziana Popescu, Visiting Scholar, Romanian Academy (Romania)
Andrew Spencer, PhD Student, Northeastern University
Brenden Lee, Undergraduate, UCLA
Andrea Winslow, Undergraduate, UCLA
Brijesh Hirani, Master Student, Northeastern University
Zheng Cao, Master Student, Northeastern University
Abolfazl Akbarzadeh, Visiting Professor, Tabriz University (Iran)
Devyesh Rana, Master Student, Northeastern University
Jinzhao Fu, Master Student, Northeastern University
Islam Khalil, Visiting Scholar, University for Science and Technology (Egypt)
Ebrahim Mostafavi, PhD Student, Northeastern University
Bahram Saleh, PhD Student, Northeastern University
Jakub Erben, Visiting PhD Student, Technical University of Liberec (Czech Republic)
Hailey Konisky, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Shannon Joyce, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Jaiden Cruger, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Spencer Lake Jacobs-Skolik, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Dina Mohsen, Visiting Master Student, The American University of Cairo (Egypt)
Chu-Hsiang Yu, Research Assistant, Brandeis University
Shashank Madhu, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Bradley Priem, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Divya Vijayakumar, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Amy Sevigny, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
William Kimball, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Nooshin Zandi, Visiting PhD Student, Sharif University (Iran)
Gustavo Hernánde, Visiting PhD student, Monterey Tech University (Mexico)
Paula Rodrigues Fontes Sousa Moraes, Visiting PhD Student, Sao Paulo University (Brazil)
Roberto Portillo Lara, Postdoctoral Fellow, Monterey Tech University (Mexico)
Eulalie Leroux, Visiting Undergraduate Student, University Paris Descartes, (France)
Navin Jayaswal, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Asel Primbetova, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Benjamin Houang, Visiting Master Student, Grenoble (France)
Soundarapandian Kannan, Visiting Professor, Periyar University (India)
Jessie Gifford, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Amanda Bretti, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Fayez Ghazi, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Sophia Maciel, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Andi Shehu, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Jennifer Silva, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Mingzhi Dai, Visiting Professor, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (China)
Mohammad Fares, Visiting Professor, Jordan University of Science and Technology (Jordan)
David Villiard, Undergraduate Student, Northeastern University
Bastien Delaly, Visiting Master Student, Northeastern University
Nicholas Duva, Visiting Undergraduate Research Assistant, Northeastern University
Rhayza Oliveira, Visiting Undergraduate Research Assistant, Federal University of Sao Carlos (Brazil)
Mohammad Reza Aziziyan, Visiting PhD student, University of Sherbrooke (Canada)
Iman Noshadi, Postdoctoral Scholar, Northeastern University
Lauren Tips, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Northeastern University
Jamal Ashrafi, Visiting PhD Student, Tehran University (Iran)
Wendy Yu, Undergraduate, Vanderbilt University
Hannah McFetridge, Undergraduate, Cornell University
Nayara Gomes, Undergraduate, New Mexico State University (Brazil)
Felipe Dias, Undergraduate, New Mexico State University (Brazil)