People

Principal Investigator

Melikhan Tanyeri, PhD

Bio
Dr. Melikhan Tanyeri received his B.S. degree from Bogazici University in 1999, and his Ph.D. degree from University of California, Davis in 2006. During 2006-2012, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Charles Schroeder and Prof. Paul Selvin at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Between 2013-2016, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Istanbul Sehir University. After a brief research scientist position in Tay Lab at University of Chicago, he joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duquesne as an assistant professor.

His research interests include microfluidics, chemical and biomolecular sensors, and high-resolution imaging. His research accomplishments include the first demonstration of lasing spherical microdroplets in a microfabricated device. He developed chemical and biological sensor platforms based on micro and nanoscale optofluidic systems. More recently, he established a new class of microfluidic tools for single particle and cell manipulation towards applications in nano- and biotechnology.

Hobbies: Food (cooking, churning, brewing), soccer, cars, classic music.

Curriculum Vitae

Postdoctoral Researchers

Merve Ertas Uslu, PhD

Bio: Dr. Ertas Uslu completed her undergraduate studies in Physics from Istanbul University and earned her PhD degree in Physics at Gebze Technical University. Specializing in materials science and engineering, she brings extensive expertise in thin film coating and ultra-high-tech surface imaging systems, particularly with UHV systems. Dr. Uslu has contributed to prestigious journals and international conferences through the publication and presentation of her work. Alongside her achievements in research, she possesses a robust background as a proficient data analyst and scientist, excelling in the creation of exploratory visual presentations and the application of NLP techniques for healthcare data analysis. Holding multiple certificates in machine learning and data science with Python, she has also served as a data visualization instructor, sharing her knowledge in this domain. Previously, Dr. Ertas Uslu held the position of a visiting scientist in Biomedical Microdevices Lab for six months during Fall 2019 -Spring 2020.

Project: Dr. Ertas Uslu will be developing a novel microfluidic platform for single cell mechanotransduction in collaboration with Dr. Smutny and Dr. Bretschneider at the University of Warwick.

Hobbies: Biking

Graduate Students

Project: 

Hobbies: 

Undergraduate Students

Sara Knox

Project: High throughput cell-based assay for GPCR drug discovery

Hobbies: Cooking, Gardening, Any Water Activity, Camping, and Concerts.

Maksim Shcherbatyuk

Project: Electro-Optofluidic Platform for Characterization of 3D Spheroid Models of Brain Cancer

Hobbies: Soccer, Singing, Piano, Saxophone, Video Games

Alumni

BML Hall of Fame*

*Students spent more than a year at BML and/or with major research output (publications, theses, presentations etc.)

  • Nicole White, BME undergraduate (June 2023-May 2024)
  • Jacob McKinley, BME undergraduate (January 2023- May 2024)
  • Shawn Bliss, BME undergraduate (September 2019-May 2023) – Currently Product Compliance Engineer at MSA Safety
  • Gram Hepner, BME undergraduate (January 2022- May 2024) – Currently BME PhD Student at University of Rochester
  • Max Ujhazy, BME undergraduate (September 2020-May 2024) – Currently BME MS Student at Boston University
  • Raegan Gouker, BME undergraduate (September 2021-May 2024) – Currently BME PhD Student at Case Western Reserve University
  • Kate Flannery, BME undergraduate (August 2022-May 2024) – Currently BME MS Student at Ohio State University
  • Jackson Jewell, BME undergraduate (May 2022- August 2023)
  • Ryan Slusser, BME undergraduate (August 2022-August 2023)
  • Mitchell Fox, BME undergraduate (January 2023-May 2023)
  • Aidan O’Donnell, BME undergraduate (August 2022-December 2023) – Currently Co-op Embedded Test Engineer at Phillips
  • Emily McCarty, BME undergraduate (Jan 2022 – May 2023) – Currently Supply Chain Engineer at Carnegie Robotics
  • Anelise McGee, BME undergraduate (Sep 2020 – May 2022)
  • Amanda Trusiak, BME undergraduate & MS student (May 2019 – May 2022) – Currently Associate Product Development Engineer at Carmell Therapeutics
  • Selvin Hernandez, BME undergraduate (May 2019 – May 2022) – Currently BME PhD student at Case Western Reserve University
  • Matthew Nestler, BME undergraduate (Sep 2020 – May 2022) – Currently Software Test Engineer at Medtronic | Affera
  • William Miller, BME undergraduate (Jan 2020 – May 2022) – Currently BME PhD Student at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
  • Elyssa El-Hajj, BME undergraduate (Jan 2020 – May 2021) – Currently Biomedical Engineer at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Jessica Towns, BME undergraduate (Jan 2020 – May 2020) – Currently Bioengineering PhD Student at Stanford University
  • Sakina Goawala, BME undergraduate (Jan 2020 – May 2020) – Currently Quality Assurance Engineer at Miltenyi Biotec
  • Shay Kent, BME undergraduate & MS student (Sep 2019 – Aug 2021) – Currently Medical Device Engineer at Bausch + Lomb
  • Daniel (Yulder) Angarita, MS student (Sep 2018 – July 2020) – Currently Bioengineering PhD student at University of Pittsburgh
  • Rachel Rauh, BME undergraduate (Jan 2019 – May 2020) – Currently Verification and Validation Engineer at Philips
  • Jordan Hoydick, BME undergraduate (Feb 2019 – May 2020) – Currently Associate Regulatory Affairs Engineer at ZOLL Medical Corporation
  • Grace Ingram, BME undergraduate (May 2019 – May 2020) – Currently System Engineer at West Virginia Robotic Technology Center
  • Alexander Evans, BME undergraduate (May 2019 – May 2021) – Currently BME PhD student at University of Rochester
  • Karli Sutton, BME undergraduate (May 2019 – May 2021) – Currently Immunology PhD student at University of Rochester
  • Rachel Fernandez, BME undergraduate (May 2019 – May 2021) – Currently Registered Nurse at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Adriana Del Pino Herrera, BME undergraduate (Oct 2018 – May 2021) – Currently BME PhD student at University of Florida
  • Benjamin Bernarding, BME undergraduate (Feb 2019 – Aug 2019) – Currently 3D Model Engineer at Arthrex
  • Jarrett Boyd, BME undergraduate (May 2018 – May 2021) – Currently Regulatory Affairs Specialist at Nilo Medical Consulting Group

Graduate

  1. Shawn Bliss (September 2019-May 2023)
  2. Amanda Trusiak (Sep 2021 – May 2022)
  3. Shay Kent (Sep 2020 – Aug 2021)
  4. Renan Nassar (Sep 2018 – Dec 2020)
  5. Daniel (Yulder) Angarita (Sep 2018 – Jul 2020)
  6. Emily Frederick Synder (Sep 2019 – May 2020)
  7. Craig Benzinger (Aug 2019 – May 2020)
  8. William Gibson (Sep 2018 – Sep 2019)

Undergraduate

Cassandra Sikes, (Jun – August 2023)
Daniel Bardin, (Jan 2023 – May 2024)
Michelle Bohn (Jan – May 2023)
Katie Haley (May – Jul 2022)
Nathan Watkins (May – Jul 2022)
Holly McGarvey (Jan – May 2022)
Jackson Lee (Jan – May 2022)
Abigail Hebenton (Sep 2021 – May 2022)
Erin Roberson (Sep 2021 – May 2022)
Joseph Ciniello (Sep 2021 – May 2022)
Ante Bevanda (Sep 2021 – May 2022)
Jonathan Wehner (Sep 2021 – May 2022)
Mirabella Stump (May 2021 – May 2022)
Emma Frankmann (May-Dec 2021)
Kaylah Fisher (Jan 2021 – Dec 2021)
Ethan Radeschi (Jan 2021 – May 2021)
Carlie Hernjak (Jan 2021 – May 2021)
Kiearra Saldi (Jan 2021 – May 2021)
Ryan Luca (Sep 2020 – Jan 2021)
Christian Sarro (Jan 2020 – May 2020)
Madison Burchfield (Jan 2020 – May 2020)
Fernanda Souza Dalmolin (Sep 2019 – Dec 2019)
Craig Benzinger (Jan 2019 – May 2019)
Kayla Davis (Jan 2019 – May 2021)
Jillian Vala (Jan 2019 – May 2020)
Emily Frederick (Aug 2018 – May 2019)
Eric Linder (Aug 2018 – May 2019)
Ethan Heltz (Aug 2018 – Mar 2019)
Timmy Pecoraro (Aug 2018 – May 2021)
Ryan McIlhinney (Aug 2018 – May 2019)