Principal Investigator

  Shreyas S. Rao, Ph.D.
  Associate Professor
  Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
  The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

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Education

Postdoctoral, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2014-2015
Postdoctoral, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 2013-2014
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2012
M.S., Chemical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2010
B.E. Chemical Engineering, R.V. College of Engineering, Visvesvaraya Technological University, India, 2007

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Biographical Information

Dr. Shreyas Rao is a tenured Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at The University of Alabama. Dr. Rao completed his graduate work in the area of neural biomimetic materials for investigating cancer cell behaviors under the guidance of Dr. Jessica Winter at The Ohio State University. His postdoctoral work performed at Northwestern University and The University of Michigan under the guidance of Dr. Lonnie Shea developed novel technologies for early detection of metastatic disease. Dr. Rao is a recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award (2018), METAvivor Early Career Investigator Award (2020), American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award (2021), and was named ‘Emerging Leader in Biological Engineering’ in 2019, by the Journal of Biological Engineering, an official publication of the Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE). He has also received the American Institute of Chemists Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Joseph H. Koffolt Graduate Fellowship, Pelotonia Graduate Research Fellowship, and was invited as a “top student innovator” to the first Procter & Gamble Innovation Camp.

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Postdoctoral Research Associates

Dr. Venu Yakati

Dr. Sumiran Gurung

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Graduate Students

Kasra Goodarzi

• PhD ChBE student
• Expected Graduation Year: 2024

Nick Lenart

• PhD ChBE Student​

Paromita Sarker

• PhD ChBE Student

Elle Hellwarth

• PhD ChBE Student

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Undergraduate Students

Kyra Berger

• BS ChBE Student
• ​Expected Graduation: Spring 2025

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Alumni and Visiting Students

Name	Degree and Year	Current Position (if known)
Rachel Lane	B.S., 2024	Engineer, Nephron Pharmaceuticals
Sofia Luna	B.S., 2024	Ph.D. program, BME, Vanderbilt University
Raghu Vamsi Kondapaneni	Ph.D., 2023	Postdoctoral Researcher, Vanderbilt University
Madeline Fisher	M.S., 2022	Research Associate, BlueRock Therapeutics
Rachel Warren	B.S., 2022	Ph.D. program, BioE, University of Maryland
Pinaki Nakod	Ph.D., 2022	R&D Scientist, BIOMILQ, Inc.
Isaiah Roberts	B.S., 2024 (Howard University)	B.S. (ChE) student, Howard University
Emma Sanders	B.S., 2021	M.D. Program, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine
Akshay Narkhede	Ph.D., 2020 M.S., 2018	Upstream Process Development Scientist, Shattuck Labs, Inc.
Brandon Edney	B.S., 2020	M.D Program, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Kasie Coogan	B.S., 2020	Production Engineer, Dow Chemical Company
Payton Stone	B.S., 2020	Ph.D Program, ChE, Vanderbilt University
James Crenshaw	B.S. 2019	M.D Program, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Nicole Sempertegui	B.S. 2019	Ph.D Program, BME, Cornell University
Courtney Geary	B.S., 2019
Riley Manning	B.S., 2018	Ph.D. Program, BME, University of Minnesota
Anne Lehmann	B.S., 2018
Mary Alsobrooks	B.A., 2018	University of Alabama
David Yaroshevsky	B.S., 2018 (Georgia Tech)	Veeva Systems
John Stoffer	B.S., 2017	M.D. Program University of Cincinnati