LAB MEMBERS
February 2022
KHALIL RAMADI, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Prof. Ramadi is an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at New York University (NYU) Abu Dhabi, and Director of the Laboratory for Advanced Neuroengineering and Translational Medicine. His research focuses on developing non-invasive technologies for neuromodulation, towards more effective therapies for neurological, endocrine, and immune disorders. Prior to joining NYU, he was a NIH F32 Ruth Kirschstein Postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is a former director of MIT Hacking Medicine, a group dedicated to enhancing healthcare entrepreneurship, and currently volunteers as the Regional Director for the MENA region. He has been named a TED junior fellow, MIT Sandbox Innovation Fellow, and a Koch Convergence Scholar. He holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics from the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology division.
Contact: kramadi (at) nyu (dot) edu
LETICIA PEREIRA
Lab Manager and Research Assistant
Leticia has a background working in basic research as well as pre/clinical trials with stem cells in the areas of neurology and immuno-oncology. Her project is focused on novel cell therapies to improve the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Contact: lp2570 (at) nyu (dot) edu
MOHAMMED OSAMA ABDELHAMEED, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Associate
Mohammed has extensive experience in organic and inorganic syntheses, material science, and photophysics. His current research focuses on the synthesis of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies while controlling their physical, chemical, and optical properties. Mohammed has previously developed several nanomaterials for biomedical applications such as cellular and subcellular imaging.
Contact: moa2022 (at) nyu (dot) edu
HANAN MOHAMMED, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Associate
Hanan has a multidisciplinary background that overlaps material science, biomedical & electrical engineering. She has extensive experience in clean room based nanofabrication techniques, material characterization & imaging. Hanan pursued her PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Sensing, Magnetism & Microsystems (SMM) Group at King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KSA). Her research focussed on 3D data storage technology using magnetic nanowires. Hanan was selected to present her PhD research in Berlin for the Falling Walls Lab in 2018. Hanan is passionate about innovation & technology transfer and is a mentor at the MIT COVID 19 Challenge Hackathons.
Contact: hanan.mohammed (at) nyu (dot) edu
MOHAMED ELSHERIF, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Associate
Mohamed Elsherif holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in physics. He completed his Ph.D. degree in optical biosensor at the University of Birmingham, UK, in 2019. Prior to joining the University of New York, Elsherif was assigned as a postdoctoral fellow at Khalifa University. Elsherif's research interest revolves around optogenetics, wearable, and implantable devices for biomedical applications.
Contact: mie8006 (at) nyu (dot) edu
SADAF USMANI, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Contact: su2152 (at) nyu (dot) edu
DEVJOY DEV
PhD student / Graduate Research Assistant
Devjoy is a Biomedical Engineering PhD Candidate from the UK at the LANTRN Lab. He has a background that expands across medical device design, biomedical imaging, and space medicine. He is very interested in investigating how the regulation of sleep circuitry in the brain is connected to the GI tract through electrical stimulation techniques. He is also exploring the impactful effects of microgravity on sleep at the cellular level.
Outside of the lab he dedicates time towards the global NGO, Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) as the Vice-Lead of the Space Medicine and Life Science (SMLS) division. He is a keen rower, reader, and hackathon partaker, having previously won the MIT Grand Hack and Harvard iGEM BioHackathon. He studied his master’s degree at Imperial College London, UK.
Contact: dd3200 (at) nyu (dot) edu
ALIHA NISHA
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Aliha is a bioengineering student from Fiji who is interested in the application of biomaterials, electronics, microbiology and genetic engineering to the medical field. In her free time, she enjoys creative writing or unwinding in a quiet spot with a novel.
Contact: aan440 (at) nyu (dot) edu
VALERIA ZHOU
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Valeria is an undergraduate student from China majoring in neural science along with a minor in electrical engineering. She's interested in applications of neural science, electrical engineering, and bioengineering to the medical fields with a concentration in brain-computer interface. She was awarded Amgen Scholar in 2021 by Tsinghua University. And she plans to pursue a master's/PhD degree in biomedical engineering after graduation. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the city and hip hop music.
Contact: zz3294 (at) nyu (dot) edu
SEUNG-JEAN KANG
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Seung-Jean is an undergraduate bioengineering student from South Korea. She is interested in women's health issues, point-of-care diagnostics in low resource settings, public health in terms of infectious diseases, and Parkinson's disease. Her current plan after completing undergraduate studies is to pursue MD-PhD or PhD in bioengineering. In her free time, she loves to swim, wander around the city, or watch Netflix shows.
Contact: sk8513 (at) nyu (dot) edu
MAHMOUD ELBEH
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Mahmoud joined NYU Abu Dhabi after studying pharmacy in Egypt for two years. If he's not studying under the palm trees or in the library cafe, you can probably find him running in Saadiyat streets or the outdoor track. His general focuses are on the interdisciplinary studies of natural sciences and their applicability to the human body and how to tackle different diseases using non-invasive techniques. He is the co-president of the pre-health advisory board, the co-founder of a small start-up that aims to prepare students from public schools in Egypt to apply for schools abroad, and NYU Abu Dhabi's admissions ambassador, and recently, Sufara'a cultural ambassador. After graduation, he plans to attend medical or graduate school.
Contact: mme7543 (at) nyu (dot) edu
JULIE EMILY MATULA
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Julie is a Korean-Australian undergrad student majoring in chemistry. She is interested in sustainability as well as the applications of chemistry to help global issues. Aside from playing basketball and volleyball, Julie enjoys coaching basketball, watching movies and eating at new restaurants.
Contact: jem9607 (at) nyu (dot) edu
JESPER HOLTER
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Jesper is a bioengineering student from Estonia. He began his studies as a mechanical engineering major, but gradually his interests shifted to include biology and medicine. Currently, his focus is on developing novel, minimally invasive, medical devices which take advantage of the gut-brain axis.
Contact: jh6285 (at) nyu (dot) edu
ASTE MAYAYA
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Aste is an Electrical Engineering student from Tanzania. He is interested in electronics and aerospace. He low-key wants to go to Mars. His hobbies are music, cycling, and watching soccer (a Man United fan).
Contact: asm8780 (at) nyu (dot) edu
ALUMNI
AHMED EL ASHWAH
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Ahmed is a Mechanical Engineering student from Egypt. His interests include desalination, 3D design, pumps, microfluidics, aerospace, and nuclear power, and his hobbies are swimming, cycling, astronomy, fantasy novels, and ocasionally gaming.
Contact: aea493 (at) nyu (dot) edu
AAYUSH KARNA
NYUAD Undergraduate Student
Aayush is a mechanical engineering student from Nepal with interests in unmanned aerial vehicles, controls, fluid dynamics and 3D designing. In his free time, Aayush enjoys cycling, trekking, and sketching
Contact: ak7717 (at) nyu (dot) edu
SION HAU
Research Assistant & PPTP Fellow
Sion is a recent graduate from New York University Abu Dhabi where she majored in Biology with a concentration in Brain and Cognitive Science. From her time in NYUAD's iGEM team to sending immune cells to the International Space Station, she has developed a strong interest in the field of bioengineering and hopes to pursue a career in applications-driven biology research. In her free time, Sion enjoys everything from board games to stand up paddle boarding to desert camping or just the latest Netflix show. She has the cutest dog back home in Australia called Spinach.
COLLABORATORS
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT
Brigham and Women's Hospital
MIT McGovern Institute for Brain Research
NYU Langone Medical Center
UAE University
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi