Active Members

Ashutosh Chilkoti

Alan L. Kaganov Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Ashutosh Chilkoti is the Alan L. Kaganov Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University.

My research in biomolecular engineering and biointerface science focuses on the development of new molecular tools and technologies that borrow from molecular biology, protein engineering, polymer chemistry and surface science that we then exploit for the development of applications that span the range from bioseparations, plasmonic biosensors, low-cost clinical diagnostics, and drug delivery.

Sonal Deshpande

sonal.deshpande@duke.edu

Sonal completed her Bachelors and Masters in Biotechnology from the University of Pune, India. She received her PhD from the Centre for Biomedical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IITD), India. Her PhD dissertation was focused on optimizing nanoparticle design for drug delivery, based on the cues obtained from their interactions with cells. Outside of lab she likes to watch cricket and supernatural and sci-fi movies/TV shows.

Cassio Mendes Fontes

cassio.fontes@duke.edu

Cassio is from Belo Horizonte Brazil and has a double major in Electronic Engineering and Pharmacy/Biochemistry and a Masters in Electric Engineering. He founded and ran as CEO a GMP certified diagnostics company in Brazil with over 80 FDA approved products. He is working with Angus on some top secret research. Outside the lab he likes to lift weights, ride his PelotonTM, and hang out with his wife and dogs, Leo and Einstein.  Believe it or not, he actually prefers American football over football (soccer)!

Angus Hucknall

Senior Research Scientist

angus.hucknall@duke.edu

Angus develops diagnostic devices that utilizing nonfouling polymer brush surface coatings.

Daniel Joh

daniel.joh@duke.edu

Daniel is from Anaheim, California. He completed his MD-PhD at Duke, where he did his dissertation in Tosh’s lab. He trained in plastic surgery residency and currently completing a hand surgery fellowship at Duke. His clinical interests are in hand & upper extremity surgery and peripheral nerve surgery. He draws on his dual-background in engineering & medicine to translate emerging technologies from the lab into impactful clinical applications.

David Kinnamon

david.kinnamon@duke.edu

Before starting his PhD at Duke, David (a Dallas native) earned his BS and MS in Biomedical Engineering at UT Dallas after which he worked for two years as a Research Engineer for the University. He is interested in working on translational point-of-care diagnostic biosensors and currently has a focus on passively automated microfluidic devices. David loves movies, a good round of golf, cooking, and travelling to new cities.

Josh Milligan

Josh completed his undergrad at NC State University, where he graduated in 2019 with a BS in Biomedical and Health Sciences Engineering.  He is interested in combining ELPs with radiotherapy for cancer therapeutics.  Outside of the lab, he enjoys running, photography, and spending time with friends and family.

Daria Semeniak

Daria is from Russia. She earned her undergraduate and Master's degrees in biomedical engineering at the Ural Federal University. She came to the U.S. in 2015 as a Fulbright scholar and obtained her second Master's in BME at the University of Arkansas. Now, she is pursuing her Ph.D. in Chilkoti's lab and working on point-of-care diagnostic devices. Outside of the lab, she loves snowboarding, traveling, and reading. 

Xinghai Li

Research Technician

xl49@duke.edu

Xinghai is a research technician working with Wenge on animal model design, drug delivery, and protein radio labels. He comes from Beijing by way of Chapel Hill where he worked in a lab at UNC-CH doing molecular biology. Xinghai enjoys Durham and Duke so far; when he's not working he likes to read, swim or perhaps play a game of Go.

Krissey Eutsey Lloyd

Lab Manager

krissey.lloyd@duke.edu

Krissey is the lab manager.  She is originally from PA and has been working at Duke since 2004.  She spends her free time with her family, gardening, or catching up on a good book. 

Mark Chen

mark.chen@duke.edu

Mark is from Chicago. He completed his MD/PhD at Duke in the Kirsch lab studying sarcoma and radiation biology using genetically engineered mouse models. Currently, he is a radiation oncology resident on the RORS research track. In the Chilkoti lab, he will study the role of condensates in cancer. In his free time he enjoys traveling/spending time with his wife, reading, church, and cooking.

Chelsea Harris

mailto:chelsea.harris@duke.edu

Chelsea is from Sacramento, California. She completed her MD at Duke and MBA at Stanford. She is currently completing general surgery residency training at Duke. She joins the Chilkoti lab with a focus on using biopolymers to redirect heart tissue towards growth and repair after a heart attack. She plans to become a cardiac surgeon with a translational research lab that can bring solutions developed in the lab directly to patients.

Taranpreet Kaur

taranpreet.kaur@duke.edu

Taranpreet is from Punjab, the northwestern state of India. She received her Bachelors and Masters in Physics from Punjab University, Chandigarh, India and her Ph.D. in Physics from SUNY Buffalo, NY. Her dissertation focused on understanding the phase behavior of multi-component self-assembling protein-RNA mixtures. Besides doing experiments, she likes singing, spending time with friends, and cooking

Jayashree Yalamanchili

Jayashree obtained her Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Anna University in India. She pursued her Master's and Ph.D. in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where her Ph.D. research focused on developing an in vitro assay to measure the toxicity of particulate matter on human health. During her free time, she engages in the hobbies of creating art, reading books, and traveling.

Afarin Aghassizadeh

afarin.aghassizadeh@duke.edu

Afarin is from Iran, and before starting her Ph.D. in the Chilkoti lab she earned her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering at the Sharif University of Technology. She is interested in integrating biosensors, low-cost detectors, and machine-learning algorithms for point-of-care diagnostic devices that can be used in deprived settings. Outside the lab, she loves watching movies, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

Kat Lazar

kat.lazar@duke.edu

Kat completed her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering at Tufts University in Boston before moving to Duke. She is co advised by Professor Ashutosh Chilkoti and Professor Joel Collier. Outside of lab she enjoys reading, traveling, art, and dance. 

Yoyo Ma

yoyo.ma@duke.edu

Yoyo is from Palo Alto, CA and graduated from the University of Chicago with degrees in biochemistry and economics in 2024. In the Chilkoti lab, she is interested in developing a POEGMA polymersome to improve the delivery of novel therapies. In her free time, she enjoys reading, dancing, and making Spotify playlists for her friends.

Aine O'Sullivan

aine.osullivan@duke.edu

Aine grew up in Westchester, NY before completing her degree in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University in 2018. She is interested in applications of partially ordered peptides for tissue engineering. Outside lab, she enjoys hiking, skiing, climbing, traveling, and trying to keep her houseplants alive.

Erica Peng

erica.peng@duke.edu

Erica is from South Africa and graduated from UC San Diego with a BS in Bioengineering: Biotechnology. She is interested in exploring the applications of partially ordered polypeptides. Outside of lab, she enjoys being outdoors, travelling, music, pottery, and watching f1.

Rachael Putman

rachael.putman@duke.edu

Rachael is from the Kansas City, Missouri area. She then received her B.S. in biomedical engineering from Yale and is currently pursuing her MD/PhD at Duke. In the Chilkoti lab, she is working on a project using partially ordered polypeptides to augment peripheral nerve repair. Outside the lab, she enjoys playing with her cat, Luna, and dog, Peanut Butter.

Rachel Strader

rachel.strader@duke.edu

Rachel grew up in South Carolina. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 2022. She is interested in using ELPs for the delivery of immunotherapeutics. Outside of lab, she enjoys running, playing soccer, hiking, and being outdoors.

Kalina Tsolova

kalina.tsolova@duke.edu

Kalina is from Sofia, Bulgaria and completed her bachelors in Molecular Biology at Princeton University in 2020. She is interested in the biophysical and biochemical behavior of immunotherapeutics fused to ELPs. Kalina enjoys traveling, hiking, gardening and a good rock or metal concert every once in a while. 

Brooke Silverstein

brooke.silverstein@duke.edu

Brooke is from Austin, Texas and completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Duke. Though she worked in the upstairs/biomaterials subgroup in undergrad, Brooke is now a tech in the surface subgroup, working to polymerize glass slides, assemble assay cassettes, and, in her spare time, investigating the effects of polymer composition on assay performance. Outside of lab, Brooke works as a part time yoga teacher and enjoys reading, spending time outside, and live music.

Sarthak Agrawal

sarthak.agrawal@duke.edu

Sarthak Agrawal is a freshman planning to study biomedical engineering. He's interested in biotech and cell biology. Outside of the lab he's involved in Dhamaka, Diya, volleyball, and taekwondo. In my free time he loves spending time with friends or learning new skills.

Anthony Du

anthony.du@duke.edu

I’m an undergraduate BME and biology major in the class of 2026 from Hong Kong. I’m working with Mark Chen to study the role of molecular condensates in cancer. In my free time, I play saxophone and fold origami.

Jennifer Gao

rong.gao@duke.edu

Jennifer is from Shanghai, China. She is currently an undergraduate student at Duke, majoring in Chemistry and planning on a phd track. She is interested in protein engineering and is currently working with Dr. Sonal Deshpande on expressing the Elastin-like Polypeptides (ELPs) in mammalian cells for cellular engineering. Outside the lab, she likes vocal music, running, and playing badminton.

Neel Gupta

neel.duttagupta@duke.edu

Neel Dutta Gupta is a freshman from Singapore intending to major in Biomedical Engineering. He is particularly interested in biotechnology as it relates to creating novel solutions to combat pressing biological diseases. He is working with Kat to create ELPs for Glatiramer Acetate (GA) to treat symptoms of Multiple Scerosis (MS). Outside of the lab, he is involved in Duke Club Basketball and the Predental Society. He enjoys spending time with friends and learning new languages. 

Muskaan Iyer

Muskaan is a freshman from Dubai, UAE. She is planning on studying Chemistry and Computational Biology. Muskaan is particularly interested in biotechnology, vaccine development and biomedical sciences, and will be working with Rachel on the use of ELPs for localized drug delivery. Outside of research, Muskaan is involved in Progress Period, Club Swimming, and the Student Collaborative on Health Policy. In her spare time, she enjoys watching movies with friends and learning new languages.

Rohinee Mattikalli

rohinee.mattikalli@duke.edu

Rohinee is an undergraduate student (class of 2026) from Seattle, Washington. She is majoring in Biology and minoring in Computer Science on the pre-medical track. In lab, she is working with Josh on using ELPs for brachytherapy and immunotherapy for treating pancreatic cancer. In her free time, she enjoys running, swimming, hiking, playing piano, and baking.

Norah Shen

norah.shen@duke.edu

Norah is an undergraduate student (class of 2028) from San Jose, California. She is currently pursuing a major in chemistry with a concentration in biochemistry, on the pre-medical track. In the lab, she works with Kalina Tsolova on therapeutic ELP fusions. Outside of the lab, she enjoys playing music, skiing, and trying her best to bake (with questionable results). 

Emily Song

emily.c.song@duke.edu

Emily is from Alpharetta, Georgia. She is currently an undergrad at Duke majoring in Biomedical Engineering and planning to pursue an MD. She is interested in mitigating the effects of neurodegeneration following nerve injuries. At the Chilkoti lab she is researching polypeptide-based scaffolds to aid in peripheral nerve repair under mentor Rachael Putman. Outside the lab, she enjoys painting, cooking, and fishing.

Miranda Zhong

mz196@duke.edu

Born and raised in Shenzhen, China, Miranda Zhong is currently a Duke University student pursuing a double major in Molecular and Cell Biology and Statistics with a minor in Computational Biology. She is currently working with Daniel Shapiro, conducting research on intracellular phase separation and creating a potential method for gene regulation. In her free time, she enjoys playing guitar, hiking, and experimenting with old film cameras.