2021 Incoming Graduate Students | Fischell Department of Bioengineering

Please join the Fischell Department of Bioengineering in welcoming our newest Ph.D. students!

Incoming Ph.D. Students

Gatha Adhikari grew up in the Himalayas of Nepal. She did her undergrad in Biomedical Engineering at Rowan University in New Jersey where she used imaging-based analysis of single stem cells and tunable materials to investigate cell-material interactions with applications in regenerative medicine. She is excited to make UMD her new home and to explore the DMV area. She loves traveling, hiking (basically any excuse to be out in nature), cooking Nepali food, and making new friends.
Shohini Benerjee recently graduated with honors from Penn State University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Biology. Her past research experience focused on artificial tissue engineering, and soon she will begin studying biomechanics involving cell migration and proliferation in Dr. Stroka’s lab. Shohini is an avid dancer as well; her main passions lie in Indian classical dances as well as competitive ballroom dancing. Her other hobbies include playing the flute, reading fiction, playing chess, and watching Bollywood movies.
Evan Benke graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a B.S. in chemical and biological engineering. His previous research involved studying nanogels as novel protectants for cellular proteins. As an incoming Ph.D. student, he hopes to explore imaging technology and to increase access to life saving biomedical technologies. Evan also enjoys competitive swimming, basketball, and skiing in his free time.
Allison Boboltz is originally from Northern Virginia and just graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.S. in biomedical engineering. Her research interests include synthetic biology, nanotechnology and therapeutics. In her free time she loves hiking, running and can’t wait to explore DC and Maryland!
Amanda Bogseth graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a B.S. in bioengineering in May 2021. At UMD, she has joined the Maisel Lab and her research will consist of developing in-vitro models relevant for immunology, specifically lymphatic transport in the gut. In her free time she enjoys listening to podcasts, cooking, and nature photography.
Ken Brandon II was born in Alexandria, VA and spent much of his early years in the DMV area before moving to Georgia at the start of middle school. Ken received a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering as a part of a dual-degree program from Oakwood University and the University of Alabama Huntsville. While a PhD was not originally on his radar, Ken gained invaluable experiences from analyzing the electrical conductivity of oceanic biofilms at the Naval Research Lab to kinetic studies of cancer associated metastatic proteolytic enzymes at Georgia Tech. Outside of the lab and classroom, Ken enjoys making people laugh (secretly wants to be a comedian…), working with his hands, and trying new hobbies.
Chris Bridgeman graduated with his bachelor's in marine biology and masters in biomedical engineering from Florida Institute of Technology. For the last four years Chris has worked in Novartis’s Immuno-Oncology department developing in vitro and in vivo models to interrogate novel targets for clinical development. In his free time, Chris likes to fish, golf, play tennis, and hike.
Talita da Silva was born in São Paulo, Brazil and graduated in Mechanical Engineering at Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA), located in São José dos Campos, Brazil. She obtained a master’s degree from ITA in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering in Propulsion and Energy, where she studied the cavitation phenomenon in axial turbines for rocket propulsion. She did a second master’s program at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in Biomedical Engineering, where she studied auto-segmentation of radiotherapy images. Her hobbies are playing the piano, running and cooking.
Bailey Felix graduated from Syracuse University in 2021 with a B.S in Bioengineering. She was born, raised, and has never lived anywhere other than upstate NY and is excited to get to know life outside of NY. Her research interests primarily center around regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dog, baking, and having movie nights with her friends.
Angelica Galvan just graduated with a B.S. in materials science and engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and heils from Chicago. She is interested in pursuing research involving biomaterials and immunology. Outside of the lab, Angelica enjoys biking, playing tennis, playing piano, cooking, eating and reading.
Christoph Hart grew up in Charleston, WV and was one of the first 5 graduates from Marshall University's Biomedical Engineering undergraduate program. He has done previous research in bone scaffold fused deposition modeling as well as in stem cell differentiation and would like to continue learning more about and working in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. His main hobbies are making things using many different media and techniques (woodcarving, glass engraving, knitting, cooking, etc.), spending time in nature, and playing Pokémon Go. Fun fact: he is native to West Virginia, but is also a German citizen.
Pieper Holeman graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in biomedical engineering. His research interests include tissue engineering, bio materials, and drug delivery. Outside of school, he enjoys playing hockey and has recently taken an interest in mountain biking and snowboarding.
Marzy Kheradmand earned her master's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Maryland. Her primary research interests are tissue engineering, drug delivery and vaccine development. Her hobbies are hiking, picnicking and cooking.
Yihao Lin is from Hangzhou, China, and he graduated from Penn State with a B.S. in biomedical engineering in May 2021. Being directly admitted into the Huang Lab, Yihao is excited to research photodynamic therapy for cancer treatment applications. Outside of academics, Yihao is a vinyl records fanatic, and he also loves to cook, eat, and travel.
Paula Montero Atienza was born and raised in Valencia, Spain. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Valencia. After two years working as a research and development engineer for Medcura, a medical device company, she decided to pursue her Ph.D. in bioengineering. She will be joining Dr. Clyne's lab and her research focus is to develop a contractile "Artery-on-a-Chip." Outside the lab, Paula enjoys cooking traditional Spanish food, traveling, and petting other people’s dogs.
After several years working in oncology and neurology clinical research post-graduation from UMD, Nicholas Pirolli is excited to return to UMD to pursue a Bioengineering Ph.D. in the labs of Dr. Jay and Dr. Bentley. He is passionate about innovative therapeutic development after witnessing many patients' lives saved by breakthrough therapeutics in his clinical research positions, but unfortunately also many unable to be saved due to lack of desirable therapeutics. Aside from medicine and physiology, he enjoys trail running, hiking, cooking, snowboarding, the Philadelphia Eagles, and spending time with his family.
Emily Powsner is from Boston, MA, and just graduated with a B.S. in biomedical engineering from the University of Delaware in May 2021. Her research interests include nanotechnology, therapeutic design, and drug delivery, and she has joined Dr. Jay’s lab to pursue these interests. Outside of the lab she enjoys reading, working out, cooking, and playing with any and every dog she can find!
John Quinlan is originally from New Jersey and completed his BS and MS in biomedical engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He joined Maryland’s Medical Scientist Training Program in 2019, and is excited to get back into the lab. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, going to the beach, and exploring the area.
Idrisa Rahman is a recent graduate from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in bioengineering. Her previous research focused on drug delivery systems, and she is excited to focus on drug delivery systems applications in women's health. While not in the lab, you can find her walking around the mall with a green smoothie in hand or at the gym lifting weights.
Neel Sanghvi is a computational modeling nerd with a penchant for music and video games. He graduated with a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Maryland, having completed several years of undergraduate research exploring protein allostery under the computational microscope. He loves pondering nature's mysteries while biking across its bounteous miles and is very excited to continue using vast computational resources to do precisely that.
Oliver Viyar graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.S. in chemical engineering and after graduating, worked at Tempo Therapeutics, a San Diego-based start up developing a novel hydrogel biomaterial for use in various clinical areas including surgical oncology and as a Covid-19 vaccine. He is excited to pursue a PhD in BioE to further explore the potential for biomaterials as a tool in the clinic. In his free time, you can catch him bouldering, hiking, trying out new restaurants, or at the movies.
Zhiyuan Wang graduated from Columbia University with a master’s degree. He is interested in the field of neurodegeneration therapy using iPSC, and machine learning. In his leisure time, he enjoys playing video games or reading books.

Incoming M.S. Students (from the B.S./M.S. Program)

Eric Frank graduated from the University of Maryland in 2021 with a B.S. in bioengineering. He is currently, and in the foreseeable future, working in Professor Giuliano Scarcelli's Optics Biotech lab on stimulated Brillouin scattering spectroscopy for his master's degree. In his spare time, Eric likes to play Dungeons and Dragons with his friends, lift weights, and take his dog, Jojo, out on walks.

Chenchen Handler is a master's candidate in Dr. Giuliano Scarcelli's lab and is currently studying the biomechanics behind cancer and metastatic potential as well as mechanical properties in neural tube closure in chick embryos. She plans to get her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering after obtaining her master's in bioengineering.

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