Principal Investigator
Prof. Seth Fraden
Professor of Physics
MRSEC Director
Email: fraden@brandeis.edu
Phone: (781) 736-2888
Fax: (781) 736-2915
Scientist
Dr. John Berezney
Email: berezney@brandeis.edu
POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHERS
Dr. Wei-Shao Wei
Project: DNA Origami
Email: wswei@brandeis.edu
Wei-Shao is a postdoctoral associate in the Fraden Lab. Current research focuses on characterizing the kinetics of self-limited assembly of DNA origami, quantifying their block-block interactions, and exploring potential applications such as encapsulation. He holds a B.S. in Physics at National Taiwan University and earned his Ph.D. in Physics at University of Pennsylvania working with Prof. Arjun Yodh. During his doctoral work, he studied assembly and self-shaping behavior of liquid crystals (LCs) in confined environments and characterized dynamic properties of LC-mediated colloidal crystals. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, photography, and sketching.
Dr. Michael Stehnach
Project: Microfluidics
Email: michaelstehnach@brandeis.edu
As a postdoctoral associate in the Fraden Lab, Michael’s current research focuses on designing and fabricating new microfluidic devices for drug discovery applications and active matter systems. Additionally, he is the manager of the MRSEC microfabrication facility on campus. After completing his bachelor’s degree from Merrimack College, he earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University working with Prof. Jeff Guasto, where he studied cell motility in complex inhomogeneous fluid environments. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, skiing, and music.
Dr. Katsu Nishiyama
Project: Active nematics
Email: nishiyama@brandeis.edu
Katsu is a postdoctoral associate in the Fraden Lab. He is currently working on active nematics. He holds Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Science at Waseda University. He earned Doctor of Science at Waseda University working with Prof. Yuka Tabe, where he studied nonequilibrium dynamics and dissipative structure in cholesteric liquid crystals. In his free time, he enjoys music and reading.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Zahra Zarei
Project: Active nematics
Email: zahrazarei@brandeis.edu
Rupam Saha
Project: DNA Origami
Email: rupamsaha@brandeis.edu
Rupam did his Bachelor in Physics from Scottish Church College affiliated to University of Calcutta and Master in Physics from University of Hyderabad. Currently, He is working on templated self assembly with the help of DNA origami. He is also the webmaster of Fraden Lab. Rupam loves mobile photography, exploring new places and does regular experiments with cooking.
Youngest Scientist
Hope Zhou
Project: DNA origami
Email: hopezhou@brandeis.edu
Hope is an undergraduate researcher majoring in biology at Brandeis University. In the Fraden lab, she is currently studying the self-assembly strategy of DNA origami as well as the relationship between the triangular subunits. Hope is interested in exploring potential applications of DNA origami to the medical field in the future. In her free time, she enjoys reading, exploring new restaurants, and spending time with her cat.
RECENTLY GRADUATED STUDENTS
- Dr. James Sheehy (2021)
- Dr. Maria Eleni Moustaka (2021)
- Dr. Ian Hunter (2021)
- Dr. S. Ali Aghvami (2020)
LAB ALUMNI
- Olivia Leland
- Jonah Paasche-Orlow
- Dr. Nesrin Senbil, Postdoc
- Soshana Reich, Undergraduate student (2020-21)
- Max Cui-Stein, Undergraduate student (2020-21)
- Dr. Camille Girabawe, Grad Student (July 2011 - April 2017)
- Dr. Achini Opathalage, Grad Student (June 2010 - October 2015)
- Dr. Nate Tompkins, Grad Student (May 2010 - May 2015)
- Dr. Ning Li, Grad Student (May 2009 - February 2015)
- Dr. Sathish Akella, Grad student (June 2008 - August 2013)
- Dr. Michael Heymann, Grad Student (June 2008 - August 2013)
- Dr. Rafael A. Cabanas,Grad student (December 2008 - August 2013)
- Ruoshi Li, Undergraduate student (2017 - 2019)
- Fox Baudelaire, Undergraduate student (2019)
- Janelle Mabrey, Undergraduate student (Summer 2019)
- Aaron Jones, Undergraduate student (Summer 2019)
- Dr. Mike Norton, Postdoc (2016 - 2019)
- Chris Simonetti, Undergraduate student (2017 - 2019)
- Dr. Baptiste Blanc, Postdoc (2016 - 2019)
- Yanlin Li, Undergraduate student (2016 - 2018)
- Youssef Fahmy, Undergraduate student (2016 - 2018)
- Amanda Chisholm, Undergraduate student (2016 - 2017)
- Blake Langesley, Undergraduate student (2016 - 2018)
- Dr. Mohamed Amine Gharbi, Postdoc (2016 - 2017)
- Dr. Achini Opathalage, Grad student and postdoc (2010 - 2017)
- Rhiannon Flynn, UNC Wilmington, Undergraduate student (Summer 2017)
- Anne Okrah, Hampton Undergraduate student (Summer 2017)
- Dr. Nate Tompkins, Graduate student and Postdoctoral research fellow (May 2010 - July 2017)
- Matt Cambria, Undergraduate student (January 2013 - May 2015)
- Adam Wang, Undergraduate student (June 2013 - May 2015)
- Jacob Gold, Undergraduate student (June 2013 - May 2015)
- Chris Hong, Undergraduate student (May 2014 - May 2015)
- Dr. Dongshin Kim, Director of Microfluidics (January 2009 - February 2015)
- Dr. Ye Zhang, Postdoctoral fellow (2011 - 2014)
- Alex Mitchell, Undergraduate student (spring 2016 - May 2017)
- Remi Boros, Undergraduate student (fall 2015 - May 2017)
- Johnson Agyapong, Undergraduate student (fall 2016 - May 2017)
- Vardges Tserunyan, Undergraduate student (fall 2015 - May 2017)
- Jesse Held, Undergraduate student (fall 2015 - May 2017)
- Anna Kolstad, Princeton Undergraduate student (summer 2015)
- Austin Prince, Florida Undergraduate student (summer 2015)
- Dr. Evelyn Panagakou, Postdoctoral fellow
- Dr. Hector Octavio Gonzalez Ochoa, Postdoctoral fellow
- Dr. Frederic Gobeaux, Postdoctoral fellow
- Dr. Viatcheslav Berejnov, Postdoctoral fellow
- Dr. Eric Grelet, Postdoctoral fellow
- Dr. Emmanuel Belamie, Postdoctoral fellow
- Susan Okrah, Hampton undergrad
- Niya Wilkins, Hampton undergrad
- Ethan Chan, undergrad
- Arda Cam, undergrad
- Xiaotong Geng, undergrad
- Thomas Litschel, masters student
- Markus Ludwig, masters student
- Tianshu Liu, grad student
- Emily Peck, grad student
- Seila Selimovic, grad student
- Phil Fei Huang, grad student
- Jung Uk Shim, grad student
- Kirstin Purdy, grad student
- Ujitha Dassanayake, grad student
- Zvonimir Dogic, undergrad, grad student
- Marie Adams, grad student
- Jay Tang, grad student
- San Lin, grad student
- Mark Ospeck, grad student
- Ariel Hyre, undergrad
- Adam Ollanik, undergrad
- Flori Yellin, undergrad
- Aaron Mowitz, undergrad
- Korbinian Winkler, visitor
- Kyle Harrington, grad student