Annual Michigan Materials Research Institute Summit Winner!, June 2025
Raneem Ahmad's poster was selected for a second-place prize at the annual MMRI summit. Her poster was titled "Characterization of Bulk Viscoelastic and Mechanical Properties of Healthy Human Donated Fallopian Tube (FT) and their Local Heterogeneity". Congrats!
Congratulations Zoe on becoming a PhD candidate!, May 2025
Zoe Meyer has successfully defended her candidacy preliminary exam and has become a PhD candidate in materials science and engineering.
Annual Biomedical Engineering Symposium Winner!, May 2025
Nina Treacher was selected as a poster presentation winner at the annual Biomedical Engineering Symposium. Her poster was titled "Shear Stress Modulation of Macrophages in the Fallopian Tube Epithelium and High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancers". Congrats!
Congratulations Nina on becoming a PhD candidate!, May 2025
Nina Treacher has successfully defended her candidacy preliminary exam and has become a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering.
Physical Science of Cancer Gordan Research Conference in Pomona, California, February 2025
Kimmi Chan-Sui travelled to California to represent the ECM lab at the Physical Science of Cancer GRC, and presented a poster titled "Tri-Component Tumoroids and Organoid Models for Early Precursor Lesions in the Tumorigenesis of High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancers (HGSC)."
Congratulations to Taylor Repetto for successfully defending her Ph.D thesis!, December 2024
Taylor successfully defended her MSE PhD thesis titled "Design and Application of Surfaces
for Biological Fouling Control". Congratulations, Dr. Repetto!
Welcome Kimmi to the ECM lab!, November 2024
Kimmi Chan-Sui has joined the ECM lab as a PhD. student in Biomedical Engineering!
Welcome Salma to the ECM lab!, September 2024
Salma Abdelgawad has joined the ECM lab as a PhD. student in Materials Science & Engineering!
Congratulations to Eric Horst for successfully defending his Ph.D thesis!, August 2024
Eric successfully defended his BME PhD thesis titled "The Mechanotransduction of Ascitic Currents on Ovarian Cancer Progression". Congratulations, Dr. Horst!
Congratulations to our graduates, Kristina Chu & Liam Cotter!, May 2024
Congratulations to Kristina for graduating with her Master's in Biomedical Engineering, and Liam for graduating with his Bachelor's in Materials Science and Engineering! Wishing them all the best in their future endeavors!
The Glenn V. Edmonson Scholarship for Graduate Biomedical Engineering, May 2024
Vatsala Singh received the Glenn V. Edmonson Scholarship for Graduate Biomedical Engineering, an award which supports a select group of bioengineering student pioneers at the University of Michigan. Congratulations, Vatsala!
BMES CMBE Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, January 2024
Katie Burkhard travelled to San Juan to represent the ECM lab at CMBE, and presented a poster titled "Engineered Tumoroid Models of Ovarian Cancer Stem-like Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment."
Congratulations Raneem on becoming a PhD candidate!, December 2023
Raneem Ahmad has successfully defended her candidacy preliminary exam and has become a PhD candidate in chemical engineering.
Welcome Vatsala to the ECM lab!, December 2023
Vatsala Singh has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in Biomedical Engineering!
BMES 2023 Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, October 2023
Liam Cotter travelled to Seattle, Washington to represent the ECM lab at the annual BMES meeting, and presented a poster titled "High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Cells Respond to Fluid Shear Stress Through MUCIN15 to Adopt EMT Phenotypes."
Welcome Zoe to the ECM lab!, October 2023
Zoe Meyer has joined the ECM lab as a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering!
Welcome Zequan to the ECM Lab!, September 2023
Zequan Lin has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in Biomedical Engineering!
Welcome Nina and Isha to the ECM lab!, August 2023
Nina Treacher and Isha Bhorkar have joined the ECM lab as PhD students in Biomedical Engineering!
Congratulations Taylor for winning the bronze poster award at the NGRPC 2023!, July 2023
Taylor was awarded at the National Graduate Research Polymer Conference for her poster titled "Surfaces with Instant, Persistent, and Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Efficacy."
Welcome Kristina to the ECM Lab!, January 2023
Kristina Chu has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in Biomedical Engineering!
Fall MRS conference in Boston, Massachusetts, November 2022
Taylor Repetto travelled to Boston to represent the ECM lab at MRS, and gave an oral presentation titled "Surfaces with Instant, Persistent, and Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Efficacy."
Welcome Raneem to the ECM lab!, May 2022
Raneem Ahmad has joined the ECM lab as a PhD student in Chemical Engineering!
Welcome Yeye to the ECM lab!, May 2022
Yeye Zhang has joined the ECM lab as a research associate!
Congratulations Katie on becoming a PhD candidate!, May 2022
Katie Burkhard has successfully defended her candidacy preliminary exam and has become a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering.
Congratulations to Mike Bregenzer for successfully defending his Ph.D thesis!, July 2021
Mike successfully defends his PhD thesis titled "The Role of the Tumor Microenvironment In Cancer Stem Cell Regulation and Development of Chemoresistance In Ovarian Cancer". Congratulations!
Congratulations to Catherine Synder for successfully defending her Ph.D thesis!, January 2021
Catherine successfully defends her PhD thesis titled "Polymer Nanoparticle Design for Ovarian Cancer Therapies". Congratulations!
Welcome Katie to the ECM lab!, November 2020
Katie Burkhard has joined the ECM lab as a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute!
Welcome Dr. Binita Shrestha to the ECM lab!, June 2020
Dr. Binita Shrestha has joined the ECM lab as a postdoctoral researcher.
Congratulations to Prof. Mehta for becoming an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan!, May 2020
Prof. Mehta is promoted with tenure to the rank of Associate Professor.
"Regents Approve Faculty Promotions", The University Record (2020)
University of Michigan Promotion Recommendation
Prof. Mehta awarded Rackham DEI Ally grant for Macro and MSE departments, May 2020
With Prof. Mehta’s leadership the Macromolecular Science and Engineering program is awarded the Rackham DEI Faculty Ally grant for the fourth year.
With Prof. Mehta’s leadership the department of Materials Science and Engineering is awarded the Rackham DEI Faculty Ally grant and Student Allies fellowships for the third year.
Congratulations to Caymen Novak for becoming a postdoctoral fellow at the Ohio State University!, May 2020
Our alumna Dr. Caymen Novak is now a postdoctoral fellow at the Ohio State University. Congratulations Caymen!
Congratulations Taylor Repetto on becoming a PhD candidate!, January 2020
Taylor Repetto has successfully defended her candidacy preliminary exam and has become a PhD candidate in materials science and engineering.
Congratulations to Shreya Raghavan for becoming and Assistant Professor at Texas A&M!, January 2020
Our alumna Dr. Shreya Raghavan started her new lab as a newly minted Assistant Professor in the department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University. Congratulations Shreya!
Congratulations to Caymen Novak for successfully defending her Ph.D thesis!, December 2019
Caymen Novak successfully defends her PhD thesis titled "Mechanotransduction in Breast and Ovarian Cancers: Using Bioreactors to Study the Cellular Response to Physiological Mechanical Stimuli". Congratulations!
Congratulations to Catherine Snyder for winning the Silver Award at the University of Michigan's Materials Research Symposium, November 2019
Catherine was awarded the silver award for her poster on developing a new polymer nanoparticle synthesis method.
Congratulations Eric Horst on becoming a PhD candidate!, August 2019
Eric Horst has successfully defended his candidacy preliminary exam and has become a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering.
Caymen Novak is awarded first place at Biomaterials Day held at Case Western University for her poster, October 2019
Additionally, Catherine Snyder gave an oral presentation on her research on developing a new polymer nanoparticle synthesis method.
Congratulations to our graduates, Hina Aftab Khan and Alison Garrett!, May 2019
Congratulations to Hina and Alison for graduating with their Master's degrees in biomedical engineering.
Prof. Mehta awarded Rackham DEI Ally grant for Macro and MSE departments, May 2019
With Prof. Mehta’s leadership the Macromolecular Science and Engineering program is awarded the Rackham DEI Faculty Ally grant for the third year.
With Prof. Mehta’s leadership the department of Materials Science and Engineering is awarded the Rackham DEI Faculty Ally grant and Student Allies fellowships for the second year.
Congratulations to Professor Mehta for being awarded the Research Scholar Grant from the American Cancer Society, April 2019
Professor Mehta was awarded the Research Scholar Grant for her work on Ovarian Cancer Tumoroids to Study Heterogeneity and Chemoresistance.This project involves several members of the lab and collaborations within the University of Michigan to develop an in vitro model to better understand how heterogeneity in ovarian cancer tumors leads to chemoresistance and how best to treat aggressive cancers. Read more on the Materials Science and Engineering Department's news page.
Welcome Taylor Repetto, January 2019
Taylor Repetto has joined the ECM lab as a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida.
Congratulations to Sarah Snyder for successfully defending her Ph.D Thesis, December 2018
Sarah Snyder successfully defends her PhD thesis titled "Biological Applications of Surface with Extreme Wettabilities". Congratulations!
Congratulations to Caymen Novak for winning the Silver Award at the University of Michigan's Materials Research Symposium, November 2018
Caymen Novak was selected for one of six oral presenters at the Materials Research Symposium this year and won the Silver Award for her talk on the effect of compression on ovarian cancer.
The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs highlights ECM lab Research, September 2018
ECM lab research on personalized treatment for ovarian cancer has been highlighted on the CDMRP's homepage and in an article describing our work in more detail.
Welcome Eric Horst, September 2018
Eric Horst has joined the ECM lab as a PhD student in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan.
The ECM lab publishes in APL Bioengineering, June 2018
The ECM lab publishes their review paper on how shear forces in the body cause mechanotransduction in ovarian cancer.
Congratulations to our graduates, Elyse Fleck and Cameron Taylor!, May 2018
Congratulations to Elyse Fleck and Cameron Taylor for graduating with their Master's degrees in biomedical engineering.
Prof. Mehta awarded Rackham DEI Ally grant for Macro and MSE departments, May 2018
With Prof. Mehta’s leadership the Macromolecular Science and Engineering program is awarded the Rackham DEI Faculty Ally grant for the second year.
With Prof. Mehta’s leadership the department of Materials Science and Engineering is awarded the Rackham DEI Faculty Ally grant and Student Allies fellowships for the first year.
Caymen Novak wins second place when presenting her research at the 2018 SWE local conference in Milwaukee, March 2018
Caymen Novak presented on the effects shear stress has on ovarian cancer in making it more invasive and chemoresistant, she won second place for her poster, oral presentation and abstract.
Caymen Novak wins three awards and prizes!, February 2018
Caymen Novak has won the Marian Sarah Parker Prize for academic excellence, leadership qualities and outstanding contributions to the University, the Tau Beta Pi Michigan Gamma Scholarship for exemplary character, integrity and excellence, and the Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement.
Catherine Snyder wins 2nd place in the Functional Materials Research Poster Session at the University of Michigan's Engineering Graduate Symposium, November 2017
Catherine Snyder was awarded 2nd place in her session for her poster presentation on developing a new polymer nanoparticle synthesis method.
The ECM lab publishes in Clinical Cancer Research, November 2017
The ECM lab publishes their work on personalized medicine using patient derived hanging drop spheroids in Clinical Cancer Research.
Conference Proceedings from the 11th Biannual Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium, November 2017
Professor Mehta published two meeting reports with collaborators following the Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium on initiation and progression of ovarian cancer and on the tumor microenvironment.
Catherine Snyder wins prize for poster at the 41st Macromolecular Science and Engineering Symposium at the University of Michigan, October 2017
Catherine Snyder won the PPG Sponsored "Best in Polymer Engineering" award for her poster on developing a new polymer nanoparticle synthesis method.
The ECM lab publishes a book chapter "Self-renewal and CSCs in vitro enrichment: growth as floating spheres" in Cancer Stem Cells: Methods and Protocols, October 2017
Working together, Pooja Mehta, Caymen Novak, Shreya Raghavan and Maria Ward have written a book chapter describing methods for cancer stem cell isolation, culturing in 3D and characterization.
The ECM lab publishes in Nature Communications, September 2017
Working with collaborators, Shreya Raghavan and Elyse Fleck publish in Nature Communications about using solvent-free vapor jet printing to print nanostructured films of common small molecule drugs.
Welcome Ciara Davis, Elyse Fleck, Cameron Taylor, Hina Aftab Khan, Alison Garrett, Zoe Gao and Elena Moore, September 2017
Ciara Davis has joined the ECM lab as a PhD student in biomedical engineering from University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Elyse Fleck has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in biomedical engineering.
Cameron Taylor has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in biomedical engineering.
Hina Aftab Khan has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in biomedical engineering.
Alison Garrett has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in biomedical engineering.
Zoe Gao has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in macromolecular science and engineering.
Elena Moore has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in materials science and engineering.
Congratulations Catherine Snyder on becoming a PhD candidate, September 2017
Catherine Snyder has successfully defended her candidacy preliminary exam and has become a PhD candidate in materials science and engineering.
Congratulations to our graduate, Bashar Salah, May 2017
Congratulations to Bashar Salah for graduating with his Master's degree in biomedical engineering.
Prof. Mehta is the Rackham DEI Faculty Ally for Materials Science and Engineering and Macromolecular Science and Engineering, May 2017
Prof. Mehta has accepted the role of Rackham DEI Faculty Ally for Materials Science and Engineering and Macromolecular Science and Engineering. In this role she will contribute towards planning and implementation of DEI activities for the current graduate students in MSE and Macro.
The ECM lab has moved to our new lab space in NCRC, January 2017
After several months of planning and then a week of very busy packing and unpacking, the ECM lab has made its new home in building 28 of NCRC!
Congratulations Sarah Snyder on becoming a PhD candidate, January 2017
Sarah Snyder has successfully defended her candidacy preliminary exam and has become a PhD candidate in materials Science and engineering.
Congratulations to our graduate, Zainab Harissam December 2016
Congratulations to Zainab Harissa for graduating with her Master's degree in biomedical engineering.
Congratulations Caymen Novak on becoming a PhD candidate, December 2016
Caymen Novak has successfully defended her candidacy preliminary exam and has become a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering.
Maria Ward is accepted as a Master's student, November 2016
Maria Ward was successfully accepted as a Master's student in the materials science and engineering department here at the University of Michigan and will continue to work in the ECM lab.
Sarah Snyder is awarded Top Three at Biomaterials Day held at Case Western University for her oral presentation, October 2016
Sarah Snyder was awarded Top Three for her oral presentation on paper-based, open channel microfluidic devices during the student speaker session at Case Western's Biomaterials Day.
Caymen Novak is awarded Best Overall Poster at the 40th Macromolecular Science and Engineering Symposium, October 2016
Caymen Novak won Best Overall Poster for her work studying the effect of shear stress on ovarian cancer cells.
Welcome Michael Bregenzer, Siddharth Borsadia and Sweta Sahoo, September 2016
Michael Bregenzer has joined the ECM lab as a PhD student in biomedical engineering from the University of Delaware.
Siddharth Borsadia has joined the ECM lab as a PhD student in materials Science and engineering from Rutgers University.
Sweta Sahoo has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in biomedical engineering.
The ECM lab publishes in Advanced Functional Materials, June 2016
We publish our work on paper-based, open channel microfluidic devices in Advanced Functional Materials.
Welcome Eric Horst, May 2016
Eric Horst has graduated from the University of Michigan's biomedical engineering program and has stayed on in the ECM lab as a research staff member.
The ECM lab publishes in Oncotarget, February 2016
Working together, many members of the ECM lab contribute to publishwork on various methods of culturing 3D cell spheroids of ovarian and breast cancers in Oncotarget.
Congratulations to our graduate, Pratik Holla, December 2015
Congratulations to Pratik Holla for graduating with his Master's degree in biomedical engineering.
Welcome Catherine Snyder, Bashar Salah and Zainab Harissa, September 2015
Catherine Snyder has joined the ECM lab as a PhD student in materials science and engineering from the University of Florida.
Bashar Salah has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in biomedical engineering.
Zainab Harissa has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in biomedical engineering.
The ECM lab publishes in Gynecologic Oncology, July 2015
The ECM lab publishes their work on developing small cell number 3D ovarian cancer spheroids using a hanging drop method developed in the lab.
Congratulations to our graduate, Radha Arghal, April 2015
Congratulations to Radha Arghal for graduating with her Master's degree in biomedical engineering.
Welcome Pooja Mehta, February 2015
Pooja Mehta has joined the ECM lab as a research staff member.
Congratulations to our graduate, Katarina Klusman, December 2014
Congratulations to Katarina Klusman for graduating with her Master's degree in biomedical engineering.
Welcome Caymen Novak, Sarah Snyder, Pratik Holla and Nathan Tinetti, September 2014
Caymen Novak has joined the ECM lab as a PhD student in biomedical engineering from Oakland University.
Sarah Snyder has joined the ECM lab as a PhD student in materials science and engineering from Rutgers University.
Pratik Holla has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in biomedical engineering.
Nathan Tinetti has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in biomedical engineering.
Welcome Dr. Shreya Raghavan, July 2014
Dr. Shreya Raghavan has joined the ECM lab as a postdoctoral research fellow in Materials Science and Engineering.
Welcome Maria Ward, May 2014
Maria Ward has joined the ECM lab as a research staff member.
Welcome Brittany Gnewknowski, Katarina Klusman, Radha Arghal and Dr. Kathleen Ignatosoki, September 2013
Brittany Gnewknowski has joined the ECM lab as a research staff member.
Katarina Klusman has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in biomedical engineering.
Radha Arghal has joined the ECM lab as a Master's student in biomedical engineering.
Dr. Kathleen Ignatosoki has joined the ECM lab as a research staff member.
Engineered Cellular and Microenvironments Lab is launched at the University of Michigan!, September 2013
Professor Mehta has founded the ECM lab!