Tzahi Cohen-Karni
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering
Tzahi Cohen-Karni received both his B.Sc. degree in Materials Engineering and B.A. degree in Chemistry from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, in 2004, his M.Sc. degree in Chemistry from Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, in 2006, and his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, in 2011. For his Ph.D. work, Cohen-Karni received the Gold Graduate Student Award from the Materials Research Society in 2009, and was awarded the 2012 IUPAC Young Chemist Award.
Cohen-Karni was a Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Postdoctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston Children's Hospital in the labs of Robert Langer and Daniel S. Kohane, where he developed nanostructured three-dimensional platforms for cellular interfaces.
Currently, Cohen-Karni is an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. His research interests include the unique interfaces between biology and nanotechnology, namely interfacing tissue and cells with nanostructures, monitoring their electrical properties, and altering their properties through controlled interactions with the nanostructures.
How Cells "Talk" to Each Other in a Cellular Arrangement
Recording Electrical Signals from Cells in Three Dimensions
Education
2011 Ph.D., Applied Physics, Harvard University
2006 MS, Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science
2004 BA, Chemistry, Technion Israel Institute of Technology
2004 BS, Materials Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology
Affiliations
Research Interests
- advanced materials processing and manufacturing
- biomaterials
- biomedical engineering
- biotechnology
- cell engineering
- materials science & engineering
- microstructural science
- nano-biotechnology
- nano-enabled devices
- nanoelectronics
- nanofabrication
- nanosensors
- nanotechnology
- soft and bioactive materials
- sustainable energy production, conservation, and storage
- tissue engineering
Media mentions
CMU Engineering
How a sandwich is transforming electronics
Sheng Shen’s novel 3D graphene-nanowire “sandwich” can enable a wide variety of electronic systems to operate at a lower temperature with higher performance.
CMU Engineering
CMU and Mayo Clinic to collaborate on transplant innovation
Mayo Clinic and Carnegie Mellon University announced today a research agreement to transform organ transplantation. The institutions will bioengineer innovative approaches to address current barriers in organ transplantation.
NIH
New grant to fund cardiac electrophysiology research
BME/MSE’s Tzahi Cohen-Karni was recently awarded a $3.1 NIH/NHLBI grant to further cardiac electrophysiology research. Over the next five years, Cohen-Karni will partner with Pitt’s Aditi Gurkar (co-PI), BME/MSE’s Adam Feinberg, MechE’s Carmel Majidi, and ECE’s Pulkit Grover to study the role of DNA damage in the cardiac unit using induced pluripotent stem cells.
CMU Engineering
New material aides in neural stimulation
Using light to control how cells “talk” to one another isn’t new science, but researchers at CMU have discovered that MXene, an easily produced nanomaterial, can allow for effiicient cellular communication.
Multiple outlets
Cohen-Karni neuron stimulation research featured
Research by BME/MSE’s Tzahi Cohen-Karni was featured in Florida News Times, as well as Knowledia, Asian Share, and Flipboard.
CMU Engineering
Resetting travelers’ circadian clocks
Carnegie Mellon researchers are working with DARPA, Northwestern University, and Rice University to develop a system for regulating the body’s circadian clock.
CMU Engineering
Unlocking richer intracellular recordings
A forward-thinking group of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia has identified a flexible, low-cost, and biocompatible platform for enabling richer intracellular recordings.
Science Daily
Cohen-Karni and Chamanzar featured on neural communication
BME/MSE’s Tzahi Cohen-Karni and ECE’s Maysam Chamanzar were featured in Science Daily for their new technology that enhances scientists' ability to communicate with neural cells using light.
CMU Engineering
A remote control for neurons
A novel material for controlling human neuron cells could deepen our understanding of cell interactions and enable new therapies in medicine.
CMU Engineering
Healing large wounds fast
CMU has secured a $22 million DARPA grant to develop a device combining artificial intelligence, bioelectronics, and regenerative medicine to regrow muscle tissue, especially after combat injuries.
CMU Engineering
Producing hydrogen peroxide when, and where, it’s needed
Does a material exist that can be used to selectively, reliably, and efficiently form hydrogen peroxide whenever and wherever it’s needed?
Pittsburgh Business Times
Cohen-Karni quotes in the Pittsburgh Business Time
Pittsburgh Business Times and International Business Times featured work by a group of CMU Engineering researchers who developed an “organ-on-an-electronic-chip” platform that measures the electrophysiology of heart cell structures in 3D.