Principal Investigator
Burak Ozdoganlar
Ver Planck Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Burak Ozdoganlar is the Ver Planck Endowed Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, with appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, and the Neuroscience Institute, and he serves as Associate Director of the College of Engineering’s Research Accelerator. An elected Fellow of ASME, SME, and AIMBE, his work bridges advanced manufacturing and biomedicine—advancing micro/nanofabrication and precision metrology to create implantable devices, microneedle systems, wearables, and soft/stretchable electronics, with additional contributions in tissue engineering and dynamics. He has authored 200+ publications, and his research is supported by ARPA-H, NIH, NSF, DOE, DARPA, Horizon Europe (EU), foundations, and industry.
Post-doctoral researchers
Sampada Acharya
Post-Doctoral Researcher, Mechanical Engineering
- Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University - 2025 - M.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University - 2021 - B.E. in Mechanical Engineering
Mumbai University - 2018
Sampada is working on developing implantable, cell-based bioelectronic devices as part of the ARPA-H-funded BIO-INSYNC consortium. She is also involved in the design and execution of in-vitro and in-vivo device calibration and performance studies.
Mert Arslanoglu
Post-Doctoral Researcher, Mechanical Engineering
- Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University - 2023 - M.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University - 2021 - B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Boğaziçi University - 2017
Dr. Mert Arslanoglu is the Technical Project Manager for the ARPA-H/BIO-INSYNC implantable bioelectric medicine initiative, leading cross-functional teams to improve thyroid treatments and advance equitable healthcare. His research focuses on designing porous materials with tunable architectures for energy storage and carbon capture, and enhancing their performance through nanomaterial infiltration, including MXenes and CNTs.
Aman Bhatia
Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Mechanical Engineering
- Postdoctoral Research Associate-III in Biomedical Engineering
University of Arizona - 2023 to 2025 - Postdoctoral Researcher in Chemistry
Pusan National University - 2022 to 2023 - Ph.D. in Chemistry (Electrochemical Immunosensors)
Pusan National University - 2022 - M.S. in Applied Chemistry
Amity University - 2017 - B.S. in Industrial Chemistry
University of Delhi - 2014
Dr. Bhatia will contribute to the ARPA-H C-DETECT program, advancing development of a multiplexed, urine-based electro-microfluidic platform for at-home multi-cancer early detection. His interdisciplinary expertise spans electrochemical biosensors, polymer nanocomposites, microfluidics, 3D printing, and PCB-level system integration, supported by multi-institutional and collaborative research experience. Dr. Bhatia holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry with emphasis on nano-electrochemical signal amplification strategies and clinical bioassays and has authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed publications in biosensing, electrochemistry, soft device engineering, and wireless health systems. His ongoing research focuses on engineering soft, biomedical platforms and scalable, minimally invasive diagnostic systems that integrate biochemical transduction with flexible bioelectronic architectures for continuous monitoring in both clinical and resource-limited settings.
Toygun Cetinkaya
Post-Doctoral Researcher, Mechanical Engineering
- Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University - 2024 - M.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University - 2024 - B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Middle East Technical University - 2016
Dr. Toygun Cetinkaya is a precision micromanufacturing researcher and engineer specializing in soft and stretchable electronics, biomedical implants, and micro-scale devices. He has led pioneering work in freeze micromilling for fabricating complex 3D geometries in cartilage implants and liquid metal electronics, and co-developed high-throughput manufacturing systems for microneedle arrays and biosensors.
Fangran Liu
Post-Doctoral Researcher, Mechanical Engineering
- Visiting Scholar, Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania - 2025 - Visiting Student, Mechanical Engineering
Tsinghua University - 2024 - Ph.D. in Pediatric Surgery
University of Hong Kong - 2025 - MPhil in Pathology and Pathophysiology
Fudan University - 2020 - MD in Preventative Medicine
Jilin University - 2017
Fangran’s work involves the design and functionalization of decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) hydrogels with pro-angiogenic factors to guide and accelerate the formation of functional, perfusable vasculature within implanted constructs. By combining biomaterial science, 3D printing, and in vitro/in vivo models, she aims to assist the BIO-INSYNC project to create implantable systems that promote rapid host integration, reduce fibrotic encapsulation, and support long-term device functionality.
Ph.D. candidates and students
Joshua R. Siegel
Ph.D. Candidate, Mechanical Engineering
Lab Manager, Ozdoganlar Laboratory
- M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of California, Davis - 2024 - B.S. in Biomedical Engineering
University of California, Davis - 2022
Josh is developing hollow and dissolvable microneedle arrays for biofluid sampling and drug delivery, with a focus on minimally invasive, patient-friendly solutions. His work also includes the design and fabrication of microfluidic devices, such as lab-on-a-chip systems, for integrated analysis and point-of-care diagnostics.
Feimo Yang
Ph.D. Candidate, Mechanical Engineering
- M.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Texas A&M University - 2022
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
University of Texas at Arlington - 2019
Feimo's research focuses on 3D-printing exotic materials and their related applications. He co-developed 3D-printing with ice and is now working on implementing it in new strategies to create biohybrid implants.
Rohit K. Yadav
Ph.D. Candidate, Mechanical Engineering
- M.Tech. in Mettalurgical Engineering and Material Science
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay - 2023 - B.Tech. in Mettalurgical Engineering and Material Science
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay - 2023
Rohit's research interests are understanding and exploiting the effect of processing parameters on desirable properties of materials. His current projects involve using freeze casting to produce novel materials for energy applications.
Zijuan Liang
Ph.D. Candidate, Mechanical Engineering
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
University of Notre Dame - 2021
Zijuan is interested in researching DNA origami-based gene therapy. By designing and fabricating gene-encoded DNA nanostructures, she aims to develop a biocompatible and efficient gene-delivery platform.
Andrés García-Rubio
Ph.D. Candidate, Mechanical Engineering
- M.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering
Tecnológico de Monterrey - 2019 - B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering
Tecnológico de Monterrey - 2018
Andrés' research interests lie in the intersection of regenerative medicine, robotics, and additive manufacturing. His main research line concerns the automation of additive manufacturing processes for exotic materials. Andrés is also a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship.
Alec Vucsko
Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering
- M.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Purdue University - 2025 - B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Purdue University - 2021
Alec is working on a nanopositioning force-measurement module for in-vivo dynamic motion analysis of tissues and cells.
Edo Bareket
Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology - 2024
Edo is working on precision robotic assembly of implantable medical devices. He has previous experience in automation and designing surgical devices for cardiac surgery.
Paul J. Walter
Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
University of Pittsburgh - 2020
Paul's research focuses on microscale additive manufacturing techniques for novel cellular engineering approaches in implantable medical devices. His work also explores strategies for vascularizing engineered tissues. The overarching goal of his research is to advance patient-centric treatments and create medical devices tailored to individual conditions and needs.
Rozhan Kiani
Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Sharif University of Technology
James Votruba-Drzal
Ph.D. Student, Materials Science and Engineering
- B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering
University of Pennsylvania - 2025
James is working on the ARPA-H LIVE liver printing project, where he’s using camphene-ice printing to fabricate artificial liver sinusoid vasculature. This project is a collaboration with the Feinberg group in BME.
Master's students
Gavin M. Schmidt
Master's student, Tepper School of Business
- B.S. in Biological Sciences
University of Pittsburgh - 2024
Gavin is the ‘in-house’ biologist on the Ozdoganlar Laboratory Team. He is assembling a cell culture & tissue engineering lab to test the viability, function, and biomaterial interactions of the organoids used for the BIO-INSYNC device.