Team

Prof. Jamal Lewis
Principal Investigator

Jamal Lewis is an Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis. Prior to his professorship, Dr. Lewis was Senior Scientist at OneVax, LLC and a Post Doctoral Associate in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida, where he also received a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 2012. Dr. Lewis completed his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Florida A&M University in 2004, and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering in 2007 from North Carolina State University. His research, educational and entrepreneurial efforts have been supported by the NIH. His honors and awards include the prestigious NIH Early Stage Investigator MIRA, Regenerative Medicine Workshop Young Faculty Award and the CMBE Journal Young Innovator Award.

Allen Tu
Graduate Researcher

Allen Tu is a fifth year Immunology PhD student and a pharmacological T32 trainee. Milk tea in one hand and pipette in another and he’s good to go! He is 9 feet tall and famously breathes fire. In Dr. Lewis’ lab his ongoing research involves using a microparticle-based strategy to modulate the immune system in rheumatoid arthritis, as well as exploring the cytotoxic capacity of the polymer poly propylacrylic acid to kill cancer cells. Allen did undergraduate research at UC Davis in Scott Dawson’s lab, GFP-tagging candidate cytoskeletal proteins in the parasitic protist, Giardia lamblia. After receiving his B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, he worked in Mark Nicolls’ Pulmonary and Critical Care lab at Stanford Medicine where he cultivated his passion for immunology. Here, he studied how immune dysregulation in the context of vascular biology contributes to lung disease – specifically lung transplant rejection, pulmonary hypertension, and lymph2edema. He also enjoys video games, reading sci-fi, and playing racquetball.

Clinton Smith
Graduate Researcher

Clinton Smith is a second-year Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. student and an NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the University of Florida. Clinton earned his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology where his research entailed developing synthetic nanoparticle antibodies (SNAbs) and a biomaterial-based vaccine for SARS-CoV-2. His current research focuses on leveraging vomocytosis, a trojan horse mechanism for pathogenic dissemination, for improved drug delivery to the brain. In his spare time, Clinton enjoys playing tennis, practicing piano, and collecting vinyl records.

Zhenyu Wang
Graduate Researcher

Zhenyu Wang is a first-year Ph.D. student in Biomedical Engineering focusing on immune engineering. Zhenyu did his undergraduate research in Dr. Chengbing Yang’s lab, working on the development of antibacterial devices, where he cultivated an interest in the mechanism of the immune system. After receiving his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Shenzhen University, he came to the University of Florida, where he earned his master’s degree there under the guidance of Dr. Lewis. Currently, he continues studying at the University of Florida and conducting research in the Lewis lab. His research concentrates on the nanoparticle-based prophylactic for maternal autoantibody-related autism and the Polysaccharide A particles for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. In his spare time, Zhenyu enjoys exercising, playing basketball, music, and traveling

Collin Talbot
Undergraduate Researcher

Dr. Krishna Gaddam
Postdoctoral

Dr. Krishna Gaddam is a post-doctoral researcher in the Lewis lab. He did his Masters in organic chemistry at Osmania University, India and also earned his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from Kakatiya University. After his PhD, he worked for two-years as a post-doctoral researcher at Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia and two years as an associate scientist in pharmaceutical. Where he worked for a novel drug discovery department that engaged in the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and small molecules used for various diseases. He is currently working on the Synthesis of novel biopolymers (polypeptides and Polysaccharides) used for autoimmune diseases. During his academic research he carried out in the development of novel methods for the synthesis of substituted heterocycles and its bioactive natural products by alkyne chemistry. He was also awarded these fellowships during his academic career; CSIR–Junior Research Fellowship, 2009-2011 • CSIR–Senior Research Fellowship, 2011-2014 • CSIR-SPM fellowship-2009 (interview only)

Carleigh Coffin
Graduate Researcher

Carleigh is a first-year Biomedical Engineering PhD student and a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Carleigh received her B.S. in Bioengineering with a concentration in biomaterials from Clemson University. At Clemson University, Carleigh worked in Dr. Alexander-Bryant’s Nanobiotechnology Lab where her honors thesis focused on developing a LHRH receptor targeting fusogenic peptide to deliver siRNA for the treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer. Her current research focuses on manipulating calcium concentrations to induce the vomocytosis of microparticles for improved drug delivery. In her free time, Carleigh enjoys hiking, paddleboarding, reading, and being a cat mom.

Kevin R. Smith
Graduate Researcher

Kevin is a second year PhD student who received his bachelors in Biomedical Engineering from Alabama State University. At ASU, he worked in Dr. Dean's lab where he developed a passion for biomaterials. His undergraduate research entailed the investigation of the potential of various scaffolds composites to promote cell differentiation and proliferation. Kevin's current research involves the usage of particulate immunotherapy for modulating the immune system against autoimmune diseases. In his spare time, he enjoys playing & watching football, as well as the Olympics, listening music and watching anime.

Daniel Osorio
Undergraduate Researcher

Daniel Osorio is second year undergrad student at the University of Florida majoring in Biomedical engineering. He is passionate about research involving immunology and biomaterials. That being said he is eager to expand his knowledge to eventually pursue a career in industry. In his spare time, he enjoys going to the gym and cooking.

Lab Alumni

Name

Role

Current Position

Riley Allen, Ph.D.

Amir Bolandparvaz, Ph.D.

Noah Pacifici, Ph.D.

Rian Harriman, Ph.D.

Allen Tu, Ph.D.

Rapeepat Sangsuwan, Ph.D.

Hamilton Kakwere, Ph.D.

Melissa Cruz-Acuna’

Karen Parra

Jeffrey Ma

Meghan Doherty

Paldin Bet Eivaz

Anna Jiang

Annie Jhou

Crystal Avila

Vishal Manickam

Nicholas Bachand

Kenneth Alvarez

Shahab Chizari

Svetlana Miakicheva

Nnamezie Ononuju

Hannah Kirkegaard

Kristen Chan

Jasmeen Saini

Luke Mckibbin

Bahieh Noorafkan

Zexi Zang

Ashley Mello

Jillian Strom

Hyunsoo Hun

Emilie Itvichenko

Abdul Tawana

Neeraj Senthil

Jake Wandro

Nidhi Talasu

Nicholas Radoc

Agustina Diener

Patricia Arizaleta

Emilie Ivtchenko

Luke McKibbin

Bahieh Noorafhan

Vishal Manickham

Jeffrey Ma

Annie Zhou

Nicholas Gregory Bachand

Mauricio Pirir

Pauldin Bet Aivaz

Ph.D. Researcher

Postdoctoral Researcher

Master’s Researcher

Undergraduate Researcher

Summer Intern

Junior Specialist/Lab Manager

Undergraduate Researcher

Scientist at Lyell Immunopharma

Global Product Manager at Thermofisher Scientific

Scientist at Eikon Therapeutics

Senior Scientist at Seraxis

Post Doctoral Fellow at UFl

Scientist at Chulabhorn Graduate Institute

Research Advisor at Eli Lilly

Scientist II at AbbVie

Development Scientist at IncellDx

Ph.D. Researcher at U. Mich

Systems Engineer II at Alten Technology

Software Engineer at G2

Systems Engineer at Nevro

Ph.D. Researcher at UT Austin

R&D PMO at QuindelOrtho

Ph.D. Researcher at GaTech

Ph.D. Researcher at Stanford

Engineer at Knowles Precision Devices

Ph.D. Researcher at U. Penn

Ph.D. Researcher at Cornell

Medical Student at Howard U.

Senior Research Associate at Kite Pharma

Ph.D. Researcher at SFSU

Process Engineer at Synthekine

Sr. Quality Systems Engineer at JenaValve

Medical Assistant at Ketamine Center

Ph.D. Researcher at Brown U.

Ph.D. Researcher at U. Mich

Research Associate II at Antibodies Incorporated

Medical Assistant at South Bay Vascular Center

Clinical Development Engineer at Moon Surgical

Medical Student

Engineer at Intuitive Surgical

Engineer I at Thermo Fisher Scientific

Ph.D. Researcher at U. Mich

Engineer at Cannon Quality Group

Researcher at GigaGen Inc

Undergraduate

Engineering Assistant, Reverence Eng

PhD Student at UT Austin

PhD Student

Program Manager at LakePharma

R&D Engineer at Corinth Medtech

Research

Prof. Jamal Lewis Principal Investigator

Allen Tu Graduate Researcher

Clinton Smith Graduate Researcher

Zhenyu Wang Graduate Researcher

Collin Talbot Undergraduate Researcher

Dr. Krishna Gaddam Postdoctoral

Carleigh Coffin Graduate Researcher

Kevin R. Smith Graduate Researcher

Daniel Osorio Undergraduate Researcher

Lab Alumni

Name

Role

Current Position

The Lewis Lab

Prof. Jamal Lewis
Principal Investigator

Allen Tu
Graduate Researcher

Clinton Smith
Graduate Researcher

Zhenyu Wang
Graduate Researcher

Collin Talbot
Undergraduate Researcher

Dr. Krishna Gaddam
Postdoctoral

Carleigh Coffin
Graduate Researcher

Kevin R. Smith
Graduate Researcher

Daniel Osorio
Undergraduate Researcher