Research
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.
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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
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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
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Medical Student
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Engineer at Intuitive Surgical
Engineer I at Thermo Fisher Scientific
Ph.D. Researcher at U. Mich
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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
The Lewis Lab
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