TEAM

Jeffrey is in his junior year of the Bachelor’s of Engineering program in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Wayne State University. He joined the Harris lab as a volunteer research assistant during his High School education. Jeffrey is part of a team in the Harris Lab that is working towards modifying biomaterial surfaces to impede foreign body responses; his role is to test the effects of pressure on modified biomaterial surfaces. His independent project is focused on developing an automated, electronic pressure and flow rate controlling bioreactor system that can be used to study foreign body responses to ventricular catheters. In his spare time Jeff enjoys baking and skeet shooting.

Mira is in her junior year of the Bachelor’s of Engineering program in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Wayne State University. She joined the Harris lab in Spring of 2018 as a research assistant. Mira is part of a team in the Harris Lab that is working towards modifying biomaterial surfaces to impede foreign body responses; her role is to quantify the degradation of modified biomaterial surfaces using spectrophotometric techniques. Independently, Mira is using in vitro models to understand the contribution of specific blood components in driving the foreign body response to ventricular catheters. When she isn’t in the lab or in class, Mira coaches her high school track and field team.

Saja is in her senior year of the Bachelor’s of Engineering program in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Wayne State University. She joined the Harris lab in Spring of 2018. Saja is part of a team in the Harris Lab that is working towards modifying biomaterial surfaces to impede foreign body responses; her role is to quantify the degradation of modified biomaterial surfaces using contact angle measurements and spectrophotometric techniques. Saja is also an avid adventurer; most recently she made it to the summit of Mount Fuji.

Simran is in her junior year, majoring in Biological Sciences at Wayne State University. She joined the Harris lab in Winter of 2018. Simran is part of a team in the Harris Lab that is working to test proprietary surface modifications to impede foreign body responses, for the company ‘FreeFlow Medical’. Her role is to process tissue samples using immunofluorescence techniques to assess the cytotoxicity of an implanted biomaterial on surrounding tissue.

Mariana is in her sophomore year, majoring in Biomedical Physics and Neuroscience at Wayne State University. She is part of the NIH-funded reBUILD program at Wayne State. Mariana joined the Harris lab in Winter of 2018 to gain research experience for the BUILD program and stayed on as a research assistant. She is part of a team in the Harris Lab that is working to test proprietary surface modifications to impede foreign body responses, for the company ‘FreeFlow Medical’. Her role is to process tissue samples using immunofluorescence techniques to assess the cytotoxicity of an implanted biomaterial on surrounding tissue.

Pranav is in his senior year of the Bachelor’s of Engineering program in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Wayne State University. He joined the Harris lab in Spring of 2018. Pranav is part of a team in the Harris Lab that is working towards modifying biomaterial surfaces to impede foreign body responses; his role is to use SEM to qualitatively analyze and confirm biomaterial surface modification. Pranav is also on Wayne State’s competitive fencing team.

​Raniya is in her senior year of the Biological Sciences program at Wayne State University. She is also working towards a minor in psychology. Raniya joined the Harris lab as a volunteer research assistant in September of 2019. She is part of a team in the Harris Lab that is working towards understanding the molecular signals that drive foreign body responses to catheters in patients with hydrocephalus; her role is to help construct in vitro model systems that mimic the ventricular environment around a catheter. Raniya has been serving in the Michigan Army National Guard for the past 5 years and is a scholarship contracted cadet with University of Michigan ROTC. She will be commissioning as a medical officer after graduation. In her spare time she volunteers with PB&J outreach, feeding the homeless in Detroit and tutoring students.