PI
Ferrara, Katherine
Katherine Whittaker Ferrara is a Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at UC Davis and the Director of theCenter for Content Rich Evaluation of Therapeutic Efficacy (cCRETE). She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the IEEE, American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Biomedical Engineering Society, the Acoustical Society of ...
Current Lab Members
Even, Lisa
Lisa Even received her B.S. in Animal Science with focus on companion animals from the University of California, Davis in 2003 and has worked as a veterinary technician for 8 years . In 2008, Lisa received her M.S. in Comparative pathology from UC Davis where her work included developing an immunohistochemical test for Cardiac Troponin ...Fite, Brett
Brett Fite received his B.A. in both Physics and Chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis in 2003 where he conducted undergraduate research during all of the four years of his undergraduate career on examination of enzymatic mechanisms employing fluorescence, especially time resolved fluorescence, to probe various catalytic states. He subsequently attended Stanford University to study ...Foiret, Josquin
Josquin Foiret received his B.Sc. degree in Physics and his M.Sc. degree in Acoustics from the University Paris VII in 2008 and 2009, respectively. In 2013, he received the Ph.D. degree from the University Paris VI for his work on characterization of cortical bone using ultrasonic guided waves. He joined the Ferrara lab in 2014 ...Ilovitsh, Asaf
Dr. Asaf Ilovitsh received his B.Sc. in Physics (2004), M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering (2012), and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (2016), all from Bar Ilan University, Israel. His Ph.D. research involved developing new methods for super resolution imaging using the time domain. Asaf joined the Ferrara lab in 2016 as a postdoctoral researcher. His current research ...Ilovitsh, Tali
Dr. Tali Ilovitsh received her B.Sc. (2010), M.Sc. in a direct track (2011), and Ph.D. (2016) degrees in electrical engineering from Bar Ilan University, Israel. Her Ph.D. was focused on the development of super-resolution techniques for microscopy using contrast agents. Since 2016 she is conducting her postdoctoral research in the Ferrara lab in UC Davis. ...Ingham, Elizabeth
Elizabeth Ingham received her B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Davis in 2004 and her M.S. degree in Molecular Biology from California State University, Sacramento in 2008. From 2005 to 2009, Elizabeth served as lab manager at the UC Davis Chronic Acceleration Research Unit where she studied the environmental influences of ...Kakwere, Hamilton
Dr. Kakwere holds an undergraduate degree in applied chemistry, a masters degree in polymers and surface coatings science and technology (Leeds University) and a PhD in polymer chemistry (University of Sydney). His research activities have focused on polymer chemistry (including synthetic organic chemistry). In addition to his PhD studies, he has completed four years of ...Kheirolomoom, Azadeh
Dr. Kheirolomoom received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology (Tehran-Iran), and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical/Biochemical Engineering from Kyoto University (Kyoto-Japan) in 1984, 1988, and 1992, respectively. Her Ph.D. work with Dr. Shigeo Katoh was focused on membrane bound enzymes and their reconstitution in lipid bilayer of liposomes. In 1992, ...Liu, Yu
Yu Liu received her B.S. degree in 2007 in Biomedical Engineering from Tianjin University, China. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering in UC Davis. Her research focuses on MR guided HIFU therapy. uliu@ucdavis.eduPatterson, Craig
After his enlistment in the Army, Craig received a B.A. in International Relations from UC Davis in 1992. He worked as a consultant in the high tech sector until changing careers and joining UCD in 2006. Craig is a contracts and grants analyst for BME and manages the departmental and Ferrara Lab accounts. cwpatterson@ucdavis.eduSeo, Jai
Jai Woong Seo received a B.S. (2001), M.S. (2003), and Ph. D. degrees (2007) in chemistry at Inha University in Korea. He conducted the preparation of ionic liquids by the time he finished B.S. and development of nitric oxide suppressor as M.S. degree. While he was doing Ph. D course, he studied about estrogen receptor ...Silvestrini, Matthew
Matthew Silvestrini received B.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry in 2011 from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Prior to joining the Ferrara lab, he worked on developing neurosurgical devices for stem cell transplantation to the brain at UCSF. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at UC Davis, where his research is focused ...Stephens, Douglas
Douglas N. Stephens received a B.S. in Physiology from the University of California, Davis in 1976, and the B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering in 1981 and 1983, respectively, from California State University, Sacramento. He has more than twenty five years of bioengineering industry experience in both design and ...Tam, Sarah
Sarah Tam received her B.S. degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California, Davis in 2008. The following two years she worked at The Jackson Laboratory West as a custom breeding technician, assisting in the production and study of mouse models for pharmaceutical research. She joined the Ferrara Lab in 2011 as ...Tucci, Samantha
Samantha Tucci received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering in 2014 at Case Western Reserve University where she conducted undergraduate research on nanotechnology for the detection and treatment of metastatic breast cancer. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at UC Davis.Tumbale, Spencer
Spencer Tumbale received his B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Technology Management from the University of California, Davis in 2015. He joined the Ferrara Lab in 2013 as an undergraduate research assistant and currently works as a Jr. Specialist, serving as an assistant to in vitro studies.Wang, Connie
Connie Wang received her B.S. degrees in Bioengineering and Business, Economics, and Management from Caltech in 2014, having conducted undergraduate research at Duke University at the SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) Research Foundation in fields that span her broad interests. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at UC Davis and joined ...Zhang, Hua
Hua Zhang obtained her B.E. and M.E. degrees in 1994 and 1997 from Tianjin University and Beijng University of Chemical Technology, respectively. In 2005, Hua finished her Ph.D. study in Polytechnic University and joined Professor Ferrara’s group in University of California, Davis. In the past three years, she has worked on lipopeptide synthesis, targeted particles ...
Lab Alumni
Beegle, Julie
Julie Beegle received her B.S. degree in Biology with emphasis in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior from the University of California, Davis in 2009. The following year she worked at Genentech and The Jackson Laboratory West as a custom breeding technician, assisting in the production and study of mouse models for pharmaceutical research. She joined the Ferrara ...Borden, Mark
Mark Andrew Borden received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1999 from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 2003 from the University of California, Davis. He is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado.Caskey, Charles
Charles Caskey received his B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004 where he conducted undergraduate research on ultrasound elasticity imaging in the Panscopic Imaging Lab at Texas and developed RF coils for MRI while interning at the University of Rochester, New York. He received his Ph. D. in Biomedical ...Chomas, James
James Chomas received his PhD in 2001 from the University of Virginia, was a project engineer/manager for Siemens Ultrasound and is currently CEO of Surefire Medical Corporation.Dayton, Paul
Paul Dayton graduated from Villanova University in 1995 with B.S. degrees in physics and comprehensive science, and a minor in chemistry. He received his M.E. in electrical engineering and his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia in 1998 and 2001. Dr. Dayton conducted post-doctoral research at the University of California, Davis, and ...Gagnon, Karen
Karen Gagnon received a BSc in Chemistry from Mount Allison University in 1999 and a PhD from The University of Western Ontario in 2005. During her PhD studies she developed polymer-supported aryl and vinyl stannanes that could be used as scaffolds for labeling molecules of biological interest with radioactive iodine. She began a postdoctoral position at ...Hlawitschka, Mario
Mario Hlawitschka received his BSc and MSc. in computer science (Diplom-Informatiker) from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany in 2004 and received a PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) from the University of Leipzig, Germany in 2008. He then became a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute for Data Analysis and Visualization (IDAV) at the University of California at ...Hu, Xiaowen
Xiaowen Hu received his B.S. degree in 2004 and M.S. degree in 2007, both in Biomedical Engineering from Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. He received his PhD at UC Davis in 2012 and is currently an engineer at Philips Medical Systems in Bothell Washington.Kruse, Dustin
Dustin E. Kruse received a B.A. degree in physics from the State University of New York College at Geneseo in 1996, the M.E. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia in 1999, and the Ph.D. degree in biomedical engineering in 2004, also from the University of Virginia. His graduate work involved the development ...Kusunose, Jiro
Jiro Kusunose received his BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Washington (’05), Seattle. There, his earlier research focused on plant genetics, and later switched to optics, where he designed and assembled a Schlieren Imaging device for a High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) lab. He received his PhD, working on targeted drug/gene delivery through ...Lai, Chun-Yen
Chun-Yen Lai received his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the National Taiwan University, Taiwan in 2003 and 2005, respectively, where he conducted research on microbubble-assisted acoustic cavitation, ultrasound contrast agents, and sonoporation induced by acoustic inertial cavitation. He also finished a training program in 2005 from the Biotechnology Program offered by the Center for ...Liu, Jingfei
Jingfei Liu received his B.E. in mechanical engineering and B.A. in English from Dalian University of Technology, China in 2002 and 2003, respectively. From 2003 to 2007 he worked as a Lecturer at Beijing Polytechnic, Beijing, China. He received his M.S. in mechanical engineering from Clarkson University in 2009, and his M.S. in electrical engineering ...Lum, Aaron
Aaron Lum graduated with a BS in Bioengineering: ABET with a minor in Japanese Studies from Revelle College at UCSD in 1998. He then graduated with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from UC Davis in 2003 and is currently a Microscope & Imaging Specialist at Technical Instruments.Paoli, Eric
Eric Paoli received his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Davis in 2006 where he conducted undergraduate research on creating and categorizing ultrasound contrast agents. Eric received his PhD in 2013 after developing drug delivery systems and is currently a research scientist at Gilead Sciences. eepaoli@gmail.comQin, Shengping
Shengping Qin received a Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Riverside with research emphasis on the mechanical mechanisms of microvasculature damage caused by the asymmetrical oscillations of the constrained microbubbles during shock wave lithotripsy. His current research in Dr. Ferrera’s lab focuses on the interaction of the microbubble and microvessel under ...Stieger, Susanne M.
Susanne M. Stieger graduated from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria in 1995. From 1995 she performed a doctoral program at the Clinic of Veterinary Radiology at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, where she graduated with a Dr. med. vet. in 1998. She then received her PhD at UC Davis and is ...Sun, Yang
Yang Sun received a B.S. degree in 1999 and a M.E. degree in 2002 both in biomedical engineering at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. She received her PhD at UC Davis and is currently a scientist with Volcano Medical.Tartis, Michaelann Shortencarier
Michaelann Shortencarier Tartis received a B.S. degree in 2002 in chemical engineering from New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM and PhD from UC Davis. She is currently an Associate Professor at New Mexico Tech.Vralsted, Vivian Costa
Vivian Costa Vralsted received her B.A. In Biology from New York University in 2001, and her Ph.D. In Neuroscience from The University of Iowa in 2009. Her doctoral work focused on generation of transgenic mice overexpressing proton-gated ion channels in the nervous system, and investigating the effects on behavioral models of pain and anxiety. She ...Watson, Katherine
Katherine Watson (aka Kate) is a Veterinary Scientist Training Program Fellow in the Molecular, Cellular, Integrative Physiology (MCIP) Graduate Group pursuing a dual Veterinary Medicine/Ph.D. degree. She received a B.S. in Neurology, Physiology, and Behavior (NPB) from the University of California, Davis in 2004. In preparation for her current career path she spent two years ...Wong, Andrew
Andrew Wong received his B.S. in Biomechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 2008, performing undergraduate research in biomimetic robotics and bipedal locomotion. Following graduation, he worked as a research associate in the Orthopedic Surgery Department of the San Francisco Veterans Administration Hospital, in the field of cartilage tissue engineering. He is now pursuing a dual ...Zhao, Shukui
Shukui Zhao received the B.S. degree in material science and engineering in 1998, the M.S. degree in biomedical engineering in 2001, both from Sichuan University, China, and the M.S. degree in electrical engineering in 2003 from St. Cloud State University, MN. He received his PhD at UC Davis and is currently a Senior Development Engineer ...