People
Neel S. Joshi
Principal Investigator
Neel Joshi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and an affiliate in Bioengineering at Northeastern University. He completed his PhD at UC Berkeley in the lab of Matt Francis and a postdoc at Boston University in the lab of Mark Grinstaff before starting his independent academic career at Harvard University and then moving to Northeastern in January 2020. He is broadly interested in topics related to biologically inspired materials, protein engineering, self-assembly, and biointerfaces. His group works at the intersection of biomaterials science and synthetic biology.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Anna Duraj-Thatte
Postdoctoral Fellow
I have received Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Georgia Institute of Technology, wherein I worked on protein engineering and directed evolution. Then I pursued my postdoctoral research at Wyss Institute, Harvard University and during which I focused on engineered living materials (ELMs) for advanced applications, including the first demonstration of therapeutic and self-regenerating functionalities of ELMs. I am interested in probiotic engineering, living therapeutics and protein-based materials for environmental applications. Some of my efforts are also directed towards commercialization.
- NSF Idea Machine Grand Prize Winner
- Deep Tech Pioneer
- Semifinalist of Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge
- Semifinalist of MIT Water Innovation Prize
- Harvard Innovation Lab’s Venture Incubation Program
Avinash Manjula-Basavanna
Postdoctoral Fellow
During my PhD at JNCASR, India, I worked on Bioinspired Design Strategies pertaining to three primary aspects viz. Molecular Engineering, Molecular Biomimicry and Molecular Materials. Then I shifted gears to Living Materials by integrating Synthetic Biology, Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology at Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University. I specifically focus on Designing and Developing Sustainable Living Materials for Energy, Health and Environmental Applications, with a strong emphasis on Commercialization.
- NSF Idea Machine (Big Ideas) Grand Prize Winner
- World’s Top 35 Innovators Under 35, Technology Review, MIT
- Deep Tech Pioneer
- Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Award
-
Semifinalist of MIT Water Innovation Prize
-
Semifinalist of Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge
-
Harvard Innovation Lab’s Venture Incubation Program
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Innovation Scholars In-Residence Program at Rashtrapati Bhawan (President’s House) by the President of India
Graduate Students
Daniel Birnbaum
PhD Candidate
I work on developing novel engineered living materials using curli fibers and bacterial cellulose.
Email: dbirnbaum@g.harvard.edu
Ilia Gelfat
PhD Candidate
In my work, I explore biomedical and therapeutic applications of engineered microbes, such as the probiotic strain E. coli Nissle 1917. In particular, I aim to harness the BIND platform for treatment or prevention of enteric diseases and infections.
- Graduated summa cum laude with B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Email: ilia_gelfat@g.harvard.edu
Undergraduate Students
Past Members
Research staff:
- Peter Q. Nguyen
Postdoctoral fellows:
- Anton Kan
- Junling Guo
- Miguel Suástegui
- Noémie‐Manuelle Dorval Courchesne
- Martin Nussbaumer
- Glenna Meister
Graduate students:
- Pichet Bom Praveschotinunt
- Giorgia Cannici
- Pei Kun Richie Tay
- Zsofia Botyanszki
- Rajiv Desai
- Daniel Rubin
Visiting researchers:
- Eneko Axpe
- Arjirios Sourlis
- Franziska Bahl
- Ilona den Hartog
- Chaochen Lu
- Ahmed Sami Helal
Undergraduate students:
- Sivaram Emani
- Vanessa Moody
- Octavio Lopez
- Amy Zhou
- Jessica J. Kim
- Jarod Rutledge
- Trevor Nash
- Frederick Ward