Principal Investigator

Dennis Discher

Dennis Discher

Ph.D University of California, Berkeley
B.S University of California, Davis

Dennis Discher is the Robert D. Bent chaired Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the NCI (National Cancer Institute) Physical Sciences Oncology Center/Project at Penn. He is an elected member of both the US National Academy of Medicine and the US National Academy of Engineering, and he is recipient of the Shu Chien Scientific Achievement Award from BMES' Cell & Molecular Bioengineering (CEMB) group. Discher holds appointments in the School of Engineering & Applied Science and Graduate Groups in Pharmacology and in Physics, and has been at Penn since 1996. His efforts to increase diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI) start with his lab’s >60 PhD students and Fellows that have included significant diversity (15% Latino, 20% female). It extends to creation of Mid- career Awards with DEI criteria for CEMB and for the Biophysical Society’s Mechanobiology Subgroup, as well as annual projects over the past decade for summer research by two Philadelphia High School Teachers and for two or more Undergraduates from around the US (~30-50% African American). The lab's most cited work is among the top-5 cited research papers in Cell since its publication: 'Matrix elasticity directs stem cell lineage specification', and other papers range in topic from the mechanobiology of cancers, cardiomyocytes, and nuclei to controlling ‘Self’ recognition via engineered macrophages and particles in application to disease, particularly cancer. He has coauthored more than 250 publications with 80,000 citations, with papers appearing in Science, Cell, PNAS, and Nature family journals. Service includes various roles in CEMB, the American Society of Cell Biology (ASCB), and the Biophysical Society, as well as NIH grant reviewer including chairperson (Gene & Drug Delivery, Phys Sci Oncology, etc.) and Editorial Board service for Science, Molecular Biology of the Cell, and PNAS & PNAS Nexus.

Post-Doctoral Researchers

Larry Dooling

Larry Dooling

Asst Prof @ U Houston, beginning 2025
My research aims to elucidate mechanisms for phagocytosis of cohesive solid tumor cells by macrophages with the goal of improving the efficacy of macrophage-based cancer immunotherapy. To accomplish this, I use a combination of in vitro and in vivo tumor models, immunoassays, and cell engineering approaches including CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing.

Alişya Anlaş

Alişya Anlaş

Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Princeton
Alişya uses engineered tissue culture models to uncover how the mechanical properties of the tumor microenvironment regulate hallmarks of cancer such as sustained proliferation, survival, genomic instability, and immune evasion. Her work employs hydrogel-based spheroid models to investigate how microenvironmental stiffness regulates cell division errors including chromosome missegregation.
Karan Saini

Karan Saini

Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, IIT Ropar
I am interested in understanding the interplay among mechanical forces, fibrillar collagen levels and tissue characteristics with an aim to develop novel strategies for treating pathologies including fibrosis, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disorders. I use novel mechano-bioreactor designs, label-free imaging, adult/embryonic tissue models, engineered hydrogels as well as computational tools.

PhD Students

Steven Phan

Steven Phan

B.S.E Chemical Engineering, Penn State University
I look at chromosomal instability and mechanosensitive pathways in solid tumors and macrophages in 3D confined environments.




Nicholas Ontko

Nicholas Ontko

B.S.E Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan
Nick is a 3rdyear PhD student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering whose research focus works to understand macrophage phagocytosis and new ways to mark cancer cells for destruction with the goal of achieving better immunnotherpaies.


Joanna Georgiou

Joanna Georgiou

B.S.E Chemical Engineering, Princeton University
Joanna is a 2nd year PhD student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. During her time at Princeton and throughout a 10 month Fulbright research grant in South Korea, Joanna worked on encapsulating small molecule therapeutics into nanoparticles for tuberculosis and cancer treatment. She is interested in researching cancer and materials.
Markus Sprenger

Markus Sprenger

M.S. Medical Physics, Duke University
Markus is a 2nd year PhD student in Bioengineering whose past master’s research focused on electron FLASH radiotherapy. Having a strong background in physics and mathematics, he aims to better understand cancer biology; modeling chromosome loss rates and investigating the effects of confinement from matrix stiffness and transitioning from a 2D to a 3D environment on chromosome loss rates and effects on cell biology.


Susanna Belt

Susanna Belt

M.S. Bioengineering, Columbia University
I am a 4th year doctoral candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. My research focuses on evaluating how cellular contractility controls extracellular matrix composition and function of developing hearts. My research uses a combination of optical live imaging, RNA sequencing techniques, and second harmonic imaging to dissect these mechanosensitive cardiac pathways.


Tristan Marchena

Tristan Marchena

M.S Bioengineering University of Pennsylvania
Tristan is a 1st year PhD student from Aruba studying Bioengineering and Engineering Entrepreneurship at Penn. He conducts immune engineering research centered on antibody-dependent phagocytosis or 'cell eating' of solid tumors with the goal of advancing engineered macrophage immunotherapies. Outside of the lab, Tristan remains dedicated to mentoring international undergraduate students as well as developing new outreach programs to increase STEM education in underrepresented communities in the Caribbean.

Masters Students

Zexiang Wang

Zexiang Wang

B.S. Biochemistry, Ohio State University
I am a Masters' student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. My past research experience focused on membrane insertion protein and its interaction with mechanosensitive ion channels. I am interested in stem cell biology and cancer treatment.

Research Scientists

Manu Tewari

Manu Tewari

Irena Ivanovska

Irena Ivanovska

PhD Physics of Living Systems, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Irena earned her PhD in Physics of Living Systems from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands, where she pioneered biomechanical characterizations of viruses using AFM and force spectroscopy techniques. She completed a two-year postdoc at Leiden University with a Veni grant from the Dutch NWO Talent Program. Irena was awarded the HFSP Long-Term Fellowship and joined the Discher Lab at UPenn, where she worked on nuclear lamins, matrix elasticity, and stem cell differentiation. She holds an MSc in Physics from Sofia University, Bulgaria. Currently, she is interested in the biophysical interactions of lipid droplets with other cell organelles, as well as nuclear mechanobiology, DNA damage, and chromosome instability.

Lab Alumni

 

Ph.D. students:

  • Michael Tobin (BS BE, U Maryland) (BE 2023) NSF Fellow, placement: UPenn postdoc (temporary)
  • Mai Wang (BS ChE, Rice U) (CBE 2023), placement: McKinsey Consulting
  • Brandon Hayes (BS ChE, UPenn) (BE 2023) NSF Fellow, placement: Boston biotechnology
  • Jason Andrechak (BS ChE, Neurosci) (BE 2022), placement: Gillead
  • Manasvita Vashisth (BS ChE) (CBE 2021), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow Fred Hutchinson Cancer Ctr University Washington
  • Kuangzheng Zhu (BS ChE) (CBE 2021), placement: National Lab, China
  • Aziz Jalil (BS Chem, Temple Univ) (Chem 2020), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow, Thomas Jefferson Univ. School of Medicine
  • Charlotte Pfeifer (BS Carleton College) (Physics 2020), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow Rockefeller University
  • Yuntao Xia (BS U Minn) (CBE 2019), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow Stanford School of Medicine
  • Sangkyun Cho (BS Johns Hopkins Univ) (CBE 2018), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow Stanford School of Medicine
  • Praful Nair (BS U Mumbai) (CBE 2017), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (Denis Wirtz grp –Chem. Bio. Eng’g.), Johns Hopkins Univ.
  • Cory Alvey (BA Chem & Bio, Ripon College) (Pharmacology 2017), placement: Senior Scientist I, In Vivo Oncology at AbbVie, Pharmaceuticals, Wauconda, Illinois
  • P.C. Dave Dingal (BS ChE Nanyang Tech U, Singapore) (CBE 2014), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (Stanley Qi grp – Bioeng’g & Chem Systems Biol.), Stanford Univ. Assist Prof. Bioengineering starting 2023: Univ. Texas Dallas
  • Kyle Spinler (BS ChE U Minn) (CBE 2014), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (T Reya grp – Pharmacology), UC San Diego
  • Nisha Sosale (BS ChE, Rutgers) (CBE 2014), Nanotech Inst. Fellow, placement: short term Post-Doc. Fellow (R.Lipowsky grp – Membranes), Max Planck Inst. – Golm
  • Stephanie Feldman Majkut (BS Claremont Colleges, CA) (Physics 2013) NIH Training Grant Fellow
  • Matthew Raab (BS Bioeng, Penn State) (BE, 2013) Ashton Fellow & GAANN Fellow, placement: Post-Doc. Fellow, Curie Inst., Paris (Hum Front Sciences, Fellow)
  • Takamasa Harada (BS Matls Sci, Univ Tokyo) (CBE, 2013), placement: Anderson Consulting, Tokyo
  • Pia Rodriguez, (BS ChE, LaPaz, Chile) (CBE, 2012) Chilean Gov’t. Fellow, placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (K Healey grp – Biomaterials), UC Berkeley
  • Jae-Won Shin (BS U Sydney, Australia) (Pharmacology 2011) American Heart Assocn Fellow, placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (D Mooney grp – Biomaterials, Wyss Inst.), Harvard Univ.
  • Christine Carag (BS ChE, Tulane) (CBE, 2011), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow & Research Scientist, NIH
  • Andre Brown (BS Physics, Memorial Univ., Canada) (Physics, 2009), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow Biology, Cambridge Univ.
  • Aiwei Tian (BS ChE, Tsinghua Univ., China) (CBE, 2009), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (J.Groves grp – Phys-Chem Membranes) Chemistry, UC Berkeley
  • David Christian (BS ChE, U. Kentucky) (CBE, 2009), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow 🡪 Research Assistant Prof. Vet School Immunology, U. Penn.
  • Richard Tsai, (BS ChE UC Berkeley, MS Biotech Penn 2004) (BE, 2009), placement: Biogen, LEK Consulting, Boston, MA
  • Shamik Sen (MS ME, India) (MEAM, 2007), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (Kumar grp – Cell Mechanics) Bioengineering, UC Berkeley
  • David Pajerowski (BS ChE, U. Delaware) (BE, 2008) Ashton Fellow, placement: Research Engineer in Proteins Group at Merck, Westpoint, PA
  • Kandaswamy Vijayan (MS Physics, Brandeis) (Physics, 2007), placement: Research Scientist at BioNanomatrix, Philadelphia, PA
  • Adam Engler (BS BE, U Penn) (MEAM, 2006) Ashton Fellow, placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (Schwarzbauer grp – Matrix Bio.) Molecular Biology, Princeton Univ.
  • Younghoon Kim (MS ChE, Korea) (CBE, 2006), placement: Formulations Engineer at Particle Sciences, Bethlehem, PA
  • Vanessa Ortiz (Ph.D. CBE, 2007) Nano-IGERT Fellow & NIH Pre-doc. Fellow, placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (J. dePablo group) Chemical Eng’g., Univ. Wisconsin
  • Nishant Bhasin (MS ChE, India) (CBE, 2006), placement: Process Engineer at Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA
  • Shyamsundar Subramanian (MS Biotech., U.Minn.) (CBE, 2006; joint advisee) Merck Fellow, placement: Process Engineer in Vaccines Group at Merck, Westpoint, PA
  • Fariyal Ahmed (Ph.D. BE, 2005 / BS ChE, SUNY Buffalo) NanoTech Inst. Fellow, placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (Liebermann group – Drug Delivery) Harvard Univ. Med. School
  • Kris Noel Dahl (Ph.D. CBE, 2004 / BS ChE, Carnegie Mellon U.) Whitaker Fellow, placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (K. Wilson group) Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins Univ. Assist. → Assoc. Prof. Chem. Eng. and Biomed. Eng’g. Carnegie Mellon Univ.
  • Richard Law (Ph.D. CBE, 2004 / BS ChE, U Penn) GAANN Fellow, placement: Process Engineer at Intel Corp., Portland, Oregon, then Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA
  • Peter Photos (Ph.D. CBE, 2004 / BS ChE, Princeton) NIH-Training Grant & AHA Fellow, placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (T.K. Vanderlick group) ChE, Princeton
  • Paul Dalheimer (Ph.D. CBE 2003 / BS ChE, U Penn) GAANN Fellow, placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (Pollard group – Cytoskeleton Biochem.) Cell Biology, Yale Univ. Assist. → Assoc. Prof. Chem. Eng., Univ. Tennessee
  • Maureen Sheehan (Ph.D. CBE, 2003 / BS ChE, U Mass-Amherst) AHA Fellow, placement: Research Scientist SelectX Pharmaceuticals (Worcester, MA)
  • Harry Bermudez (Ph.D. CBE 2003 / BS ChE, U Mass-Amherst) (jointly advised PhD), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow (J. Hubbell group) ETH Zurich/Lausanne Assist. → Assoc. Prof. Polymer Science & Eng’g., Univ. Mass., Amherst
  • James C-M. Lee (Ph.D. ChE, 2000 / BS ChE, UC Berkeley), placement: Post-Doc. Fellow Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab Assist. → Assoc. Prof. Biol. Eng’g., Univ. Missouri, Columbia

Post-doc Fellows:

  • Dr. Jerome Irianto (PhD Bioeng., Queen Mary, London) (CBE, 2013-2018), Asst. Prof. Biology, Florida State
  • Dr. Lucas Smith, K99 Fellow (PhD Bioeng., UC San Diego) (CBE, 2016-2018), Asst. Prof. Biology, UC Davis
  • Dr. Joseph Swift (PhD Phys Chem, U.Penn.) (CBE, 2009-2014), Asst. Prof. Biology, Univ. Manchester
  • Dr. Amnon Buxboim (PhD, Weizmann Inst.) (Physics, 2008-13), Asst. Prof. Bioeng., Hebrew Univ.
  • Dr. Nuria Sancho Oltra (PhD Org.Chem., Groningen, NL) (Marie Curie Fellow, 2011-13) Fellow, EPFL
  • Dr. Sharon Loverde (PhD MSE, Northwestern Univ.) (NIH Fellow, 2007-2011), City Univ. NY Staten Island
  • Dr. Abdullah Mahmud (PhD Pharm., U. Alberta) (CBE, 2008-11), Scient. NCI Nanotech. Charact’n. Lab.
  • Dr. Diego Pantano (PhD Chemistry, Univ. Buenos Aires) (CBE, 2008-11), Scient.- Simultns. Total SA, Paris
  • Dr. Karthikan Rajagopal (PhD Chemistry, Univ. Delaware) (CBE, 2006-09), Scient.- Drug Deliv. Genentech
  • Dr. Florian Rehfeldt (PhD Biophysics, Tech.Univ.Munich) (Physics, 2006–08), Group Leader, Univ. Goettingen
  • Dr. Shenshen Cai (PhD Medicinal Chemistry, Univ. Utah) (CBE, 2005–07), Res.Sci. Mylan Pharmaceuticals
  • Dr. Xiulian Du (PhD Organic Chemistry, Peking Univ.) (CBE, 2006–08), Res.Sci. Maryland Biotech.
  • Dr. Yan Geng (PhD Organic Chemistry, Rutgers Univ.) (CBE, 2003–06), Asst. Prof. Univ. Georgia, Chem.
  • Dr. Adam Eckhardt (PhD Physiology, Czech Republic) (CBE, 2004), Czech Acad. Sci., Prague
  • Dr. Colin Johnson (Ph.D. Chemistry, Univ. Illinois) (CBE, 2005–07), Asst. Prof. Oregon State Univ., Biochem.
  • Dr. Ranganath Parthasarathy (PhD Physical Chem., India) (CBE, 2001-04)
  • Dr. Helim Aranda-Espinoza (PhD Physics, UCSB) (IME, 2000–02), Asst. Prof. Univ. Maryland, Chem/Bio Eng.
  • Dr. Alina Popescu (PhD Biophysics, Romania) (BE, 2000–03), Res. Assoc. NIH
  • Dr. Philippe Carl (PhD Phys. Chem., Strasbourg) (BE, 2000–02), Res. Assoc. – Max Planck Inst. Potsdam
  • Dr. Catherine Picart (PhD Materials Science, Grenoble) (BE, 1998–99), Prof. of Materials, Grenoble Inst. Tech. and Membre de l’Institut Universitaire de France
  • Dr. Lucie Bacakova (MD PhD Physiology, Prague) (BE, 2000–01), Biomatls Group Leader, Czech Acad. Sci.
  • Dr. Bohdana Discher (PhD Bioch., OHSU-Oregon) (ChE, 98–2000), Res. Assist. Prof. Bioch.-Biophys, U. Penn.

Visiting Faculty:

  • Dr. Eliana Lima (Faculdade de Farmácia, Univ. Federal de Goiás, Brazil) (CBE, Jan-Apr 2006)

M.S. students:

  • Avathamsa Athirasala (CBE 2013)
  • Edwin (Chuck) Pratt (Nanotech 2014)
  • Brian Chase (BS Biol, MIT) (BE, 2013) GAANN Fellow
  • Pierre Bhoorasingh (BE, 2010)
  • Brian Fyfe (BS ChE, Lehigh U.) (CBE, 2005)
  • Greg Brobst (BS ChE, UNC) (CBE, 2005)
  • George Liao (BioTech 2003), currently Lab Supervisor in Penn Medical School
  • Hyun Ra (Biotech., 1999), currently Ph.D. student in Cell Biology at Washington University
  • Carol Kwok (ChE, 2000), currently at Intel Corp., Portland, Oregon
  • Cindy Newman (Biotech, 2002), currently at Accenture
  • Shilpa Choudhari (Biotech., 2000), currently at Merck

Undergraduates:

  • Kevin Hsu (CBE)
  • Russell Speiller (ChE)
  • Wade Bennett (MEAM)
  • Ahmedzamri Perman (MEAM)
  • Derek Wong (BE)
  • Rich Liu (ChE)
  • Vanessa Chu (ChE)
  • Nabih Bulos
  • Judy Lin (BE)
  • Gaurang Shah (CIS)
  • Devang Shah (CIS)
  • Adam Engler (BE)
  • George Liao (BE)
  • Samuel Kahn (BE)
  • Adam Saitowitz (CBE)
  • Brandon Hayes (CBE 2018: Penn PhD program, BE)
  • Jake Hsu (CBE 2017: Stanford PhD program)
  • Rocky Diegmiller (CBE 2014: Cambridge Univ.)

Outreach:

  • Yavetta Woods (Biology, Millersville Univ.)
  • Andrew T. Sensenig (Physics, Millersville Univ.)
  • Kahlilah Clarke (Biology, Johns Hopkins)
  • Alice Tang (Philadelphia Central H.S.)

High School:

  • Jeremy Yatvin (Phil. Central High; 1st prize Eng’g and 4th prize overall in State Competition)