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 HIGHLIGHTED NEWS

Esfandiari Lab was awarded  a $2 million NIH/NIGMS MIRA to "decode" the role of extracellular vesicles in nerve regeneration

Dr. Esfandiari received the CEAS Distinguished Research Award 

Esfandiari Lab and collaborators were awarded NIH/NINDS R01 to develop a tissue engineering platform for peripheral nerve regeneration

Dr. Esfandiari received the National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Award  

Welcome to the Esfandiari Lab

An Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory Where Microtechnology Meets Medicine

Who We Are

Esfandiari Lab strives to develop new micro and nanotechnologies to promote a fundamental understanding of cellular communication in regenerative medicine and disease progression. The primary aim of the research is to investigate the biophysical properties of cells and extracellular vesicles (EVs) in diverse microenvironments.

 

Biosensors and smart biomimetic scaffolds are fabricated and characterized at the Esfandiari Lab. Their design enables highly accurate sensing and stimulation of cellular activities in situ. Knowledge obtained through these technologies can be used in diagnosing diseases, developing new therapies, and regenerating tissues. 

FLUIDNATEK® LE-50 Electrospinning equipment by Bioinicia

Current Projects

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ELECTROKINETIC MICROCHIP

Label free purification and characterization of extracellular vesicles

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SMART BIOACTIVE MATERIALS

Bioactive piezoelectric nanofibers

for nerve regeneration

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3D TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT

Mechanoelectrical feedback loop

in cancer

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HUMAN GASTROINTENSTINAL ORGANOIDS

Nanoelectronics  for sensing and electrical stimulation of organoids

Principal Investigator

Leyla Esfandiari, Ph.D.

Dr. Esfandiari is a distinguished associate professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati and a faculty member of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM) program. She is highly regarded for her work in developing miniaturized technologies for biomedical applications. Her research is mainly focused on developing micro- and nano-scale devices, such as sensors and actuators, that can be applied in liquid biopsy and regenerative medicine. Her research has been supported by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Defense (DoD). Dr. Esfandiari has won many awards, including the NIH Maximizing Investigator Research Award (MIRA), the NSF CAREER Award, the Engineering and Applied Sciences Distinguished Research Award, and the Restemeyer Teaching Excellent Award.

Dr. Esfandiari received her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the California State University of Long Beach (CSULB) and her M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California Irvine (UCI). She completed her doctoral degree in Bioengineering from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). While at UCLA, Esfandiari also conducted research at the California Nano-System Institution (CNSI), School of Medicine Neuroscience and Orthopedic Surgery Departments. During her academic training, Dr. Esfandiari has given back by leading and training graduate and undergraduate students. Besides her academic experiences, she has 3 years of industrial experience working at the tech companies in southern California.

Notable Alumni

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Dr. Leilei Shi

Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, 2021

Current Role: Assistant Professor

(Tenure Track) College of Charleston

 

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Dr. Yuqian Zhang

Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, 2020

 

Current Role: Research fellow at Mayo Clinic

 

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Ankit Rana

M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, 2019

Current Role: Scientist at Illumina Inc. 

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