Sia Lab at Columbia University

Lab Members

Principal Investigator: Prof. Samuel K. Sia, Ph.D. Biography

Post doctoral fellows

Ph.D (RPI)

Zuankai Wang joined the Sia’s Lab as a postdoctoral associate in August 2008, immediately after he received his Ph.D degree from Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His research interests lie in the understanding and controlling interfacial and transport phenomena at the micro/nanoscale towards the development of novel miniaturized systems for novel applications ranging from thermal management to biomedical applications.

Kweku Addae-Mensah

Ph.D (Vanderbilt)

Kweku A. Addae-Mensah received his BS in electrical engineering from University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana in 1998. He received his MS in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, in 2002. He recently completed his PhD in biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee and joined the Sia Lab as a post-doctoral research scientist. His research interests include microfabrication techniques, BioMEMS for biological and clinical applications, cellular instrumentation and control and modeling of cellular systems.

PhD Students

	Yukkee Cheung B.S (Cornell)	Yukkee is a third year year PhD student. She received her bachelor degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering at Cornell University. She has research experience in lipids patterning techniques and UV polymerization of lipids. She likes to play basketball, badminton, and foosball. If financially possible, she would like to start her own restaurant.
	Curtis Chin B.S. (MIT)	Curtis is a third year PhD student. He studied Chemical Engineering at MIT. His research is on microfluidics-based diagnostics for global health. .
	Brian Gillette B.S. (Columbia)	Brian is a third year PhD student. His background is in tissue engineering, computer science, and genomic studies. He is a veteran defenseman on the Columbia Lions hockey team. Brian loves extracellular matrix.
	Hesam Parsa M.S. (University of Tehran )	Hesam is a first year PhD student. His background is in mechanical engineering and he is really happy that he is studying biomedical engineering. Currently he is taking advantage of his background in computational fluid dynamics to analyze micro-fluidic based diagnostic systems.
	Tassaneewan Laksanasopin

M.S. Students

	Daniele Sacchi B.S (Politecnico di Torino)	Daniele is a visiting student at Columbia University where he is doing reasearch toward his M.S. in Nanotechnology. He obtained his Bachelor degree in Information Engineering at Politecnico di Torino (Italy). His field of research is multivalency and 3D culture. He's really missing real italian food!
	Puttisarn Mongkolwisetwara B.S (Kasetsart University)
	Cynthia Kung
	Jason Tchao

Undergraduate Students

	Jennifer Wang SEAS junior	Jennifer is a junior on the Cell and Tissue track in BME, and plans to get a degree in Public Health and work abroad. Jennifer is an active member of CU's Engineers Without Borders Uganda Program and plays the drums for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
	Vamsy Bobba SEAS junior	Vamsy is a fourth year undergraduate. He will be majoring in biomedical engineering with a minor in economics. He is also planning on attending a combined M.D./Ph.D program after college. His interests include cars, good jokes, traveling, and great food.
	Benjamin Lee SEAS junior	Ben is a Third year Biomedical Engineering Student. He will be following the Cell and Tissue Engineering Track. He enjoys his research in molecular and cellular biology and hopes to pursue an M.D./Ph.D after college. Ben is an active member of the SEAS 2010 Class Council and is on the Editorial Review Board for the Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal. On his free time, he likes to swim, play piano, and spend time with friends and family.
	David Shiovitz SEAS sophomore	David Shiovitz is a sophomore studying biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Before joining the Sia Lab in the Fall of 2007, David did research at New York Medical College, studying the pathways of chronic stress in the Department of Biochemistry. David is on the Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal's Editorial Review Board, designs websites both on and off campus, and is the Layout Editor for the Columbia Business School's Newspaper, The Bottom Line. David plays clarinet with the CU wind ensemble and enjoys playing guitar.
	Ranjan Upadhyay BME junior	Ranjan is a BME junior in the Cell and Tissue Engineering track, and is also working towards a minor in economics. After graduating, he wants to go to med school to become a cardiothoracic surgeon. He realizes this means he will probably have to be in school and residency until the end of time, so there's no need to remind him. He plans on paying for med school by winning the World Series of Poker - for any disbelievers out there, he will prove you wrong.
	Prasant Varghese BME junior	Prasant Varghese, member of SEAS '10. I'm a tissue engineering major and would like to eventually get a Ph.D. I enjoy films, art from the 19th century, and music. I'm an avid sports fan, specifically tennis and basketball. In my spare time, i like to illustrate, play chess, and volunteer as a tutor to high school kids in the city.
	Martiza Harper BME junior
	Shun Yu BME senior
	Ravi Chacko BME senior
	Mexin Wang BME sophomore
	Hannah Moore Chemical Engineering junior

Alumni

Lab Member	Position in Lab	Current Position
Cathy Dounis	Obtained M.S., 2006	Consultant, Accenture
Ruben Bibas	Obtained M.S., 2006	Summer Scientist, Novartis
Junho Hur	Obtained M.S., 2006	Ph.D. Student, Johns Hopkins University
Wern-Jir Hsu	Obtained M.S. 2007
Rajib Chakravarty	Obtained M.S. 2007	Research Scientist, UBonn (LIMES)
Jerry Lii	Obtained M.S., 2006
Neha Agarwal	Obtained M.S., 2007
Annie Szeto	Obtained M.S., 2007	Research Scientist, Claros Diagnostics
Jacob Jensen	Obtained M.S., 2008