Our Team
Principal Investigator
Deva Chan
Assistant Professor
devachan@purdue.edu
MJIS 3023
Pronouns: she/her
A native of foggy San Francisco in otherwise sunny California, Deva Chan graduated from UC Berkeley in Bioengineering and from UC Davis with an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering. She received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University and conducted postdoctoral studies at Rush University Medical Center (Rheumatology/Internal Medicine, Biochemistry), under an Arthritis Foundation Fellowship. She then conducted research at the NIH Clinical Center as a Research Fellow with the Henry Jackson Foundation, before starting her own research group at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Deva started as an Assistant Professor at Purdue in August 2020. She has been recognized with an NSF CAREER Award and the DARPA Young Faculty Award.
Training: Safe Zone
Graduate Students
Zachary Davis
PhD Student
From a small town in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, Zach went on to do his undergraduate studies at the University of Rochester, majoring in biomedical engineering. He spent 2 years interning in industry before deciding to investigate the research side of the field. After working in labs at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Rochester, Zach decided to join Dr. Chan’s lab in order to investigate cartilage strain responses using imaging techniques such as MRI. His hobbies include playing basketball, music, and soccer.
Alexander Donabedian
PhD Student
While spending most of his life in California, Alex obtained his Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from San Diego State University. Eager to use his background in structural analysis to study biological systems, he came to Purdue in 2022 to pursue Biomedical Engineering. He seeks to improve computational models of biological structures by utilizing non-destructive imaging. Outside of research, Alex enjoys playing all sorts of sports, reading books, and listening to music.
Ryan Meister
Graduate Teaching Assistat
Ryan grew up in Canton, Ohio. He got his Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Mount Union. His goals at Purdue is to learn more about biomechanics to pursue a career in sports biomechanics. Outside of research, Ryan enjoys Cleveland sports and lifting.
Alexandria Nguyen
MS Student (Mechanical Engineering)
Alex grew up in Southern California before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics Engineering from Middle Tennessee State University and subsequently worked as a control system engineer. After a year and a half in industry, Alex decided to return to school to pursue a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Alex is interested in using her robotics background to build systems to study tissue biomechanics. Outside of research, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family (and cat named Bart), crocheting, and reading.
Mikayla Roach
Purdue Doctoral Fellow / PhD Student
Mikayla is from Easton, PA and graduated from Penn State in December 2022 with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. Outside of the lab, Mikayla likes to spend time with her family and friends, cook, and watch TV.
Cameron Villarreal
PhD Student
Cameron is from Fort Worth, Texas. He majored in Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M while competing on the Track and Cross Country Teams. After several stints of injury rehabilitation, Cameron became interested in applying engineering to the medical field. He obtained his MS in Biomedical Engineering from The University of Texas at Arlington while working as an intern with UTARI and researching cardiovascular mechanics. Outside of research, Cameron enjoys running, playing guitar, and reading a good science fiction novel.
Undergraduate Students
Aaron Coppeta
Bme Undergraduate Teaching Assistant -
Defne Ekici
Undergraduate Teaching Assistant - Stu
Jeremy Hampton
Undergraduate Researcher
Noah Jasinkiewicz
Undergraduate Researcher
Noah is from Livonia, Michigan, and is currently a sophomore studying biomedical engineering here at Purdue. He is also pursuing pre-medicine, as he hopes to attend med school after he graduates, with an interest in either cardiology or radiology. Noah is working with the Chan lab to help study how the microbiome affects spontaneous osteoarthritis development. Outside of his academic interests, Noah enjoys playing trombone, playing sports, and spending time with family.
Shreya Sinha
Undergraduate Researcher
Sarah Staller
Undergraduate Researcher
Alumni
Maya Alborn
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Nicholas Buffo
Ofe Peer Counselor - Student Clerical
Nicholas was born and raised in Kansas City and graduated from Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University. Growing up, Nicholas played many sports and was always interested in sports injuries. After graduating from Purdue, Nicholas plans to attend medical school where he wishes to study Orthopedics or Cardiology. Outside of research and class, Nicholas enjoys travelling, playing sports and hiking.
Aritra was born and raised in the outskirts of Kolkata, India. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIEST Shibpur, in 2016. Subsequently, he earned his Masters and PhD degrees from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore in 2021, working in the field of cell and tissue mechanics. His current research involves multiscale biomechanics – from AFM at a cellular scale to bulk mechanical characterization of tissues. Outside research, he enjoys reading fiction, watching cinema and photography.
Stephen Douglas
Surf Fellowship
Maya Federle
Bme Undergraduate Research Assistant -
Maya Federle is graduate of Purdue University with a major in Biomedical Engineering and minor in Spanish. Maya works between the Chan and Brubaker labs to investigate the role of vitamin D metabolism pathways in osteoarthritis risk and the gut-joint axis.
Meghan Pendyala
PhD Graduate
Meghan graduated with her Ph.D. in fall of 2022.
Mei Phillips
Wiep- Student Service-Student Service
Graham Ragland
Undergraduate Researcher
Before coming to Purdue, Graham lived in Austin, Texas his whole life. He is interested in the intersection between biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, as well as the immersion of science and engineering in education. Outside of academics, he enjoy playing and watching baseball, music, and rock climbing.
Anisha Rath
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Aavya Srivastava
Undergraduate Researcher
Clarisse Zigan
MS Graduate