Our People

Yunjie Tong is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University. Originally from Beijing, China, he earned his BS degree in Physics from Beijing University and later pursued his PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University, focusing his thesis on multimodal functional brain imaging.

Dr. Tong has a profound interest in exploring brain function, perfusion, general physiology, and their interactions. He adopts a multimodal imaging approach in his research, utilizing tools such as MRI, Near-infrared Spectroscopy, EEG, and Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound. Alongside his team, Dr. Tong is dedicated to developing innovative experimental and analytical methods for brain imaging.

In recent years, his research has extended to investigating neurofluid dynamics in resting states and during sleep, examining hemodynamics in conditions like sickle cell disease, and exploring neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease. He enjoys traveling and is a strong proponent of leveraging biomedical engineering to make a global impact.

Brianna is a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Born and raised in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, she also received her BS in Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University. She studies CSF dynamics and brain hemodynamics and their roles in injury and disease in humans and animal models. Her research focuses on multimodal imaging, including fMRI, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and EEG. When not engaged in research, she enjoys teaching, reading, and travel.

Victoria is a master's student and teaching assistant in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. She was born and raised in West Lafayette, IN, where she received both a B.S. in BME and a B.A. in Linguistics at Purdue in May 2023. Victoria is interested in researching the neural correlates of language by means of neuroimaging techniques. Her current research - a collaboration with Dr. Maureen Shader in the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences department - focuses on the use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy to study cognitive load and its relation to speech perception. When not in the lab or the classroom, Victoria enjoys getting coffee with friends and cheering on Purdue basketball.

Vidhya is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. She was born and brought up in Kerala, India. She received her B. Tech in Electronics and Biomedical Engineering from Cochin University of Science and Technology and MS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. She studies brain perfusion and dynamics of cerebrospinal fluid flow across wake and sleep states using a multimodal approach involving fMRI, fNIRS, and EEG. Apart from research, she enjoys travel and music.

Adam was born and raised in Portland, OR. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. After graduation, he completed research at the Oregon National Primate Research Center focusing on assessing placental function with various functional MRI techniques (advisor: Matthias Schabel, PhD; PI: Antonio Frias, MD). In the summer of 2020, Adam enrolled in the MD/PhD program at Indiana School of Medicine where he will complete his PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University. Adam is interested in researching dynamic imaging techniques to greater understand organ function in-vivo. He wants to research the application of these imaging techniques so they can be used to detect organ dysfunction and disease progression allowing him to combine his passion for both engineering and medicine to answer pertinent clinical questions.

Jessie is a Junior in Biomedical Engineering from Cincinnati, Ohio. Her research involves using resting-state fMRI and hematological parameters to categorize sickle cell disease severity. After completing her undergraduate studies, she would like to participate in the Purdue BME 4+1 program to continue building her passion for using multimodal imaging to make a global impact. Outside of classes, Jessie loves listening to music, rock climbing with friends, and visiting National Parks.

Andrew is a Senior in Biomedical Engineering and 4+1 Masters student from Libertyville, Illinois. His research is focused on two main categories. The first is brain-spinal cord connectivity and the effects of traumatic injury on spinal cord waste clearance. The second is on the hemodynamic effects of sickle cell disease on the human brain aiming to create measurable benchmarks for severity of disease. He spends the rest of his time rock climbing, mountain biking, playing games with friends, and doing trivia.

Riya is a senior in Biomedical Engineering from Doha, Qatar. Her research is focused on understanding the changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain dynamics in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

Ali is a junior in Biomedical Engineering from Cleveland, OH. She previously completed a co-op with DePuy Synthes and is now focused on expanding her knowledge of the imaging and instrumentation fields. Her research project focuses on cerebral autoregulation using fNIRS and ultrasound. In her free time, Ali enjoys cooking, running, rock climbing, and adventures with friends.

Tianyin is in the five-year combined BS-MS degree program in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. She was born and raised in Shanghai, China. She focuses on cerebral vessel segmentation and studies the dynamics of cerebrospinal fluid flow using a multimodal approach including structuring MRI, and fMRI imaging.

Ph.D. 2021
Dissertation: Accessing Cerebral Hemodynamic with Multimodal Imaging

Ph.D. 2022
Dissertation: An Investigation of fMRI-Based Perfusion Biomarkers in Resting State and Physiological Stimuli

Dr. Wen is an Assistant Professor at Indiana University School of Medicine. She is an MR physicist by training and the developer of dynamic diffusion-weighted imaging (dynDWI) for measuring cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics. One of her research interests is to apply multimodal MRI, EEG, and fNIRS approaches to understand CSF dynamics and its changes in neurodegenerative diseases. This work is conducted through a collaborative effort with Dr. Tong's lab. Dr. Wen mentors Purdue undergraduate and graduate students.

I joined IUSM as Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences and became a tenured Associate Professor in 2019. I received a MD degree and license in Taiwan. Later, I earned my PhD in Medical Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006.

While I am a Magnetic Resonance Imaging Physicist by training, my research focuses on diffusion physics in biologic system using diffusion MRI. I started to work on diffusion MRI extensively in my graduate education. I continued to advance in this field independently at Dartmouth College (2009-2013) and currently at Indiana University School of Medicine.