Group Members

Assistant Professor

Department of Medical Engineering, University of South Florida

Research Interests: 

• Cardiovascular tissue engineering

• Tissue-mimetic biomaterials 

• Biofabrication 

• Cell-biomaterial interactions

• Tissue culture bioreactors

• Elastogenesis

• Preclinical translation of engineered tissues

Education/Research Background: 

• Faculty of Medical Engineering, 2023-present, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

• NSERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2021-2023, Ted Rogers Center for Heart Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

• FRQNT Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2018-2021, Ted Rogers Center for Heart Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

• Ph.D. Tissue Engineering, 2018, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8099-8354

https://www.usf.edu/engineering/bme/faculty-staff/neda-latifi.aspx

Research Interests: 

• Tissue engineering

• Tissue-mimetic biomaterials

• Cardiovascular engineering

• Drug delivery 

Email: aghasemi@usf.edu

Previously: Biotechnology master's student (Spring-Summer 2025)

Research Interests: 

• Tissue engineering

• Developmental biology

• Regenerative medicine

Email: meghnaasakthi@usf.edu 

Previously: BME undergraduate student (Spring 2024-Spring 2025)

Research Interests: 

• Tissue engineering 

• Biomaterials 

• Mechanics & material characterization

Email: kramer17@usf.edu

Previously: BME undergraduate student (Spring 2024-Summer 2025)

Research Interests: 

• Tissue engineering 

• Biomaterials

• Natural wound healing 

Email: mariobrockleao@usf.edu

Previously: BME undergraduate student (Spring 2024-Summer 2025)

Research Interests: 

• Biomaterials 

• Tissue engineering

• Cell-biomaterial Interactions

Email: syerramilli1@usf.edu

Previously: BME undergraduate student (Fall 2024-Summer 2025)

Research Interests: 

• Vascular tissue engineering 

• Biomaterials 

• Biomimetics & cellular interaction

Email: camilogarciagonzalez@usf.edu

Title: BME undergraduate student since Summer 2024

Research Interests: 

• Biomaterials for cardiovascular applications

• Heart valve repair and replacement

• Biomechanical characterization of native and engineered tissues

Email: mallick2@usf.edu

Title: BME undergraduate student since Summer 2024

Research Interests: 

• Biomaterials 

• Tissue engineering 

• Regenerative medicine 

Email: blubaums@usf.edu

Title: Biomedical Sciences undergraduate student since Fall 2024

Research Interests: 

• Stem cell engineering

• Immunomodulation in tissue engineering

• Cell behavior and tissue formation 

Email: guinocor@usf.edu

Title: BME undergraduate student since Fall 2025

Research Interests: 

• Cardiovascular tissue engineering

• Biomaterials

• Tissue regeneration 

Email: jessicamoore30@usf.edu

Title: BME undergraduate student (Summer and Fall 2024), since Fall 2025

Research Interests: 

• Biomedical systems

• Medical devices

Email: ajoseph27@usf.edu

Title: BME undergraduate student since Fall 2025

Research Interests: 

• Cardiovascular tissue engineering

• Computational modeling of vascular systems and bioreactor environments

• Hemodynamic conditioning

• Biomaterials

Email: mgaldieri@usf.edu

Title: BME undergraduate student since Spring 2026

Research Interests: 

• Tissue engineering

• Elastogenesis 

Email: minhphan@usf.edu

Title: BME undergraduate student since Spring 2026

Research Interests: 

• Vascular tissue engineering

• Medical devices

• Regenerative medicine

Email: lucasniemas@usf.edu

Title: BME undergraduate student since Spring 2026

Research Interests: 

• Cardiovascular tissue engineering

• Cell behavior and tissue formation

• Tissue-mimetic biomaterials

Email: joyitadas@usf.edu

Member from: Fall 2024-Spring 2026

Email: akulav@usf.edu 

Member from: January – December 2024

Email: asyilmaz@usf.edu

Member from: Fall 2024 – Spring 2025

Member from: Fall 2024 – Summer 2025 (co-advised with Dr. Michael Dunne, Moffitt Bioengineering Program)

Email: Kiarah.Richards@moffitt.org