I am an Associate Professor and Principal Investigator in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering at Arizona State University. My academic background began with a degree in Chemical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, followed by a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego. I continued my training as a postdoctoral researcher at the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine and later earned an MBA from the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego. Throughout my education and training, I developed an interdisciplinary interest in combining engineering, stem cell biology, and regenerative medicine to address complex biomedical problems.

At Arizona State University, I lead the Brafman Lab, where my research focuses on understanding how genetic, biological, chemical, and physical factors influence human pluripotent stem cells and their development. Much of our work applies stem cell and genome-engineering technologies to study human disease, with a particular interest in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. My group investigates genetic factors, including variants of APOE and RELN, using human stem-cell-based models to better understand disease mechanisms and identify potential therapeutic approaches. I am also passionate about mentoring students and creating opportunities for researchers from different backgrounds to contribute to biomedical research.

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