Meet our New Faculty

To strengthen the translational and applied expertise on the campus IALS has contributed to hiring a number of faculty with translational research interests. These hires are in partnership with a number of departments across campus.


Wei Cui, PhD (VASCI, Sept ’17) Prof. Cui is an expert in creating disease-relevant animal models. His expertise includes Zinc finger nucleases, TALEN, and CRISPPR/Cas9 technologies to introduce mutations in the genome of rodents.


Xian Du, PhD (MIE, Jan ’18) Prof. Xian Du works on high-resolution, large-area and fast-speed machine vision and pattern recognition technologies for manufacturing and medical devices. His research interests include intelligent imaging and vision, flexible electronics manufacturing, robotics, and medical device realization using micro- and nano-scale roll-to-roll manufacturing.


Karine Fenelon, PhD (Biology, Sept ’17) Prof. Fenelon is a neuroscientist with extensive experience in electrophysiological recordings and Optogenetics of living tissues. She has recorded synaptic transmission in specific neuronal pathways, related to sensorimotor gating deficits in psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, such as schizophrenia.


Ashish Kulkarni, PhD (Chem. Eng. Sept ’17) Prof. Kulkarni’s area of research expertise is engineering approaches to cancer immunotherapy and connects existing campus research efforts in immunology and cancer treatment.


Tingyi Liu, PhD (MIE, Jan ’18) Prof. “Leo” Liu focuses on utilizing micro and nano fabrication of personalized devices. He has created the first truly superomniphobic surface that repels all liquids and be made of any material. His utilizes flexible electronic devices for biomedical applications including cancer immunotherapy and multifunctional neural probes.


Sibongile Mafu, PhD (BMB, Sept ’17) Prof. Mafu has experience in microbial and plant-based enzyme co-expression systems, and the novel uses of plant natural products. She has a strong interest in using the UMass Plant Cell Culture Collection (PCCL), a resource for academic/industry collaborations for biological innovation.


ChangHui Pak, PhD (BMB, Sept ’18) Prof. Pak studies synaptic adhesion molecules and she has developed new, highly used cell-based tools targeting synaptic cell adhesion molecules that govern mental disorders (such as bipolar disorder).


Tauhidur Rahman, PhD (CICS, Jan ’18) Prof. Rahman works at the intersection of health sensing and Computer Science, and has worked on techniques for understanding human physical and psychological behavior using mobile sensors, sensing human physiology via body sound and vibration, and leveraging electromagnetic and sound wave for sensing human body and environment.


Jie Xiong, PhD (CICS, Jan ’18) Prof. Xiong works in the area of wireless networking and sensing systems and his work has focused on problems such as device-¬‐free indoor localization and passive WiFi tracking. His health work consists of elderly fall detection, monitoring children using WiFi radios, and new techniques for monitoring pulse and blood pressure.


Jun Yao, PhD (ECE, Sept. ’17) Prof. Yao researches nanoelectronic devices with applications to neuromorphic systems, bioelectronics, nanocomputing, and self-unfolding nano structures with a focus on devices for translational monitoring/outcomes.

We welcome our new faculty colleagues.