Pruitt Lab

PhD Students

Seth Cordts
Ph.D. Student in Mechanical Engineering, admitted Autumn 2017
EMAIL: scordts@stanford.edu

Graduate Research and Rotation Projects

Yofiel Wyle
Graduate Rotation, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Erik Hopkins
Graduate Rotation, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Lourdes Velazquez
Graduate Rotation, Biomolecular Science and Engineering

Olivia Konttinen
Graduate Rotation, Biomolecular Science and Engineering

Danahe Zeyna Mohammed
Graduate, Mechanical Engineering
EMAIL: dana0017@stanford.edu

Lab Alumni: Former PhD Students

Kristina Lamers
PhD: Components of an Improved Design Process for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems
Defended June 13, 2008
signatures August'08
Current Affiliation: Akustika (Bosch) Inc.

A. Alvin Barlian
PhD: Microfabricated Piezoresistive Shear Stress Sensors for Underwater Applications
Defended June 12, 2008
signatures December 2008
Current Affiliation: Apple

Vikram Mukundan
PhD: Electrostatic Actuators in Aqueous Ionic Media for Applications in Cell Mechanics
Defended Feb 17, 2009
signatures April 2009
Current Affiliation: FormFactor

Sung-Jin Park
PhD: Development of Piezoresistive Microcantilever Based Force Feedback System for Analysis of Mechanosensation in Caenorhabditis elegans Nematodes
Defended Mar 16, 2009
signatures June 2009
Current Affiliation: Disease Biophysics Lab, Harvard

Nahid Harjee
PhD: Coaxial-Tip Piezoresistive Cantilever Probes for High-Resolution Scanning Gate Microscopy
Defended May 23, 2011
signatures Aug 2011
Current Affiliation: Kateeva, Inc

Joey Doll
PhD: Advances in high bandwidth nanomechanical force sensors with integrated actuation
Defended March 7, 2012
signatures Jul 2012
Current Affiliation: Apple, Inc

Bryan Petzold
The Role of Body Mechanics in Touch Sensation in the Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans
Defended November 7, 2012
signatures Jan 2013
Current Affiliation: McKinsey & Co.

Rebecca Taylor
Microfabricated Tools for Functional Assessment of Developing Cardiomyocytes
Defended November 8, 2012
signatures Mar 2013Stanford Biochemistry postdoc, Assistant Prof CMU 9/16

Chelsey SimmonsDynamic Cell Culture for Stimulation and Assessment of Cardiovascular Cells
Defended January 25, 2013
signatures May 2013
Current Affiliation: Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida

Gadryn Higgs
Microsystems for Studying Single Heart Cell Mecahnobiology
Defended May, 28, 2013
signatures August 2013
Current Affiliation: CAN Mobilities

Joseph Rastegar
Nanomechanical actuation using molecular forces of amino azo benzene dye
Defended May 14, 2013
signatures March 2014
Current Affiliation: PowerGlide

Joo Yong Sim
Microsystems to Study the Mechanobiology of Cell Adhesion
Defended October 30, 2014
signatures December 2014
Current Affiliation: South Korea National Lab

Clifton Roozeboom
Multifunctional Integrated Sensors for Wireless Sensor Network Applications
Defended April 30, 2015
signatures August 2015
Current Affiliation: Myriad Sensors, Inc. Founder

Ehsan Sadeghipour
A MEMS Actuator and Sensor for the Study of Cell Mechanics and Adhesion
Defended September 17, 2015
signatures March 2016
Current Affiliation: Stanford University Post-doc

Eileen Mazzochette
An Integrated and Automated System for Assaying Touch Sensation in Freely Moving C. elegans
Defended March 21, 2016
signatures May 2016
Current Affiliation: Haptic Hardware Engineer, Apple Inc.

Lab Alumni: Postdoc

James Norman
Mechanical measurements of primary heart cells in health and disease
joint with Prof. Dan Bernstein in Pediatrics
Jan 2007-Feb 2009
Current Affiliation: Warner Babcock Institute

Keekyoung Kim
Biomechanical Characterization of Cardiomyocytes
joint with Prof. Dan Bernstein in Pediatrics
Jan 2009- July 2010
Current Affiliation: UBC Okanagan

Moe Badi
ME342 project development
Current Affiliation: BCG

Ginel Hill
Ultrasmall Cantilevers for Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy
Ginel's Work
Jan 2009-Dec 2010
Current Affiliation: SITime, Sunnyvale, CA

Sung-Jin Park
Understanding the Sense of Touch
Sung-Jin's work
July 2009-Dec 2010
Current Affiliation: Disease Biophysics Group
Harvard University

Yingning Gao
Chemical Functionalization of Sensors
Yingning's work
Aug 2010-Aug 2011
Current Affiliation: CalState Los Angeles

Nicolas Borghi
Mechanics of cell adhesion
Current Affiliation: Institut Jacques Monod
Paris, France

Cindy Chung
3D Culture of Cells under Strain in Custom Biomaterials
Current Affiliation: Theranos, Inc

Wendy Altman
Microsystems and Methodologies for the Study of Cardiomyocyte Mechanotransduction
Current Affiliation: Self

Jens Moeller
Platform Development to Study the Cellular Mechanics of Leukocyte Transmigration
Current Affiliation: group head, ETH Zurich

Tom Larsen
High Bandwidth Nanomechanical Force Sensors for Studying the Sense of Hearing
Current Affiliation: postdoc, EPFL

Frederic Loizeau
Piezoresistive Micro Probes for Fluorescence-Based Mechanobiology Studies
Current Affiliation: Key Account Manager, Senserion

Mahdokht Masaeli
Microfluidics for Size-based Sorting of Cardiomyocytes
Current Affiliation: Co Founder, DeepCell, Inc.

Anna A. Kim

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Mechanical Engineering
Swedish Research Council International Postdoc
Joint with the O'Brien lab at Stanford University (http://www.stemdynamics.org)

2017-2021

Lab Alumni Senior Researchers

Yair Kaufman
Using Atomic Force Microscopy of Neurons to study Traumatic Brain Injury
Self-Actuated and Self-Sensing Microcantilevers for Expanded Atomic Force Microscopy Applications
Email: yairkauf@icloud.com