{"id":6028,"date":"2024-07-16T15:42:53","date_gmt":"2024-07-16T22:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/?page_id=6028"},"modified":"2024-07-16T16:43:55","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T23:43:55","slug":"alumni","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/bioengineering-devices-laboratory\/alumni\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alumni<\/h1>\n

Post-doctorate\/Adjunct Faculty<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Bill Merritt, PhD \u2013 VP of R&D Aneuvas Technologies, Inc. (ATI)<\/strong>
\nBill received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at NAU in 2021. His academic research during his PhD program was focused on the development, characterization, testing, and optimization of a liquid embolic material for aneurysm treatment (NeuroCURE device pending FDA IDE submission). He has over 7 years of entrepreneurial and R&D experience and have performed in science, engineering, and executive rolesat small and medium-sized medical device and biotechnology companies. He also currently the VP of R&D at ATI \u2013 a medical device company developing a liquid embolic for aneurysm treatment (NeuroCURE), a NeuroCURE coating for metal devices, a supportive aneurysm treatment device (Balloon-Mesh), and a novel size-adaptive aspiration catheter (ATTAC). His areas of expertise include biomaterials, polymer science, medical device design, product development, and operations management. described in this grant proposal. As a leading expert on the NeuroCURE material, he was also heavily involved with the development of manufacturing processes\/protocols and FDA regulatory submissions for NeuroCURE. During his time as a PhD student, he also played a significant support role as either co-PI or key personnel on a number of NeuroCURE-related funded grants and assisted in their development and submission.<\/p>\n

Senior Research Associates<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Omid Asgari, PhD \u2013 Senior Engineer \u2013 Balloon Mesh (ATI)<\/strong>
\nOmid received his MS in Metallurgy in 2018 and his PhD in Bioengineering program in 2023. His research at BDL and ATI was to develop a supportive medical device for aneurysm treatment (Balloon-Mesh). His work focused on computational simulations, benchtop modeling, acquiring grant funding, and collaborations with medical companies toward obtaining FDA approval for the medical device. (LinkedIn ID:\u00a0Omid Asgari<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Husain Sodawalla, PhD<\/strong>
\nHusain received his MS in Biomedical Science (Neuroscience concentration) in 2017. He worked in Norton Thoracic Institute (Phoenix, AZ) as a research technician and received his PhD as part of the BDL team in 2023. Husain is engaged in aneurysm modelling project that aims to create a commercially available predictable rupture model of giant aneurysms for minimizing the chances of delayed aneurysm rupture after treatment. This model could be useful to neurovascular surgeons, researchers and device manufacturers to test long-term efficacy of the latest aneurysm treatments.<\/p>\n

Research Associates<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mohammed Alnajrani, MEng \u2013 3D vessel models (ATI)<\/strong>
\nMohammed graduated from NAU in 2023 with an MEng degree in Mechanical Engineering. He specializedin 3D-printed CAD design, multi-material printing, and 3D-print cleaning and prep for use in in vitro vessel models. He has expertise in developing models for neuro- and cardiovascular applications (i.e. circle of Willis, large and small aneurysms, heart models, left-atrial appendage models). He currently consults with ATI on benchtop model development for testing endovascular medical devices Kailey Lewis, BS \u2013 Lead Engineer \u2013 ATTAC catheter (ATI) Kailey graduated from NAU in 2022 with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. She worked at Microvention in 2023, gaining expertise in catheter design and manufacture. She currently is the lead engineer at ATI for the ATTAC aspiration catheter and works to advance the use of biomaterials for benchtop blood vessel modeling by providing a foundation for future biomaterial test methods and the potential for biomedical device testing and implementation. She is also highly experienced with mechanical testing (push\/pull testing, lubricity, compliance, etc.) aspiration device testing, and maintaining and analyzing 3-D printed blood vessel models within the Bioengineering Devices Lab (BDL). She also has experience in histological preparation and analysis, polymer manufacturing, data analysis, and fluoroscopic imaging. She assists with neurovascular research projects, such as manufacturing and testing the mechanical properties of NeuroCURE.<\/p>\n

Kailey Lewis, BS \u2013 Lead Engineer \u2013 ATTAC catheter (ATI)<\/strong>
\nKailey graduated from NAU in 2022 with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. She worked at Microvention in 2023, gaining expertise in catheter design and manufacture. She currently is the lead engineer at ATI for the ATTAC aspiration catheter and works to advance the use of biomaterials for benchtop blood vessel modeling by providing a foundation for future biomaterial test methods and the potential for biomedical device testing and implementation. She is also highly experienced with mechanical testing (push\/pull testing, lubricity, compliance, etc.) aspiration device testing, and maintaining and analyzing 3-D printed blood vessel models within the Bioengineering Devices Lab (BDL). She also has experience in histological preparation and analysis, polymer manufacturing, data analysis, and fluoroscopic imaging. She assists with neurovascular research projects, such as manufacturing and testing the mechanical properties of NeuroCURE.<\/p>\n

Josette Vigil, BS<\/strong>
\nJosette graduated from NAU in 2023 with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. She has experience in mechanical testing, histological preparation, polymer manufacturing, data analysis, fluoroscopic imaging, and image processing using Invesalius. She acquired undergraduate funding and assisted with several neurovascular research projects, such as manufacturing and testing the mechanical properties of NeuroCURE and characterizing the effects of mechanical testing on human vascular tissue. She was a lead author on a manuscript on the properties of unique 3D-printed scaffolds for bone regrowth (Advances in Polymer Technology, January 2024). She is currently a PhD candidate at Cornell University, working on modeling of the advanced mechanical properties of human tendon.<\/p>\n

Olivia Fisher, BS<\/strong>
\nOlivia graduated from NAU in 2023 with a BS degree in Exercise Physiology. Olivia worked in the BDL for two years prior to graduating. She acquired and led several undergraduate grant-funded projects for BDL. She has experience in vessel modeling, development and optimization of the advanced comprehensive neurovascular flow model, and stroke rehabilitation. She is currently a PhD candidate in NAU\u2019s Physical Therapy program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alumni Post-doctorate\/Adjunct Faculty Bill Merritt, PhD \u2013 VP of R&D Aneuvas Technologies, Inc. (ATI) Bill received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at NAU in 2021. His academic research during his PhD program was focused on the development, characterization, testing, and optimization of a liquid embolic material for aneurysm treatment (NeuroCURE device pending FDA IDE submission). […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":5846,"parent":3313,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ring_central_script_selection":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6028","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6028"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6063,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6028\/revisions\/6063"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}