About Us
The Ghezzi Team
We are a tissue engineering laboratory in the biomedical engineering department at The University of Massachusetts, Lowell. There are many active research projects focusing on the optimization of biomaterials.
Meet our Team
Chiara E. Ghezzi, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor, Associate Chair - Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering Program, Center for Pathogen Research and Training (CPRT)
Supported by a deep knowledge in structural biopolymer nanomanufacturing, regenerative medicine of three-dimensional tissues and in vivo animal models, the focus of my lab is on understanding how multicellular responses are affected by the native microenvironment in order to design and engineer natural polymers to support the investigation of these processes in vitro and in vivo. The focus of my research liaises with engineering biopolymer structure/function properties with advanced biofabrication techniques to develop 3D tissue models, by combining physiological architecture, physical stimuli, and native microstructure to recapitulate healthy and disease tissue states. The impact of these approaches will be to further guide and educate biopolymer material designs towards needs in regenerative medicine.
Miryam Adelfio
Miryam is a postdoctoral researcher at The University of Massachusetts, Lowell and currently working in Dr. Ghezzi’s Tissue Engineering Laboratory. The goal of her research is to develop an in vitro dynamic gingival tissue model to investigate long-term host-pathogen interactions in the context of periodontal health and disease. Her ultimate goal of pursuing an academic career in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine .
Neal M. Lojek
Neal is a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at UMass Lowell. His scientific interests include designing and building models for understanding the cellular physiology underlying radiation induced brain injuries. He aspires to deploy these modeling platforms to increase our understanding of the human brain, and develop countermeasures to this unique type of brain injury.
Anyelo R. Diaz
Anyelo is a PhD student studying biomedical engineering. The focus of his research is to build an immunological model that would allow us to better understand host pathogen interactions during dental inflammatory diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis. His goal is to further his understanding of complex biological systems to build models and platforms that will allow us to study disease progression and develop alternative treatments.
Grace E. Callen
Grace is a PhD student studying biomedical engineering at The University of Massachusetts, Lowell, currently working in Dr. Ghezzi’s Tissue Engineering Laboratory. The focus of her research is using an in vitro gingival tissue model to study host-pathogen interactions. Her future goal is to adopt this platform for other microbiota-driven inflammatory diseases, including arthritis, colorectal and pancreatic cancers, and Alzheimer's.
Paulo Henrique Borges
Paulo is a first year undergraduate student studying biomedical engineering at The University of Massachusetts, Lowell. He is assisting in research on how radiation affects human neurons to help understand both radiation therapy and space radiation and it effects on the brain. His future goal is to improve biotechnology designed to improve patient quality of life.