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Our Team

Core Members

Chang Chen

Ph.D

I am a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in MEMS and Nanotechnology. My research focuses on developing a machine–learning–based active cell sorter integrated with the Node-Pore Sensing (NPS) platform. When I’m not in the lab, I enjoy family time and hands-on DIY projects in woodworking and 3D printing.

Taylor Thomsen

Ph.D

I am a Bioengineering PhD Candidate who is passionate about reproductive disease and diagnostics. Currently, I am measuring menstrual effluent-derived cells to discover novel mechanical biomarkers for endometriosis. In my free time, I refurbish vintage sewing machines and make my own clothes.

Changwoo Song, PhD

Postdoc

I am a post-doctoral researcher who holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. my primary research focuses on the development of a mechano node-pore sensing platform. Outside of the lab, I enjoy watching baseball games and playing the bass guitar.

Jenna Patel

Undergraduate

I’m a third-year Bioengineering student at UC Berkeley with a strong interest in biomechanics and how it can be applied to develop smarter devices and solutions in healthcare. I love exploring the intersection of biology, technology, and design to see how engineering can directly improve people’s lives. While being originally from Southern California, I balance my studies with baking, music, and spending time with friends.

Sabrina Fang

Undergraduate

Hi, my name is Sabrina and I’m a third year undergraduate student studying bioengineering. I joined Sohn Lab in Spring 2025 and have been working with Node-Pore Sensing. I’m from San Francisco and outside of lab I love traveling, exploring new food spots, and pretty sunsets!

Aaron Lee

Undergraduate

I am a second-year undergraduate pursuing a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. My primary interests are in oncological risk factors and predictive markers. Outside of research, I enjoy playing tennis and guitar.

Emilie Petit

Undergraduate

Hi, my name is Emilie and I'm a third year undergraduate student studying bioengineering. I have worked in the Sohn Lab since the summer of 2023 working with the Mechano-Node-Pore Sensing platform with projects to optimize it and studying cell properties. I am from southern California, and outside the lab I enjoy being active and binge-watching TV.

Emma Horne

Undergraduate

Hi, my name is Emma, and I am a third year undergraduate studying Bioengineering. I am interested in medical devices, therapeutics development, and clinical research. I am from San Diego, and outside of the lab I love going to the beach, concerts, and trying new restaurants with friends!

Carolina Adamary Cabezas

Undergraduate

Hi, my name is Carolina Cabezas, and I am a second-year Bioengineering student pursuing medical device development with a focus on MEMS and Nanoscale technologies. Currently, I’m working on the Node Pore Sensing project to quantify extracellular vesicles via device fabrication, data collection, and signal processing.

Qiaoyu ( Emily) Wang

Undergraduate

Hi, my name is Qiaoyu (Emily). I’m a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in Bioengineering with interests in biomechanics and medical devices. I joined the Sohn Lab in 2025 summer and have been working on the Node-Pore Sensing system. Outside of lab, I also enjoy street dance, kendo, and traveling.

Dakota McMillan

Lab Associate

I have a passion for all things science, and since the Sohn Lab does both mechanical engineering and cell biology, I am happy to be able to participate in a variety of specialties.

Hani Khayatei Houssaini

High School Intern

I’m a senior at Berkeley High School and hope to study bioengineering starting fall 2026. Beyond studying extracellular vesicles in the lab, I enjoy playing the double and trombone around the Bay Area.

Alumni

  • Geoffrey Facer, Ph.D.: Cellular Research
  • Ian Chan, Ph.D.: Stanford Research Systems
  • Swomitra Mohanty, Ph.D.: Assistant Prof., Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of Utah
  • Sewoon Han, Ph.D.:  CellFE
  • Molly Kozminsky, Ph.D.: Assistant Prof., Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Iowa State University
  • James Hack: Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Delaware
  • Matthew Chambers: Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University
  • Kristen Cotner (Ph.D. in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, 2022):  Avails Medical
  • Nathaniel Liu (M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley, 2020)
  • Brian Li (Ph.D. in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, 2021): Illumina
  • Thomas Carey (Ph.D. in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, 2021): Inscripta, Inc.
  • Roberto Falcón-Banchs (Ph.D. in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, 2020): Illumina
  • Olivia Scheideler (Ph.D. in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, 2019): Adimab
  • Nahyun Cho (Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, UC Berkeley, 2018): Artemys Foods
  • Junghyun Kim (Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley, 2018):  Illumina
  • Francois Rivest (M.S. in Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne, 2016)
  • Karthik Balakrishnan (Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley, 2014): Nodexus
  • Eric Jabart (Ph.D. in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, 2013): Zephyrus Biosciences
  • Rebecca Dylla-Spears (Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, UC Berkeley, 2009): Lawrence Livermore National Lab
  • Andrea Carbonaro (Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley, 2008): Life Technologies
  • Omar A. Saleh (Ph.D. in Physics, Princeton University, 2003): Associate Professor, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, UCSB
  • Matt Bronars (2019-2022): EECS & Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2022
  • Everett Morton (2018-2021): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2021—Bioengineering Scholars Program, UC Berkeley
  • Priya Vijayakumar (2018-2021): Cognitive Science, UC Berkeley, Class of 2021
  • Jennifer Hall (2018-2021): Molecular & Cellular Biology, UC Berkeley, Class of 2021
  • Alice Mo (2020): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2021
  • Kristina Chan (2019-2020): Bioengineering & MEB, UC Berkeley, Class of 2020
  • Ashna Mangla (2018-2020): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2020
  • Youngbin Kim (2017-2019): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2019
  • Seraphina Joseph (2018): Berkeley High School, Class of 2020
  • Claudia S. Perez-Draper (2018): Molecular Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Class of 2019—Amgen Scholar
  • Alice Ma (2016-2018): Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley, Class of 2019
  • Connie Yu (2016-2018): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2018
  • Emma Cimenelli (2016-2018): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2019
  • Hannah Tang (2017-2018): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2018
  • Justin Lee (2017-2018): Molecular & Cellular Biology, UC Berkeley, Class of 2018
  • Bita Mehziz (2017): Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2019
  • Sabrina Chern (2017): Bioengineering, Harvard University, Class of 2020
  • Vincent Kwan (2016-2017): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2019
  • Kevin Luong (2016-2017): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2019
  • Ji Min Li (2015-2017): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2018
  • Nathaniel Liu (2016): Mechanical Engineering, UC San Diego, Class of 2017
  • Brian Li (2015): Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas-Austin, Class of 2016—Amgen Scholar
  • Shane Pracar (2015): Biology, George Washington University, Class of 2018
  • Kathleen Keh (2015): Chemical Biology, UC Berkeley, Class of 2015
  • Ilyssa Evans (2015-2016): Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2016
  • Shun Yao (2015): Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2016
  • Roy Park (2014-2015): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2016
  • Serena Leong (2014-2016): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2016
  • Andrew Sum (2014-2015): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2016 —QUEST scholar (Summer, 2014)
  • Andy Lei (2014-2016): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2016—QUEST scholar (Summer, 2014)
  • Rui Li (2013-2015): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2015
  • Christopher Divsalar (2014): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2014 (Fall)
  • Kelly Goodman (2014): Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, UC Berkeley, Class of 2014
  • Peter Su (2013): Chemical Engineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2014
  • Youny Kuang (2013-2014): Molecular & Cellular Biology, UC Berkeley, Class of 2015
  • Christina Lin (2013-2015): Chemical Biology, UC Berkeley, Class of 2015—Rose Hills Fellow (Summer, 2014)
  • Jeremy Whang (2013-2014): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2014
  • Justin Inman (2013-2014): Molecular & Cellular Biology, UC Berkeley, Class of 2014
  • Cal Dewar (2013): Molecular & Cellular Biology, UC Berkeley, Class of 2015
  • Cassidy Werner (2013): Chemical Biology, UC Berkeley, Class of 2015
  • Richard Hwang (2012-2013): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2013
  • Eugene Chao (2012-2013): Physics, UC Berkeley, Class of 2013
  • Trong Ngyuen (2012-2013): Engineering Physics, UC Berkeley, Class of 2013
  • Bo Qing (2011-2013): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2013
  • Anand Kesavaraju (2011-2012): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2012
  • Andrew Yu (2012): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2013
  • Evan Lyall (2011-2012): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2012
  • Katherine Mellis (2011): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2014
  • Farzin Fatollah-Fard (2011): Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2012
  • Sachin Rangarajan (2010): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2013—Berkeley Stem-Cell Center Summer Apprenticeship (2011)
  • Nga Ho (2008-2010): Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2010
  • James Hack (2008-2010): Engineering Physics, UC Berkeley, Class of 2010
  • Jonathan Beard (2007): ME, UC Berkeley, Class of 2009
  • Nathan Sanford (2006-2007): ME, UC Berkeley, Class of 2008
  • Corinne Lieu (2005; 2009-2010): Engineering, UCSD, Class of 2008
  • Jonathan Tesch (2005-2006): ME, UC Berkeley, Class of 2006
  • Donald Winston (2004-2006): EECS, UC Berkeley, Class of 2006
  • Jason Lee (2004): Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley, Class of 2005
  • Alexander McDonald (2001-2002): Biology/Biophysics, Princeton Univ., Class of 2005
  • Jonathan Hoffman (2001-2002): Biology, Princeton Univ., Class of 2002
  • Richard Allan (1999-2001): Biology/Biophysics, Princeton Univ., Class of 2002
  • Craig Nakan (2000): Biology concentrator, Princeton Univ., Class of 2003
  • Christopher Roeser (1998): Harvard University Graduate Student

5113 Etcheverry Hall, UC Berkeley

Berkeley, CA 94708