Primary Faculty
Professor, Bioengineering, College of Engineering and Computing
Giorgio Ascoli is a Professor in the Department of Bioengineering.
Professor, Molecular Neuroscience, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study Bioengineering College of Engineering and Computing
Kim Blackwell joined George Mason University in fall of 1996 in the Computational Sciences Institute. From 2007 through 2016 she was a member of the Molecular Neuroscience Department, and joined the Department of Bioengineering in 2016. She also has been a primary investigator in the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study since 1996.
Professor, Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing
Associate Professor, Bioengineering, College of Engineering and Computing
Parag Chitnis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering.
Assistant Professor, Bioengineering, College of Engineering and Computing
Holger Dannenberg's studies in the molecular biomedicine program at the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany taught him the scientific basis of medicine and provided him with an understanding of disease mechanisms. As a student, his interest in neuroscience and immunology led him to pursue his diploma thesis on studying microglia and their role in Alzheimer’s disease. Dannenberg continued this inquiry in his PhD thesis in Experimental Epileptology and Cognition Research in Bonn, Germany studying neuronal ensembles, neural engrams, and their modulation by acetylcholine in-vivo.
Professor, Bioengineering, College of Engineering and Computing
Caroline Hoemann (BA, UCSD; PhD, MIT) is a full professor of Bioengineering at George Mason University. Prior to this, she was a professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, where she spent 15 years directing a federally-funded research program on the role of inflammation in articular cartilage repair.
Associate Professor, Bioengineering, College of Engineering and Computing
Many neurological diseases are marked by a process of white matter neurodegeneration; that is, a breakdown of specific brain tissue involved in higher-order cognitive function. The global rise of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is of urgent focus, but better medical diagnostic systems also offer epilepsy and multiple sclerosis patients hope. Since August 2009 Vasiliki Ikonomidou’s research conducted at Mason’s Krasnow Institute for Advanced Studies has been focused on improving MRI technologies to detect this unique and difficult to measure symptom.
Assistant Professor Bioengineering College of Engineering and Computing
Eugene Kim is primarily focused on engineering education and the scholarship of teaching and learning, specifically in the areas of active learning and team-based learning. His research interests have been in developing protein-based biomaterials using microbial platforms for the production of strong underwater bioadhesives and biocomposites. He received his BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan and PhD in Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.
Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering and University Affiliate Faculty, Bioengineering, College of Engineering and Computing
Nathalia was a technician in electronics and robotics before she decided to go to college. After attending universities in Brazil (Unicamp and USP) and Germany (Stuttgart and Bonn), she was a researcher at Stanford. She still likes to travel and her group collaborates with universities in Israel, Ireland, Peru, and Korea.
Assistant Professor and Associate Chair Bioengineering College of Engineering and Computing
Shani Ross received her bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Howard University in Washington, DC in 2004 and her master's and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering with a bioelectrical concentration from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, in 2006 and 2013, respectively. Her current research involves studying bladder neurophysiology and working on a closed-loop neuroprosthesis for bladder control. In general, Ross’ research interests are in the areas of neural engineering and neuromodulation.