
Principal Investigator
Graduate Students

Abigail Secu-Godiciu
a.secugodiciu@ufl.eduAbigail is a first year Masters in Biomedical Engineering Student. Abigail earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Florida. Her interests lie in biomaterial development with a special interest in using bio-inspired design to develop better tissue substitutes. She is currently working on the tissue engineered dura project.

Maria Carbon
carbonmaria@ufl.eduMaria Carbon is a second-year biomedical engineering Masters student. She is originally from Panama City, Panama and loves everything fitness related. Currently, Maria is assisting mentor Jasmine Smith with a traumatic brain injury study.

Alex Knapp
a.knapp1993@ufl.eduAlexander Knapp is a third-year PhD student studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Florida. Currently, Alexander is developing a continuum-damage constitutive model of the anterior cruciate ligament for modeling purposes. His research interests include soft tissue biomechanics, non-linear elasticity, and finite element modeling of biological structures. When not in the lab, his main passion is choral music, and hopes to one day combine his degree and passions together in his research as a professor.

Ashma Sharma
ashmasharma@ufl.eduAshma Sharma is a fourth-year doctoral student under the advisement of Dr. Lakiesha Williams in Biomedical Engineering. Ashma is currently working at Tissue Mechanics, Microstructure, and Modeling Laboratory at University of Florida. Her research interest lies within studying the structure of tissue, cell culture, and mechanical property. She is currently working on the tissue engineered Dura project. Ashma received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Mississippi State University.

Jasmine Smith
ferrelljasmine@ufl.eduJasmine Smith is a second-year doctoral student in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Florida. She is currently working under the advisement of Dr. Lakeisha Williams in the Tissue Mechanics, Micro-structure, and Modeling laboratory. Jasmine previously attended Mississippi State University and obtained her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry. Her research interest lies within the realm of studying injury mechanics of soft tissues, structure of soft tissues, and MRI technology application. She is currently working on the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) project where she is looking at the impact that mTBIs have on adolescents that are involved in sports. She is currently working with MRI to assess the brains of adolescent rats that have sustained mild head impacts. She will be working with MPI and nanoparticle technology soon.
Undergraduate Students

Fabiana Amato
fabiana.amato@ufl.eduFabiana is a fourth-year Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Student. Fabiana is currently working on determining the mechanical changes in the brain after repetitive head trauma using an animal model. Mechanical changes directly affect the functionality of this organ. Understanding the mechanical properties of injured brain can help us relate the loss of certain functions with specific changes in tissue mechanics. Fabiana is from Venezuela and a fun fact is that I love to draw cartoons.

Katie Achinger
Name
Role in the lab
Where are they now?
Bassam Smadi
Graduate Student
Cierra Gibson
Undergraduate Student
Dari Samson
Undergraduate Student
Jennifer Bateman
Undergraduate Student
Mark Begonia
Graduate Student
Cameron Boswell
Graduate Student
Brenda Burke
Undergraduate Student
Thapthim Bussararungsee
Undergraduate Student
Bryce Chapman
Undergraduate Student
Kedisha Christie
Graduate Student
John Clemmer
Graduate Student
Erin Colebeck
Undergraduate Student
Debrah Davis
Graduate Student
William Dean
Undergraduate Student
Farid Elhaddad
Graduate Student
Armoney Emmanuel
Undergraduate Student
Me’Lanae Garrett
Undergraduate Student
Ryan Gilbrech
Undergraduate Student
David Harbarger
Undergraduate Student
Jordan Hor
Undergraduate Student
Haden Johnson
Graduate Student
Alex Kahn
Graduate Student
Julialake Landrum
Undergraduate Student
Michael Murphy
Graduate Student
Hemanth Nennapannini
Undergraduate Student
Adesola Oje
Undergraduate Student
Onyema Oyeka
Graduate Student
Renee Pietsch
Graduate Student
Samuel Pote
Graduate Student
Rahul Radhakrishna
Graduate Student
Sammira Rais Rohani
Undergraduate Student
Stephanie Ryland
Graduate Student
Emily Smith
Undergraduate Student
Taylor Szasz
Undergraduate Student
Nicholas Tilghman
Undergraduate Student
Kenyatta Washington
Graduate Student
Ashley Williams
Undergraduate Student
Thomas Cole Young
Undergraduate Student