The people who make the magic happen :)
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Daeyeon Lee
Russell Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Professor
Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Seoul National University, 2001
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, MIT, 2007
Postdoctoral training: Experimental Soft Condensed Matter Group, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 2007-2008
email: daeyeon@seas.upenn.edu
phone: 215.573.4521
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS
Hong-Huy Tran, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Université Grenoble Alpes, France
Hometown: Phan Rang-Thap Cham, Vietnam
Major: Materials Science
Joined Lab: April 2022 (co-advised by Prof. Hyun (Michel) Koo)
Research: Biofilm removal
Sang Yup Lee Ph.D.
Graduated From: Korea University (Seoul, South Korea)
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Major: Chemical Engineering, Interfacial Engineering
Joined Lab: September 2024
Research: Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Macromolecules and Nanoparticles
Interests: Exploring restaurants, cooking, whiskey tasting, and investing.
Gijung Kim, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Korea University (Seoul, Korea)
Hometown: Seoul, Republic of Korea
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Joined Lab: October 2024 (co-advised by Prof. David Issadore)
Research: On-chip lipid nanoparticle quantification and qualification
Interests: Swimming, weight training, and playing piano
Seongsu Cho, Ph.D.
Graduate From: Sungkyunkwan University (Suwon, Korea)
Hometown: Hanam, Korea
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Joined Lab: May 2025 (co-advised by Prof. David Issadore)
Research: Lipid nanoparticle fabrication using microfluidics
Interests: Traveling, Photography, Cycling, Enjoying coffee
Hashir Gauri, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Louisiana State University
Year: (Postdoc)
Hometown: Lahore, Pakistan
Major: Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: July 2025 (co-advised by Dr. Kathleen Stebe and Dr. Ivan Dmochowski)
Research: Rare earth elements recovery
Uiseok Hwang, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Sungkyunkwan University, Korea
Hometown: Seoul, Korea
Major: Polymer Science and Engineering
Joined Lab: July 2025 (co-advised by Prof. Robert Riggleman)
Research: Polymer physics and transport phenomena, Polymer upcycling, Colloid and interface science, Functional polymer composites
Ji Hoon Kim, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Seoul National University (Seoul, South Korea)
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Major: Chemical and Biological Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2025
Research: Hydrogel-based actuators, micro-/nano-patterning, mechanical instabilities of soft matter (@continuum scale)
Interests: Soccer, coffee, music
Jiwon Kim, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Chung-Ang University (Seoul, Korea)
Hometown: Seoul, Korea
Major: Bioengineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2026
Research: Antimicrobial nano-bio materials
Interests: Traveling, Playing squash, and Running
Jiseong Choi, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Sogang University
Hometown: Daejeon, South Korea
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2026
Research: Soft materials, micro/nanostructured surfaces, optical and mechanical interfaces
Interests: Delicious food, Traveling, Coffee
Woo Jin Mun, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Yonsei University (Seoul, Korea)
Hometown: Incheon, Korea
Major: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Joined Lab: September 2026
Research: Polymer nanocomposites, Gas separation membranes
Interests: Listening to music, Watching sports
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Hoang Dinh
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: MIT
Hometown: Hanoi, Vietnam
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2021
Research: Distributed Ribonucleic Acid Manufacturing (DReAM) using bijel.
Interests: baking, badminton, jazz, and J-Pop
Siddharth Sharma
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Penn State
Hometown: New Delhi, India
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2021
Research: Bioprocess upscaling using microfluidics
Interests: Movies, Traveling, Painting, Dancing.
Sophie Haddad
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Lebanese University, Faculty of Medical Sciences
Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon
Major: Bioengineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2022
Research: Theranostic Microbubbles
Interests: Traveling, cooking, trying new foods
Philip Iaccarino
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: Stony Brook University
Hometown: Farmingdale, New York
Major: M.S. and B.E. in Chemical and Molecular Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2022
Research: Bijel 3D printing
Interests: Ultimate frisbee, cooking, watching sports, live music, good food
Kaiwen Wang
Year: PhD Student
Graduated From: Johns Hopkins University
Hometown: Nanjing, China
Major: B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Joined Lab: Spring 2023
Research: Polymer Upcycling
Interests: Video games, board games, cooking, singing, good food and good drinks.
Gabriela Gomez-Dopazo
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: University of Puerto Rico - Cayey
Hometown: Cayey, Puerto Rico
Major: B.S. in Chemistry
Joined Lab: Fall 2023
Research: Bicontinuous Interfacially Jammed Emulsion Gels
Interests: Cooking, rock climbing, pottery and exploring the city.
Amanda Hopkins
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: University of Delaware
Hometown: Springfield, PA
Major: Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: May 2024
Research: Autonomous motion of enzymatically driven Janus and non-Janus micromotors
Interests: Sports, reading, exploring Philly, traveling
Ronnie Cunitz
Year: PhD Candidate
Graduated From: University of Mississippi
Hometown: Makakilo, HI
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2024
Research: Enzyme-Driven Protocell Motion
Interests: climbing, running, hiking, cooking
Hayley Jankowski
Year: Master’s to PhD Bridge
Graduated From: Rowan University
Hometown: Barnegat, NJ
Major: B.S. in Biomedical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2025
Research: Pressure-Sensitive Microcapsules
Interests: Hiking, Traveling, Movies, and Sports
Yijin Huang
Year: 1st year PhD student
Graduated From: Tsinghua University
Hometown: Fujian, China
Major: B.S. in Fundamental Science (Chemistry & Biology); B.E. in Chemical and Industrial Biological Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2025
Research: Fabrication of Microcapsules by Phase Separation
Interests: Running, traveling, music
Eitan Jentis
Year: PhD Student
Graduated From: Cornell University
Hometown: Bridgewater, NJ
Major: B.S. in Biomedical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2025
Research Interests: Microfluidics and Nanofabrication
Hobbies: Volleyball, golf, chess, live music, reading in Rittenhouse Square
Gianna Fiduccia
Year: PhD Student
Graduated From: Georgia Institute of Technology
Hometown: Yardley, PA
Major: B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2025
Research: Integrated Microfluidic Synthesis of Antibody-Conjugated Lipid Nanoparticles for Targeted Drug Delivery
Interests: Yoga, running, travelling
Mary Hannah Irwin
Year: PhD Student
Graduated From: University of Tennessee
Hometown: Knoxville, TN
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2025
Research: Micro/Nanoplastic Detection
Interests: Hiking with my two poodles, Board games, Exploring philly food scene, Music
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Ting Yu Chen
Year: PhD Student
Graduated From: National Taiwan University
Hometown: Taiwan
Major: B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2025
Research: Stimuli-Responsive Neuron-Inspired Droplets
Interests: traveling, movies, shopping
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Kaya Jain
Year: Class of 2028
Graduated From: undergrad
Hometown: Summit, NJ
Major: chemical and biomolecular engineering
Joined Lab: June 2025
Research: Developing shelf-stable formulations for RNA
Interests: Cooking, going out to eat/trying new foods, tennis, and fashion.
Chloe Furst
Year: Undergraduate Class of 2028
Graduated From: GFS
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Major: B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2025
Research: Porous double-emulsion capsules
Interests: Cooking, hiking, rock climbing, reading, vinyl LPs
VISITING SCHOLARS
Minsoo Kim
Graduated From: University of Pennsylvania
Hometown: Seoul, Republic of Korea
Major: B.S. in Biomedical Engineering
M.S. in Biomedical Engineering
Joined Lab: July 2025
Research: Lipid nanoparticle formulation and optimization
Interests: Running, Playing tennis and golf
Jihun Lim
Graduated From: Sungkyunkwan University, Korea
Hometown: Seoul, Korea
Major: B.S. in Chemistry
M.S. in Chemical Engineering
Joined Lab: September 2026
Research: Autonomous motion of enzymatically and magnetically driven Janus micromotors.
Interests: Traveling, Cooking, exploring the city.
Seokyoung Bae, Ph.D.
Graduated From: Seoul National University
Hometown: Seoul, Korea
Major: Chemical and Biological Engineering
Joined Lab: Fall 2026
Research: Polymer physics of nanoconfined chains, Interfacial phenomena at polymer-solid interfaces
Interests: movies, basketball, soccer