Raquel Lieberman is the Sepcic-Pfeil Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Georgia Tech. Her research program focuses on biophysical and structural characterization of proteins and the impact of disease-associated mutations on function or dysfunction (e.g. aggregation). Rooted in basic research, the long-term goal of her research program is to convert mechanistic discoveries into disease-modifying therapies.

A major research project in her lab is investigations of glaucoma-associated herocilin, which has been funded by NIH since March 2011. Her lab has made major strides toward detailed molecular understanding of herocilin structure, function, and disease pathogenesis. They have divulged similarities between herocilin-associated glaucoma and other protein misfolding disorders, particularly aherloid diseases. Cumulatively, their work is leading to the first disease-modifying glaucoma therapeutic.

Lieberman also has a track record in membrane enzymes dating back to her thesis work where she solved the first crystal structure of the copper-dependent particulate methane monooxygenase. During her postdoc she shifted focus to intramembrane aspartyl proteases (IAPs), particularly those involved in neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer’s disease. In her independent lab she developed new proteomics-based assays to measure IAP proteolysis. The lab also collaborates with physicists at Oak Ridge National Labs to use neutron scattering to probe structure and lipids in solution. This work has been funded by NSF and NIH.

She serves on the Executive Council of the Protein Society and as an academic editor for PLoS Biology. She also serves as co-PI of the Department of Education GAANN program in Biochemistry & Biophysics at Georgia Tech and on the advisory committees in a variety of capacities.

Marcus T Cicerone received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1994, under the direction of Mark Ediger. He spent three years at Johnson & Johnson Clinical Diagnostics, served as a visiting teaching professor at Brigham Young University for two years, and subsequently joined the National Institute of Standards and Technology in 2001, where he remained for 18 years, serving as a group leader and project leader. In January 2019 he joined the Georgia Institute of Technology as a Professor of Chemistry. 

Professor Cicerone is a fellow of American Physical Society, and has received several awards for his efforts in coherent Raman-based biological imaging and for his work in dynamics of liquids and amorphous solids. These include a Johnson & Johnson Director’s Research Award, two Department of Commerce Bronze metals, the 2015 Washington Academy of Sciences Physical & Biological Sciences Award, and the 2017 Arthur S. Flemming Award.

Dr. Lindsey previously developed matrix array transducers, adaptive beamforming strategies, and interventional devices in Stephen Smith’s lab at Duke University, where he received a Ph.D. for his work in 3D transcranial ultrasound.  While at Duke, he was the recipient of a pre-doctoral fellowship from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of the Duke Medical Imaging Training Program.  He also completed postdoctoral training in the labs of Paul Dayton and Xiaoning Jiang at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University in contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging and in the design and fabrication of high frequency, interventional ultrasound transducers.  During this time, he was awarded the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the NIH to develop endoscopic transducers for contrast-specific imaging in pancreatic cancer.  Dr. Lindsey recently joined the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech-Emory, where he leads the Ultrasonic Imaging and Instrumentation Laboratory.  Dr. Lindsey is an active member of the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Society, the Biomedical Engineering Society and the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and is a member of the Technical Program Committee for the IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium.  In 2022, Dr. Lindsey received the New Investigator award from the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. At Georgia Tech, Dr. Lindsey holds a primary appointment in Biomedical Engineering.  He is also a faculty member for the Interdisciplinary Bioengineering Graduate Program and holds an adjunct appointment in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Lab members have received best paper, best poster, and best student pitch awards from the IEEE UFFC Society. Research activities in the lab are currently funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Pamela Bhatti is Professor and Associate Chair for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Tech. Her research is dedicated to overcoming sensory loss in human hearing through focused neural stimulation, and novel implantable sensors. Dr. Bhatti also conducts research in cardiac imaging to assess and monitor cardiovascular disease. She received her B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley (1989), her M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington (1993), and her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2006). In 2013, she earned an M.S. in Clinical Research from Emory University, and co-founded a startup company (Camerad Technologies) based on her research in detecting wrong-patient errors in radiology. Dr. Bhatti is the IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine, Editor-in-Chief; and, in 2017, received the Georgia Tech Class of 1934 Outstanding Interdisciplinary Activities Award.

Dr. Adegboyega “Yomi” Oyelere has received PhD from Brown University in 1998. Currently, he works as an associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Dr. Stanislav Emelianov is a Joseph M. Pettit Endowed Chair, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, and Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also appointed at the Emory University School of Medicine, where he is affiliated with Winship Cancer Institute, Department of Radiology, and other clinical units. Furthermore, Dr. Emelianov is Director of the Ultrasound Imaging and Therapeutics Research Laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology focused on the translation of diagnostic imaging & therapeutic instrumentation, and nanobiotechnology for clinical applications. 

Throughout his career, Dr. Emelianov has been devoted to the development of advanced imaging methods capable of detecting and diagnosing cancer and other pathologies, assisting treatment planning, and enhancing image-guided therapy and monitoring of the treatment outcome. He is specifically interested in intelligent biomedical imaging and sensing ranging from molecular imaging to small animal imaging to clinical applications. Furthermore, Dr. Emelianov develops approaches for image-guided molecular therapy and therapeutic applications of ultrasound and electromagnetic energy. Finally, nanobiotechnology plays a critical role in his research. In the course of his work, Dr. Emelianov has pioneered several ultrasound-based imaging techniques, including shear wave elasticity imaging and molecular photoacoustic imaging. Overall, projects in Dr. Emelianov's laboratory, which focuses on cancer and other diseases, range from molecular imaging to functional imaging and tissue differentiation, from drug delivery and release to image-guided surgery and intervention.

Yonggang Ke's research is highly interdisciplinary combining chemistry, biology, physics, material science, and engineering. The overall mission of his research is to use interdisciplinary research tools to program nucleic-acid-based "beautiful structures and smart devices" at nanoscale, and use them for scientific exploration and technological applications. Specifically, his team focuses on (1) developing new DNA self-assembly paradigms for constructing DNA nanostructures with greater structural complexity, and with controllable sizes and shapes; (2) developing new imaging or drug delivery systems based on DNA nanostructuresl; (3) exploring design of novel DNA-based nanodevices for understanding basic biological questions at molecular level; (4) developing DNA-templated protein devices for constructing artificial bio-reactors.

For cancer-related research/application, Ke will focus on using DNA/RNA nanostructures as drug delivery vehicles. He is also interested in using DNA/RNA nanostructures to study cancer cell biology at molecular level.

Mark Styczynski is an Associate Professor in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), doing research at the interface of synthetic and systems biology as applied to metabolic systems. His synthetic biology work focuses on the development of low-cost, minimal-equipment biosensors for the diagnosis of nutritional deficiencies in the developing world. His systems biology work uses computational and experimental methods to characterize metabolic dynamics and regulation using metabolomics data. He has received young investigator awards from the NSF, DARPA, and ORAU. He has won multiple department-and institute-level teaching awards at Georgia Tech. He founded and was the first president of the Metabolomics Association of North America (MANA), and is a Council Member in the Engineering BiologyResearch Consortium.