Jonathan earned his B.Sc. in 2006 from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY). He then moved to Stanford University (Stanford, CA) where he earned a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering studying structure and electronic transport properties of organic electronics materials. In 2012, he joined the Dept. of Bioelectronics at the Ecole des Mines de Saint-Etienne in France as a Marie Curie post-doctoral fellow, working on conducting polymer based devices for bioelectronic recording and stimulation. Jonathan spent 2015-2016 as a member of the research staff at the Palo Alto Research Center (Palo Alto, CA) before joining the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University in 2017.

Xudong earned his B.Eng. in Thermal Science and Energy Engineering in 2014 from University of Science and Technology of China and worked on microfluidic-based blood cell separation. He then moved to Dr. Paddy Chan’s group in The University of Hong Kong and worked on organic bioelectronics. He has been focused on the fabrication and characterization of both organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) and organic field effect transistor (OFET), fabrication of biosensors through surface bio-functionalization of metal electrode in transistors as well as utilization of non-volatile OECT for neuromorphic devices in his doctoral study. After received his Ph.D. degree in 2019, He joined the Rivnay Lab as a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University. His current research focuses on the fabrication of biochemical sensors based on aptamer functionalized OECT as well as the design of organic/inorganic hybrid circuits. In his spare time, he likes to play basketball and go to the gym.

Abhijith started his engineering journey during his undergrad at TKMCE, Kollam. He primarily focused on robotics, developing co-operating robots, self-balancing robots, and speech recognition. He launched his research career during his master’s in Nanotechnology at NIT Karnataka under the supervision of Prof. Anandhan Srinivasan. He worked on developing highly porous electro-spun polymer gel electrolytes for Li ion and Na ion batteries. Later he moved to a highly interdisciplinary team at NTU Singapore, working on various kinds of materials such as perovskites and organic semiconductors under the supervision of Prof. Leong Wei Lin. Thanks to the vibrant colleagues, he prolifically collaborated with various research teams and worked on developing photodetectors, OFETs, OECTs, and neuromorphic devices. He earned his PhD for revealing the fundamentals of ionic liquid doping for enhancing solid state OECT (SSOECT) performance. In Rivnay lab, he is working on an implantable ‘living pharmacy’ called NTRAIN (Normalizing Timing of Rhythms Across Internal Networks of Circadian Clocks) that focuses on controlling body’s sleep/wake cycles.

Michelle graduated from Alfred University in 2019 with a BS in Ceramic Engineering and a BFA in Sculpture. During her time as an undergraduate, Michelle researched under Dr. Alexis Clare where she developed a photoluminescent silicate glass using zinc and copper additives. Before joining the Rivnay group in 2024, she worked as a process engineer working with optical ceramics. In her free time, Michelle continues to make art with a variety of materials including silicone and resin. Her personal art website is www.michellelotz.com

Catherine earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Laval University, Canada, where she conducted undergraduate research in peptide synthesis under Professor Éric Biron and polymer chemistry with Professor Mario Leclerc. She continued her academic journey at Laval University, obtaining her M.Sc. in 2020 and her Ph.D. in 2024. During her Ph.D., under the guidance of Professor Leclerc, she developed innovative water-soluble polymers for printed organic electronics. In recognition of her work, she was awarded an NSERC postdoctoral fellowship and joined the Rivnay Lab in 2024 as a postdoctoral scholar. Her current research interests lie in synthesizing new conjugated polymers for lipid bilayer stabilization. Outside the lab, Catherine enjoys figure skating, snowboarding and reading.

Priscila joined the Rivnay lab in 2024 as a MRSEC Postdoctoral Fellow. She earned her M.Sc. in Applied Physics from the University of São Paulo in 2019. She then moved to Switzerland and obtained her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Bern. Her research focuses on understanding fundamental properties of conjugated polymers and 2D materials, using different characterization techniques to explore them. In her free time, she likes studying music and playing the flute or being outdoors.

Yebin Lee obtained her B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering and MASc in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science from Chung-Ang University, Korea. From 2013 to 2017, she worked as an engineer for Samsung Display Co., Ltd., Korea, and developed flexible display modules. She then moved to Canada and received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (Nanotechnology) from the University of Waterloo in 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Michael Tam. During her Ph.D. study, Yebin focused on the surface engineering of sustainable nanomaterials and applied them to various advanced applications. After receiving her Ph.D. degree, she held a postdoctoral position at the same research group, during which she applied her specialties to various templates for practical applications. Yebin joined the Rivnay Lab as a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University in 2024. Currently, her work is focused on developing resilient electrochemical aptamer-based biosensors. Her current research interests include a fundamental understanding of surface chemistry and materials science to overcome fouling and degradation issues of biosensors in biological environments. In her free time, she likes running, reading, writing, and playing board games.

Giovanni Maria Matrone (Gianmaria) received his Master’s degree in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology at the Politecnico of Milan in 2015. During his studies he spent a term as a visiting student at Imperial College London. In April 2016, he joined the Innovative Training Network (ITN) named INterFaces in Opto-electRonic Thin Film Multilayer Devices (INFORM) as an EarlyStageResearcher (ESR). He was also a PhD student supervised by Prof. Natalie Stingelin at Imperial College London, his host institution. He performed secondments at University of Bayreuth, Technion University of Israel and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He defended his PhD thesis ( “Understanding structure-property relationship of bulk hetero-junction polymer-fullerene blends”) in September 2019. Soon after, in October 2019, he joined the Tissue Electronics Laboratory at the IIT Naples as postdoctoral researcher focusing on neuromorphic electronics devices with neurotransmitter-mediated plasticity. In the frame of an ongoing institutions collaboration, he then moved to Eindhoven University of Technology expanding his research towards neuromorphic spiking circuit. He joined the Rivnay Lab in September 2022. His current research focuses on the design of OECT-based spiking circuit for sensory coding and neuromorphic computing applications. In his free time, he likes running/hiking, playing video-games/ board-games and reading fantasy/sci-fi books.

Rachel graduated from Fordham University in 2021 with a B.S. in Chemistry. During her time as an undergraduate, Rachel researched under Dr. Ipsita Banerjee where she developed peptide-based nanoparticles for applications in tissue regeneration. Rachel joined Northwestern’s Biomedical Engineering PhD program in 2021. Her current research interests involve the development of hybrid conductive nerve allografts with incorporated thin-film electronics for applications in neural tissue monitoring and regeneration. In her spare time, she likes to play board games, read, and rock climb.

Naedum earned his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering in 2020 from Cornell University and worked on theranostic silica-core nanoparticles with CT and optical imaging capabilities with Professor Ulrich Wiesner. He then began his MD-PhD training at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in the fall of 2020. After completing his pre-clinical training and passing USMLE STEP 1, he began his PhD training in the Biomedical Engineering department at Northwestern under the co-mentorship of Jonathan Rivnay and Thomas Meade. He has been focused on the design of self-assembled monolayers to improve stability and function of theranostic gold substrates during in-vivo applications. He specifically applies this work to improving in-vivo performance of electrochemical biosensors and theranostic gold nanoparticles. In his spare time, he likes to play the french horn, go to the gym, visit local cafés and restaurants with his wife, and serve at his local church.

Isaiah Daniel Duplessis earned his B.S. degrees in Phtiscs and Chemistry from the University of Richmond in 2020. During his undergraduate career his research focused on cross-coupling catalysts. Joining the Materials Science and Engineering department in 2020 his current work focuses on adapting conductive oxide materials for use in bioelectronics. His hobbies are following the NBA, playing fighting games with his friends, and listening to pop and house music.

Rosalba graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a B.S. in Materials Engineering. During her undergraduate studies, Rosie researched under Dr. Konstantin Sobolev to optimize the properties of concrete and researched ways to improve and tune the electronic and magnetic properties of cement pastes. In the summers of '22 & '23 she worked as a research aide for Dr. Valentine Novosad at Argonne National Laboratory to explore transition metal nitride thin films and fabricate superconducting device architectures. Now in the Rivnay lab, her work is focused on characterizing the properties of mixed ionic/electronic conductors under the supervision of Dr. Lincoln Lauhon. In her spare time, she loves to dance, use microscopy for art, and cook new recipes.

Victoria graduated from the University of Illinios at Urbana-Champaign in 2023 with a B.S. in Bioengineering. During her undergraduate career, Victoria worked in Dr. Rashid Bashir's Laboratory of Integrated Biomedical Micro/Nanotechnology and Applications. She worked with microfluidics-based point-of-care diagnostics devices for the detection of various conditions including sepsis, COVID-19, Zika, and breast cancer. Victoria's primary interests are using electrochemical aptamer-based biosensors for diagnostics purposes in implantable devices. She is currently exploring the chemistry involved in creating anti-fouling surfaces to improve the longevity of the sensors in biological environments. In her free time, she likes to paint, knit, and bake.

Zachary graduated from Lehigh University in 2021 with a B.S. in Integrated Natural Science and Engineering. During his time as an undergraduate, Zach researched under Dr. Julie Haas where he studied connections in the brain and developed computer models for networks of neurons. Zach joined Northwestern’s Biomedical Engineering PhD program in 2022. His current research interests involve the development of neuromorphic circuits and synaptic OECTs. In his spare time, he likes to hike, read, and play board games and video games.

Junyi graduated from University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2023 with a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering and a double major in Chemistry. His undergraduate research focused on computational phase field modelling and designing piezoelectric materials under Dr. Jiamian Hu. Junyi joined the Rivnay Group as a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering in 2023. His current work involves the materials design and fabrication of in-vivo oxygenation devices for applications such as life support and wound recovery. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, biking, playing badminton, board games and video games with friends.

Dilara earned a B.S.E. in Materials Science and Engineering with a minor in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2020. During her undergraduate she worked on many projects across various fields. Most notably, she researched the mechanical properties of rotationally symmetric kirigami springs for conformable joint monitoring platforms during her time in the Shtein lab. She joined Northwestern as a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering in 2020. Now her work is centered around investigating the structure-property relations of mixed ionic/electronic conductors. Specifically, she is currently researching ion-trapping in non-volatile OECTs. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, backpacking, and trying new vegan recipes.

Beliz earned her B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2023. During first two years of her undergrad, she worked in Coskun Lab at Georgia Tech on spatial organizations of cells. Later, she joined Stingelin Lab at Georgia Tech, where she worked with hybrid hydrogels to study their structure-property relationship and mechanical properties until she graduated. She joined Northwestern as a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering in 2023. Her research in the lab focuses on lipid-bilayer sensing. In her free time, she enjoys playing instruments, singing and photographing.

John earned his MS and BS from Northwestern in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Manufacturing and Design Engineering, respectively. His passion for cutting-edge health technology led him to the Rivnay Group, in which he develops biomolecular sensors for lab-grown tissues, which are robust tools to study inflammation. Beyond the lab, he spends his time at the gym, producing 90’s-inspired house and techno music, and reading.

Xinran graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2021 with a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering. During her graduate career, Xinran researched under Dr. Shiyi Zhang where she worked on skin tissue injury repair and translated the results to a therapeutic solution for the patients. She joined Northwestern as a PhD student in 2021. Currently, Xinran is exploring how conductive materials can be used for biohybrid actuator stimulation and sensing. During her spare time, she enjoys backpacking, dancing, baking, and cooking. She has an adorable Pomsky Bubble!

Julie graduated from the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor in 2022 with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering. During her undergraduate years, Julie researched under Dr. Somin Eunice Lee studying the cell division process and further developing new approaches to gene editing to combat diseases. For her internship, she worked on creating adhesive hydrogel for acute hemostasis via in situ cross-linking through blood absorption. Julie joined Northwestern’s Biomedical Engineering M.S. program in 2024. Her current interest lies in developing adhesive conductive hydrogel for applications in tissue regeneration. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, discovering good restaurants, playing badminton, and playing games.

Chloe earned her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering with a double major in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2022. In her undergraduate years, Chloe researched under Dr. Tzahi Cohen-Karni designing and optimizing electrodes for nerve regeneration applications. Chloe joined Northwestern’s Biomedical Engineering M.S. program in 2022. In the Rivnay lab, her work is focused on improving the longevity of electrochemical aptamer-based sensing platforms. In her free time, she loves to bake, run, and read.