PEOPLE

Tim is an Assistant Professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Boston University. He grew up in Brisbane, Australia and moved to the USA in 2009 for graduate study supported by a John Monash Scholarship. He is passionate about working on treatments for Spinal Cord Injury and other CNS disorders. In his free time, he enjoys long distance running and watching cricket.

Postdoc: UCLA with Michael Sofroniew (Neurobiology) and Tim Deming (Bioengineering). Supported by Craig H Neilsen Foundation, American Australian Association, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Wings for Life.

PhD: Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP), HST program of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with Robert Langer (MIT).

B Eng (Medical) Hons I and MEng (Management) from QUT, Brisbane, Australia.

ERIC DUBOIS

Eric is a graduate student in the BU BME PhD program. He completed his undergraduate studies at Brown University where he worked as an undergraduate researcher with Ian Wong. His primary interests are in biomaterials synthesis, development and characterization.

Outside of work, Eric can be found exploring the city of Boston, trying the many foods around the Charles River Campus and beyond. On the weekends, he likes to spend his free time hiking around the woods of New Hampshire in the summer and skiing in the winter.

BS (BME) from Brown University.

HONOUR ADEWUMI

Honour is a graduate student in the BU BME PhD program. She completed her undergraduate studies at Jarvis Christian College where she worked with Dr. Shakhawat Bhuiyan and Dr. Glendora Carter. Her interests are regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. In her free time she likes to workout, eat, have conversations and sing.

BS (Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics) from Jarvis Christian College.

Paige is a graduate student in the BU BME PhD program. She worked for two years in Dr. Tannin Schmidt’s Lab at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, CT. She is passionate about developing new treatments for Parkinson’s disease.
In her free time Paige enjoys dancing in the city, hiking in NH and VT, and exploring Boston with friends.

BSE (BME) from University of Connecticut

LABONI HASSAN

Laboni is a graduate student in the BU BME PhD program. She completed her undergraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University where she conducted research with Dr. Jordan Green. Her interests are in biomaterials and drug delivery. In her free time she enjoys reading and exploring Boston with friends.

BS (BME) from Johns Hopkins University

MATTHEW SIMKULET

Matt is a graduate student in the BU BME PhD program. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University at Buffalo, where he worked with Dr. Rita Alevriadou. He is interested in regenerative medicine and intravital microscopy. Outside of the lab, Matt enjoys bouldering, watching soccer, and discovering new music.

BS (BME) University at Buffalo

KATE HERREMA

Kate is a graduate student in the BU BME PhD program. She completed her undergraduate studies at Virginia Tech and worked as an undergraduate researcher with Dr. Jennifer Munson. Her interests include biomaterials and cellular neuroscience. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, playing the flute, and trying new food in the city.

BS (BME) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute

JACOB LABOVITZ

Jacob is a Junior undergraduate student in the BU BME program. His interests are in CNS wound repair and biomaterials. He was awarded a Distinguished Summer Research Fellowship for 2023 to study the use of biomaterials as metabolic fuel for wound repair. In his free time, he enjoys rock climbing, playing piano, and cooking.

EMILY MCCARTHY

Emily is a Junior undergraduate student in the BU BME program, and is also pursuing a Machine Learning concentration. Her interests are in regenerative medicine and learning more about tissue/cell engineering. She was awarded UROP funding in the spring and this summer to analyze the impact of conditioned neural progenitor cells in diverse stroke injuries. In her free time she enjoys rock climbing with friends, reading, and exploring Boston.

KAYLA DUNSON

Kayla is a Junior undergraduate student in the BU College of Arts and Science, pursuing a Neuroscience major and a minor in French. She loves learning about brain function on a cellular level. In her free time she likes to read, watch French shows, and go to the beach when she’s at home.

HAN REN LEONG

Han Ren is a Junior undergraduate in the Engineering Science Programme at the National University of Singapore. He is currently visiting the O’Shea Lab to optimize dendrimer nanoparticle functionalization for cell viability and uptake. Outside of the lab, he likes to explore the city and the outdoors, go for a long walk along the Charles River and dreams of someday backpacking across the Pacific Trail.

Ben contributes to ongoing research in the O’Shea lab by providing detailed insight into his own lived experience over the past two decades with spinal cord injury (SCI). Additionally, he provides end-user consumer advocacy and feedback on research priorities and goals for the group through participation in lab meetings and project specific planning meetings with our bench research team. He has been a staunch advocate for SCI research over many years and works hard to improve the lives of those living with SCI in his local community in Brisbane, Australia.

Dr. O’Shea and Mr. Harvey have been best friends for over 22 years and it was Ben’s accident that catalyzed Dr. O’Shea’s passion for SCI research and prompted him to pursue a scientific career dedicated to SCI research.