People

Professor Edelman also serves as the Director of the Institute of Medical Engineering and Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and occupant of the Edward J. Poitras Chair as Professor of Medical Engineering and Science. At Harvard Medical School he is Professor of Medicine, and Senior Attending Physician in the cardiac intensive care unit at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

His research melds clinical and medical training, focusing on how tissue architecture and local biochemical, biomechanical and flow dynamic regulation maintain homeostasis. He and his students have used fluid and hemodynamics to guide basic scientific investigation of vascular signaling and repair on multiple scales and dimensions, and in the applied realm to guide the development of critical clinical devices from endovascular implants to mechanical cardiovascular support devices. His clinical work utilizes these findings to care for people critically ill with instabilities in flow and perfusion. He has mentored some 370 students and fellows who have ascended to leadership positions in academia, industry and government.

Edelman is fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, American Society for Clinical Investigation, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Inventors. As Chief Scientific Advisor of Science: Translational Medicine and member of the FDA Scientific Board he has set the tone for the national debate on translational research and innovation.

Most importantly, Elazer is an avid ice hockey goalie, and with his wife Cheryl parents to comedian-writer Alexander, Olympic athlete AJ, and MIT pirate Austin.

Dr Ricciardi serves as a Nurse Practitioner and as the PI for the CCTR lab. She has been on staff in the Clinical Research Center of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). She is a clinical research specialist utilizing her extensive clinical and research experience for consultation, the operationalization of pre-clinical and human proof of concept studies and provides oversight of the CCTR’s translational research services and facilities in addition to being an active member of the institutions Investigational Review Board (IRB) known as COUHES. Dr. Ricciardi works closely with many of MIT’s Schools and Institutes as a resource in conducting human research and is a research consultant for The Center for Environment Health Sciences (CEHS) Integrative Health Sciences Facilities Core (IHSFC) and in the development and clinical application of genetics educational modules. Dr. Ricciardi received a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from the MGH Institute of Health Professions, and is a board-certified adult nurse practitioner and human research advisor for the MGH Institute of Health Professions graduate program.

In her spare time, she can be found on any available pickleball court or in the gym kickboxing.

Dr. Anthony is an Associate Director MIT.nano, and Co-Director of the Advanced Manufacturing and Design Program. With over 25 years’ experience in product realization—Dr. Anthony won an Emmy (from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) in broadcast technical innovation—he designs medical devices, instruments, and systems to monitor and control physical systems. His work involves systems analysis and design and calling upon mechanical, electrical, and optical engineering, along with computer science and optimization, to create solutions.

The focus of Dr. Anthony’s research is in computational instrumentation—the design of instruments and techniques to monitor, measure and control complex human and engineered systems. His research includes the development of instrumentation and measurement solutions for manufacturing systems and medical diagnostics and imaging systems. In addition to his academic work, he has extensive experience in market-driven technology innovation, product realization, and business entrepreneurship and commercialization at the intersection between information technology and advanced manufacturing. His teaching interests include medical analytics, imaging, the modeling of large-scale systems in a wide variety of decision-making domains and the development of optimization algorithms and software for analyzing and designing such systems. He has extensive experience in market driven technology innovation as well as business entrepreneurship.

Dr Ricciardi serves as a Nurse Practitioner and as the PI for the CCTR lab. She has been on staff in the Clinical Research Center of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). She is a clinical research specialist utilizing her extensive clinical and research experience for consultation, the operationalization of pre-clinical and human proof of concept studies and provides oversight of the CCTR’s translational research services and facilities in addition to being an active member of the institutions Investigational Review Board (IRB) known as COUHES. Dr. Ricciardi works closely with many of MIT’s Schools and Institutes as a resource in conducting human research and is a research consultant for The Center for Environment Health Sciences (CEHS) Integrative Health Sciences Facilities Core (IHSFC) and in the development and clinical application of genetics educational modules. Dr. Ricciardi received a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from the MGH Institute of Health Professions, and is a board-certified adult nurse practitioner and human research advisor for the MGH Institute of Health Professions graduate program.

In her spare time, she can be found on any available pickleball court or in the gym kickboxing.

Libby is a clinical research nurse for the CCTR team. Libby spends half her time in the CCTR lab and the other half in the Medical ICU, where she has worked as a registered nurse for over 10 years. Libby obtained her BA in Psychology from Hamilton College and BS in Nursing from MGH IHP. During her free time, Libby likes to run and play tennis.

Tatiana’s tenured career at MIT started at Division of Comparative Medicine (DCM) after earning BA in Biology. She worked directly with Susan Erdman on cancer research, then gut microbiome, probiotics and their effects on overall health, including wound healing and obesity in animal models, she co-authored multiple manuscripts, which sparked her interest healthcare, and to nursing school.

Tatiana joined CCTR team while in nursing school and assisted in organizing its administrative structure, streamlining data collection and helping with REDCap implementation. Her wide variety of research experiences provides a great understanding and appreciation of translational research. In addition to expertise with research protocols, clinical oversight and safety monitoring Tatiana has a diverse experience with clinical informatics, such as REDCap, and creating project specific databases for electronic consenting, data capture and reporting. Tatiana is fluent in both English and Russian, as she was born and raised in Russia, moving to Boston in late 2000s.

Tatiana is great at multitasking as evidenced by juggling raising twins, crocheting, and her CCTR responsibilities.

Dr. Balcells is a Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science. Her research in tissue engineering has shown how endothelial cell states are critical to tissue response to injury.  The invitro models she has developed have helped understand the response of human cells in tissues to mechanical, biological and chemical insults.  At the CCTR she leads the Cell Shop where tests to characterize device-cell interaction  are carried out. She is also leverages her expertise providing biosafety level 2 training for all CCTR users. Mercedes obtained her PhD in Macromolecular Chemistry characterizing protein adsorption on biomaterials at RWTH Aachen in Germany.

Gabriel earned his Bachelor's in Biomedical Engineering and Spanish through the International Engineering Program at the University of Rhode Island. Having worked on a team to develop an augmented reality game centered around hip replacement patients and their progress through physical therapy, Gabriel possesses skills in CAD, computer coding, and cross-system integration. While working as a research assistant, he managed biospecimens, medical equipment, and cognitive assessments on research participants. At the CCTR, Gabriel looks forward to facilitating the use of the vast array of equipment and resources available to those pursuing research with our team.

A Research Scientist in the Institute for Medical Engineering & Science at MIT, Shawn’s current research focuses on laser ultrasound and design of novel instrumentation and methods to non-intrusively quantify and track human health over time. Shawn received his Ph.D. and Master’s from MIT in Mechanical Engineering with research focusing laser ultrasound and ultrasound tomography. Through multiple translational research projects and collaborations, Shawn has knowledge and experience in designing, manufacturing, and testing of novel medical devices and instrumentation, from benchtop validation in the lab to human subject testing at the CCTR.

Dr. Krbec completed her residency training at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from Tulane University and a Master’s in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of North Carolina. She obtained her medical degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is interested in clinical and translational research. She is currently an attending neonatologist at Tufts Medical Center.

Evan received his Bachelor’s and Master’s in Mechanical Engineering at The Ohio State University, where his thesis focused on cadaver injury biomechanical responses to side impact collisions to improve automotive safety. Evan also has a diverse teaching background, having served as a Graduate TA and then Lead Instructor for a hands-on microcontroller design and prototype course while also co-managing a computer-aided design and manufacturing lab. At the CCTR, Evan utilizes his unique blend of technical expertise to assist with device prototyping, instrumentation, and data collection and processing. He is well-seasoned in motion capture, additive and subtractive manufacturing techniques, and electronics design.

Buntoku is a Visiting Scientist from Sekisui House, Ltd., Osaka, Japan where he has been conducting research and development for the market introduction of the company's new services. Buntoku is in charge of the research and development of vital estimation algorithms using non-contact sensors and the development of service systems. With this service, health-related information can be acquired naturally in daily life without the stress of wearing the device, and acute disease detection is also planned to be installed as a function. His research included the acquisition and visualization of room temperature and humidity data, which has been installed in the service called "Platform House Touch" that has already been put on the Japanese market. Residents can easily know the environment of the room by the color of the room displayed on the floor plan of the house, and will be notified when there is a danger of heat stroke. He will be furthering his work on sensors and algorithms related to health and aging in place.

Dr. Petersen earned an MD from University of Copenhagen (2008) and full European board certification as physician in 2009. His clinical work was centered around cardiology and emergency medicine and as former Chief Resident at major ER, his duties included disaster preparedness, triage, and resource management. His European medial training ensured a broad understanding of medical complexity and cross-discipline interactions.

Dr. Petersen’s research has most recently been focused on device development and as such he has been leading efforts to develop treatment devices both for emergency use in hospitals and for use in NASA’s countermeasure program, and he is very experienced in developing protocols for physiological human research.

He brings his broad experience to bear at CCTR, where he will assist the team in protocol development, clinical and physiological advice.

Bee Watkins is a dynamic and results-driven Operations Manager with a strong background in development, administration and project management. With previous experience from the UNAGB, The Research Institute for Learning and Development and MIT Sloan, Bee leverages a solid foundation to drive operational efficiency and innovation and support organizational growth.

Sam is administrative assistant for the CCTR. She has been at MIT for 10 years supporting Department of Mechanical Engineering. Sam started her career in 2013 working for the MIT Skoltech Initiative. Prior to MIT, she worked in the corporate world for an accounting firm.