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. 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.

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.