People

Jerry Sheu 

Jerry was born in Muncie, Indiana but raised in Taipei, Taiwan. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from National Taiwan Normal University (2014). Then he went to Ball State University for master’s degree in chemistry (2018). He joined Hayes group since 2019 spring, being interested in developing the novel methods to carry the separated analytes from iDEP device. His research interest also includes the comparing the performance of proteins (or other analytes) separation in electrophoretic exclusion and dielectrophorectic, theory studying, and the application in 3D fabrication.

Alex Ramirez

Alex was born and raised in Arizona and obtained his B.S. in Biochemistry from Arizona State University. During his time as an undergraduate, he developed an interest in the microfluidic platform developed by the Hayes lab and began a research project that focused on dielectrophoresis of gold nanoparticles. As a Ph.D. student, he is continuing this research and is also studying the DEP-based separation of viruses within microfluidic devices. Outside of the lab, Alex enjoys spending time with his wife, skateboarding, trying various meal prep recipes, and developing his skills as an amateur mixologist.

Jared Smithers

Jared was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona and obtained his B.S. in Biochemistry (2020) and a Minor in Criminal Justice (2020) from Arizona State University. As an undergraduate, he found interest in Mark Hayes' lab for its innovative and promising work in Separation Science. He developed skills in microfluidics and focused on distinguishing separation properties of different S. Aureus serotypes in novel iDEP devices designed by the Hayes group. He has now turned his focused to further development of these separation strategies through automation and removing separated analytes off the microfluidic platforms. This can bridge DEP techniques into more impactful sample enrichment and rapid diagnostic strategies. 

A K M Fazlul Karim Rasel

Rasel was born in Bangladesh and he obtained his B.S. in Chemistry (2018) and M.S. in Physical Chemistry (2019) from the University of Dhaka. His master’s thesis was focused on effluent treatment using solar energy. He synthesized efficient photo­­catalysts to mineralize industrial dyes to reduce water pollution. Later, he moved to the United States to pursue his Ph.D. and joined the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University. Separation in the microfluidic platform made an interest in him, which primarily drove him to join Hayes Lab. Currently, he is working on maintaining separated fractions of bioparticle mixtures. He does numerical investigations in COMSOL multiphysics and conducts separation experiments with microfluidic devices under the microscope. Rasel also enjoys watching movies, playing soccer, and hanging out with his friends.

Hoai Nguyen

Hoai was born in Hai Phong, Vietnam and she earned her Bachelor’s degree from the National University of Science in Ho Chi Minh City and her M.S. from Umea University (Sweden). She joined the lab in the Spring of 2021 with the goal of advancing her career in analytical chemistry and separation science. Her work focuses on the method development of insulator-based dielectrophoresis for separation and characterization of bioparticles. She is also interested in image processing and automation for DEP datasets. If not in the lab, Hoai can be found playing with her corgi, meal-prepping, baking and reading books. 

Teji Korma

Teji was born in Ethiopia where he earned his bachelors degree in Biomedical Engineering from Addis Ababa University in 2017. After working for 2 years as an assistant lecturer in Haramaya University, he moved to India in 2019 to pursue his masters studies in Biomedical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. During his time there, he worked in Paul's Lab where his research focused on microfluidic gradient generators - used for studying cell chemotaxis. After completing his masters degree, he joined Arizona State University in fall 2022 to study his PhD in Biochemistry. His current work at Hayes Lab involves isolation and concentration of exosomes using dielectrophoresis in microfluidics devices. Apart from his lab work, Teji enjoys watching basketball games and hanging out with his friends.   

Matthew McFadden

Matthew was born in Alberta, Canada, moving to Florida when he was 13. He attended University of South Florida, Tampa graduating with B.S in Mechanical engineering(2015).  He joined the Hayes Research Group in the spring of 2018 with joint work with Prof. Brenda Hogue specializing in structural virology. Entered the Biomedical engineering masters program Fall 2021, focusing on Viral separation via dielectrophoresis with the detection method of Laser light scattering.