Ozgur is a Professor of Biological Sciences and of Physics at Columbia University. His research group is investigating energy conversion in biological nanostructures, developing nanomechanical approaches to determine structures of biomolecular complexes, and studying cell mechanics. Ozgur is best recognized for inventing a nanoscale microscope that can visualize mechanical properties of molecules, cells, and materials, which earned him the Grand Prize at the Collegiate Inventors Competition. Ozgur received a Junior Fellowship from the Rowland Institute at Harvard, and he currently holds a Packard Fellowship from the David & Lucile Packard Foundation. His research program is also recognized with a U.S. Department of Energy Early Career Award and a New Innovator Award from the National Institutes of Health.
Author Archives: admin
Christina A. McBean
Christina is a PhD student in the Physics Department. She is interested in studying the applications of physics in biological systems. Her current research interests involve probing nanomechanical properties of hygroscopic materials, using Atomic Force Microscopy. When not in the lab, Christina can be found eating Chinese food.
Email: cam2415[at]columbia.edu
Adedayo Timothy Ogunlana
Dayo is a junior in Columbia College studying Biophysics. He is interested in cell mechanics, as well as the intersection of electronics and biology. When not in lab, he can be found playing basketball or making electronic music.
Saima Aktar Sumaiya
Saima is a postdoctoral researcher scientist at Sahin Lab. She received her Ph.D. from University of California, Merced. Her background is in Mechanical Engineering. Saima’s research interests include high resolution surface imaging, nanomechanics and nanotribology. Her current research focuses on studying bacterial spores using nanomechanical approaches.
Brunvens Sejour
Brunvens is a staff associate in the Sahin Lab. His interests in the lab include mammalian and bacterial cell growth promotion. When not in the lab Brunvens can be found playing piano, saxophone or working on EDM and JDM classic cars.
Leonardo I. Ruiz Ortega
Leonardo was awarded a Ph.D. in Experimental Biophysics and Nanotechnology by King’s College London (UK). He is interested in the application of advanced scanning probe microscopy techniques beyond topographic imaging to tackle fundamental problems in biophysics. At Columbia, his research is focused on the dynamic mechanical response of hygroscopic biological matter. When not in the lab he enjoys literature and analogue photography.
Michael Shilo DeLay (Alum)
Michael is currently pursuing a PhD in the Department of Biological Sciences. He is interested in the optimization & characterization of the biological mechanism underlying bacterial spore-based energy. When he is not in lab he can be found composing song or climbing rock.
E-mail: md3235[at]columbia.edu
Ahmet-Hamdi Cavusoglu (Alum)
Ahmet-Hamdi Cavusoglu is a Chemical Engineering PhD candidate (Boeing Fellow 2010-2011) with his research focusing on the intersection of biology, energy, and the environment. Specifically, Hamdi focuses on theoretical and experimental approaches to modeling and manufacturing hygroscopic actuators for energy and robotic applications.
E-mail: ac3236[at]columbia.edu
John A. Jones Molina (Alum)
Zhenghan Gao (Alum)
Zhenghan graduated from University of Science and Technology of China and is pursuing his Ph.D. degree in Physics now. He is interested in biological physics.
E-mail: zg2191[at]columbia.edu
Ju Yang (Alum)
Ju is a Ph.D. candidate in the Biological Sciences program. Her research focuses on the mechanical properties of cells.
She is also an amateur rubber stamp carver.
E-mail: jy2487[at]columbia.edu
website: http://www.juyang.co/
Nicola Mandriota (Alum)
Nicola is a PhD student in the Biological Sciences Department at Columbia University. He graduated from Scuola Normale Superiore. He is an avid explorer of animal cell shape and mechanics, and the physiological mechanisms regulating them.
E-mail: nm2508[at]columbia.edu
Krishna Jayant (Alum)
Kathleen Tatem (Alum)
Kathleen graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics with a minor in Philosophy. As an undergraduate she was involved in experimental physics research in astrophysics, plasma physics, quantum opto-mechanics, and neutrino physics as part of the MicroBooNE experiment. She studied in Columbia’s M.A. program in the Philosophical Foundations of Physics while conducting research in the Sahin lab. Her research in biophysics focused on high-resolution atomic force microscopy of cells to study intracellular forces. She also built a 3D printer to that prints a solution of Bacillus Subtilis spores. The spores can be used as an energy source to power small mechanical devices. She later worked in astrophysics on the FIREBall II balloon experiment, and is joining the physics PhD program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the Fall of 2015.
Xi Chen (Alum)
Xi served a postdoctoral research scientist in the Sahin Laboratory at Columbia University. His research focused on investigating and developing bacterial spores based hybrid materials for harnessing energy of natural evaporation.
He is currently an Assistant Professor at The City University of New York’s Advanced Research Science Center (ASRC).
E-mail: xi.chen[at]asrc.cuny.edu
Website: http://www.xchenlab.com/
Duckhoe Kim (Alum)
Duckhoe is a postdoctoral research scientist. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from POSTECH in Korea. He now focuses on developing a chemically-specific, multicolor imaging method to investigate biological samples that are not easy to be imaged with conventional methods.
E-mail: dk2683[at]columbia.edu
Livan Alonso Sarduy (Alum)
Livan is a postdoctoral research scientist in the Sahin Laboratory at Columbia University. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from EPFL in Switzerland. His current research focuses on developing new approaches for nanoimaging of membrane receptors.
E-mail: lba2135[at]columbia.edu