Dr. Coskun is a Bernie-Marcus Early-Career Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. Dr. Coskun is a systems biotechnologist and bioengineer, working at the nexus of multiplexed cell imaging and quantitative tissue biology. Dr. Coskun directs an interdisciplinary research team at the Single Cell Biotechnology and Spatial Omics Laboratory, an interdisciplinary program strategically positioned for multiparameter imaging one cell at a time by spatial context and function. Dr. Coskun holds 5 issued patents and is also the co-author of more than 50 peer-reviewed publications in major scientific journals. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award 2024, NIH R35 MIRA Award 2023, BMES-CMBE Rising Star Award 2023, American Lung Association Innovation Award 2022, and Student Recognition of Excellence in Teaching: Class of 1934 CIOS Award, among other research and teaching awards. Previously, Dr. Coskun was an Instructor at Stanford University. Dr. Coskun received his postdoctoral training from the California Institute of Technology. He holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.His research has been supported by Federal and Private grants, including the National Institutes of Health (NIA, NIAID, NCI, NIDCR, OD, and ORIP), Wellcome LEAP, Burroughs Wellcome Fund (CASI), NSF CMaT, American Cancer Society IRG, Multi-cellular engineered living systems (M-CELS), and Regenerative Medicine Center. In addition, he leads outreach programs to engage K12 students and undergraduate students through BioCrowd Studio, an innovative crowd-sourcing program bringing together interactive virtual media, distributed biokits, and collaborative spatial discovery.
Nicholas (Nicky) Zhang is a Ph.D. student in Bioengineering at Georgia Tech. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Engineering. He previously worked on 3D printing in bone and skeletal muscle tissue engineering, and his current interests lie in studying translational regulation in single immune cells acoss space and time. Outside of work, Nicky enjoys swimming, snowboarding, and cooking.
Zhou Fang is a Machine Learning Ph.D. student. He graduated from Emory University with B.S. in Engineering Science and from Georgia Tech with B.S. in Biomedical Engineering. His experience before joining Georgia Tech focuses on the measurement of local blood flow and blood oxygenation using diffuse correlation spectroscopy and near-infrared spectroscopy. His current work focuses on the analyses of subcellular spatially resolved transcriptomics data. When not working, he enjoys climbing, badminton, and cooking.
Aditi Kumar is a Biomedical Engineering PhD student at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory School of Medicine. She received a BS in Bioengineering with a minor in Bioinformatics from UCLA in 2024. At UCLA, she conducted research in a gene therapy lab and a medical informatics lab and was a developer for the Computational Medicine Technology Core. She is interested in integrating machine learning and experimental techniques to understand variation in disease progression and response to treatment. Outside of research, she is passionate about science communication and was Science and Health editor for the Daily Bruin, UCLA’s student newspaper. She enjoys reading, graphic design and following figure skating.
Aileen He is a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. She graduated with honors from Emory University, earning a BS in Applied Mathematics and Statistics with a minor in German Studies. During her time as an undergraduate, she conducted research on MRI image denoising, employing optimization and machine learning techniques. She also served as a tutor captain for two years, assisting students with math and course planning. Currently, her research focuses on AI-driven single-cell spatial transcriptomics, aiming to advance understanding of brain and cardiovascular diseases through a deeper exploration of cell biology. In her free time, she enjoys reading literature, playing tennis, and watching all kinds of sports.
Efe Ozturk is a PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Middle East Technical University. His research focuses on advancing computational methods to analyze complex spatial biological data, leveraging computer vision, machine learning and signal processing. Outside of his academic work, Efe enjoys running, playing basketball, and traveling.
Ivan Kordic is a PhD Student in the Mechanical Engineering program at Georgia Tech. He joined the French Engineering school Arts et Métiers in 2022. He joined a double degree program with Georgia Tech where he got a French Engineering diploma from Arts et Métiers and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech. Ivan joined Dr Coskun’s lab in January 2024 where his research focuses on linking mechanical properties of cells and tissues with spatial transcriptomics. Outside of research, Ivan likes spending time with friends and martial arts.
Felix G Rivera Moctezuma is a PhD Student in the BioEngineering program at Georgia Tech form San Juan, Puerto Rico. He completed his first bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. He then completed a second bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. He joined Georgia Tech as a Research Technician in the Wood Lab studying inflammation in the brain and traumatic brain injury. His current research interest lies on understanding cell signaling in the brain and the progression of neurogenerative diseases. Outside of the lab, Félix enjoys cooking, listening to podcasts, reading, and talking with friends.
Abhijeet Venkataraman is pursuing a PhD in biomedical engineering in the joint Georgia Tech/Emory program. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering. During his 4 years there, he worked on hydrogel-based polymers and their applications in targeted drug delivery and oral drug delivery. Outside of school and research, Abhijeet enjoys playing basketball & volleyball, boardgaming with friends and keeping up with UT sports (Hook ‘em!).
Samuel Dembowitz is currently a Ph.D. student in the Joint Biomedical Engineering Program at Georgia Tech and Emory University in the Coskun Lab for Single Cell Biotechnology and Spatial Omics. At Georgia Tech, he completed his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Health Science and his M.S., with a thesis focused on integrating spatial omics and mechanobiology in cancer and atherosclerosis. His research interests focus on applying spatial omics and mechanobiology to cardiovascular disease models to improve diagnosis capabilities and therapeutic development. Outside of the lab, he enjoys strength training, listening to music, watching movies, and spending time with friends.
Thomas Hu, Ph.D. (LinkedIn) joined the Lab family in May 2024 after working in the lab between 2020 and 2024. Dr. Hu currently works as a Digital Pathology Scientist at Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.
Shuangyi Cai, Ph.D. (LinkedIn) joined the Lab family in August 2024 after working in the lab between 2019 and 2024. Dr. Cai currently works as a Senior Scientist at Merck.
Mayar Allam, Ph.D. (LinkedIn) joined the Lab family in August 2024 after working in the lab between 2019 and 2024. Dr. Allam currently works as a AI-driving Bioengineering Scientist at Retro (Aging company).
Single cell biotechnology and spatial omics 