Team Members
Principal Investigator
Dipanjan Pan, PhD, FRSC, FAIMBE, FAHA, FACC
Prof. Pan is a recognized expert in nanomedicine. He is presently a Dorothy Foehr Huck & J. Lloyd Huck Chair Professor in Nanomedicine and tenured Full Professor in the Pennsylvania State University. He is the founder/co-founder of four University based early start-ups, including Vitruvian Bio, dedicated to developing HIV-companion diagnostics; InnSight Technologies dedicated for ocular diseases and KaloCyte, Inc, to develop artificial oxygen career for human trauma. In 2016 Dr. Pan received Nanomaterials Letter (NML) Researcher award, in 2017 a Young Innovator Award from Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and a Deans Award for Research Excellence in 2018. He is an elected senior member of National Academy of Innovators (NAI), a fellow of The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), a Fellow of American Heart Association (FAHA) and an elected fellow of American College of Cardiology (HACC). Professor Pan is an Associate Editor for WIRES Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology (Wiley).
(More about the PI)
Faculty pages:
Entrepreneurship
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer
KaloCyte, Inc.
InnSight, Inc.
Faculty & Senior Scientists
Research Assistant Professor
Parikshit Moitra, Ph.D.
Parikshit Moitra is currently working as a postdoctoral associate under the tutelage of Prof. Dipanjan Pan. He earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Organic Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India while working under the supervision of Prof. Santanu Bhattacharya. Thereafter he joined Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, India, as a Scientist D where he was affiliated to the Technical Research Centre. He then joined Prof. Pan's laboratory at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. His research interest lies in several areas of chemical biology, supramolecular chemistry, bio-analyte sensors, molecular imaging and theranostics with a special emphasis on translational interdisciplinary sciences. Dr. Moitra was awarded with four different best poster awards including one from Bioconjugate Chemistry during International Conference on Chemical Biology (ICCB), 2014. He also received the prestigious Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, 2017.
Postdoctoral Associates
Priyanka Ray received her Ph.D. in nanochemistry from Université Paris XI-CNRS, Paris, France, where she worked on the synthesis and characterization of calixarenes and metal nanoparticles. She was a part of the ECOS Nord research programme during which she worked at IPCYT in San Luis Potosi, Mexico on computational modelling of her systems. She then worked under the NIH CoBREcentre at NDSU in Fargo, ND on developing polymeric nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery to treat pancreatic cancer. During her undergraduate and master studies she has worked as a research intern in organometallic chemistry in the Marek group at Technion, Haifa, Israel and in bio-organic chemistry at the Université Joseph Fourier in Grenoble.
Dr. Priyanka Ray
Dr. DipendraDahal is a highly motivated postdoctoral research fellow in Prof. Dipanjan Pan’s lab at the University of Maryland Baltimore with experience in the Organic Chemistry laboratory, synthesis, characterization, and application of molecular probes, fluorescence sensors medicinal chemistry and drug discovery and drug delivery. He did his master’s degree in Organic Chemistry from the Tribhuvan University, Nepal and the MS and Ph. D. in Organic chemistry from The University of Akron, USA. His research is focused on the development of small organic molecules with emission at NIR-II windows which are highly desired and promising tools for in vivo and in vitro imaging applications.
Dr. Dipendra Dahal
Research fellow and Lab manager
Ketan Dighe received his B.Tech. in Electronics and Communication with a minor in Biotechnology from Shiv Nadar University, India (2015). The course “Bio-Analytical Techniques” during his undergraduate studies kindled his interest to explore a career in Bioinstrumentation. It inspired him to explore different instruments to investigate the application of Semiconductor and Microsystems in fields like Life Science and was captivated by its huge research potential. During his bachelor’s degree he worked on a research project involving the fabrication of an organic semiconductor based thin film transistor and characterizing them to be later used in diverse medical applications.
In Fall 2015, he joined the Master of Engineering in Bioinstrumentation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The program provided him with a strong foundation in fundamentals and offering greater technical depth along with the tools needed to successfully develop products in multidisciplinary teams. Overall the coursework provided him with an unique experience and opportunities to become an effective engineering manager in the medical instrumentation field.
After receiving his master’s degree in Bioinstrumentation, he joined Prof. Pan’s multidisciplinary team as a Research Specialist in Department of Bioengineering. His current area of work includes developing sensing devices for point of care and clinical applications, point-of-care diagnostics, fabrication and characterization of biosensors.
Ketan Dighe, MEng
Graduate STUDENTs
Parinaz completed her B.S. in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland. As an undergrad, Parinaz was in the Gemstone Honors Program, a four-year interdisciplinary team-based research program. As a member of Gemstone team CLOT, Parinaz researched the use of alginate-chitosan hydrogel beads to induce blood coagulation. Her other research experiences have included studying the effects of radial pressure on shear deformation in bovine aortas, characterization of the adhesive strength of polymer nanofiber mats, analyzing the effects of geometry on bioprosthetic heart valve performance, and experimenting with techniques to provide an understanding of guidewire polymer coating delamination. Parinaz will be researching nanoparticle drug delivery systems and biodegradable personalized stents. In her free time, Parinaz enjoys photography, reading, and volunteering.
Parinaz Fathi, MS
Maha Alafeef received her Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering ( ABET/USA) from Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), the most prestigious school in Jordan with honor. During the summer of 2017, Maha got placed in a scientific internship at NASA Ames Research Center funded by the Jordanian Crown Prince Foundation (CPF). She worked in collaboration with a NASA scientist in the Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) project which aimed to design a sophisticated healthcare system to ensure that astronauts stay healthy and able to complete the Mars mission. She has also received six local and international awards including the "Girl in science" prize funded by the European Union, published five papers in major international journals and conferences. Further, Alafeef was a speaker at the World Science Forum 2017 which brings together the world’s leading scientists, academics, decision-makers, and inventors. She represented Jordan as one of the top achieving youth
Maha Alafeef
UNDERGraduate STUDENTs
Leland Reisfield is a senior at University of Maryland Baltimore County, and is majoring in Biochemistry. He joined the Pan Research Group in 2020 and is studying the effects of prolonged zero gravity on cell growth. In his spare time Leland enjoys cooking, reading, video games, and spending time with friends.
Leland Reisfield
Jeannine is a freshman undergraduate Biology student at UMBC who joined the Pan Research group in the spring of 2020. Her research interests include studying the role of biochemistry in the fields of immunology and infectious diseases. Ultimately, she wants to pursue an MD/PhD in order to become a physician scientist and work for major government agencies. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, exploring different cuisines and watching Netflix with her friends. In the lab, she is currently working on the synthesis of carbon dots from naturally occurring sources using greener methods
Jeannine Dizon
Dana Muhmed is a UMBC student majoring in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. She is interested in pharmaceutical and biomedical research. She is currently an LSAMP fellow
Dana Muhmed
Principal Investigator
Dipanjan Pan, PhD, FRSC, FAIMBE, FAHA, FACC
Prof. Pan is a recognized expert in nanomedicine. He is presently a Dorothy Foehr Huck & J. Lloyd Huck Chair Professor in Nanomedicine and tenured Full Professor in the Pennsylvania State University. He is the founder/co-founder of four University based early start-ups, including Vitruvian Bio, dedicated to developing HIV-companion diagnostics; InnSight Technologies dedicated for ocular diseases and KaloCyte, Inc, to develop artificial oxygen career for human trauma. In 2016 Dr. Pan received Nanomaterials Letter (NML) Researcher award, in 2017 a Young Innovator Award from Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and a Deans Award for Research Excellence in 2018. He is an elected senior member of National Academy of Innovators (NAI), a fellow of The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), a Fellow of American Heart Association (FAHA) and an elected fellow of American College of Cardiology (HACC). Professor Pan is an Associate Editor for WIRES Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology (Wiley).