Team Members

Dr. Jerusalem received is his Diplôme d’Ingénieur from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace in France, his Master of Science in aeronautics and astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at Cambridge, MA, and his PhD in computational mechanics of materials from MIT. Antoine is a Fellow of St. Hugh’s College at the University of Oxford, and EPSRC Fellow, and World Economic Forum Young Scientist. His research includes computational mechanics of materials and brain and neuron multiphysics (TBI, ultrasound neuromodulation, etc.).

Dr. Rodgers is an MD, Fellow of the American Associations of Neurological Surgeons (FAANS), and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS). He received his medical degree from the Indiana School of Medicine where he also completed his residency. Dr. Rodgers is associated with Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine and Indiana University School of Medicine in the Department of Neurological Surgery. Richard is a Harvey Cushing Clinical Fellow from the Neurotrauma and Neurocritical Care at the Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is interested in traumatic brain and spine injury.

Koji Uchida is a Professor of the Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo. His interests are interdisciplinary and span food sciences, lipid peroxidation, natural antibodies, and innate immunity. In the past years, his team has made important discoveries in the field of covalent protein modification with endogenous electrophiles. His laboratory in Tokyo is currently defining the fucntional role of immune cells and pattern recognition proteins, including multi-specific natural antibodies as well as complement factors and apolipoproteins as a sensor of oxidation-derived epitopes bearing electronegative potentials.

Casey is interested in using an interdisciplinary approach to study how physical properties (mechanical, electrical, magnetic, chemical, etc...) couple in cells, the extracellular matrix (ECM, the scaffold that maintains tissue structure), and tissues, and how we can exploit this coupling to control cell behaviors for applications in disease treatment. She obtained a dual major in Biological and Mathematical Sciences from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with an undergraduate thesis studying cell-cell communication using experiments and mathematical modeling, supervised by George Edick. During two summer internships and for a year after her Bachelor’s, she worked as a Research Trainee in the Integrated Mathematical Oncology (IMO) Department of Moffitt Cancer Center, supervised by Dr. Alexander Anderson, Dr. Mark Robertson-Tessi, and Kimberly Luddy, using both cell culture experiments and mathematical modeling to study how tumors evolve to survive immune system attack. Afterwards, Casey completed a DPhil in Condensed Matter Physics, Applied Mathematics, and Systems Biology at the University of Oxford, supervised by Prof. Sonia Contera and Prof. Sarah Waters, using cutting edge atomic force microscopy to study how properties of the ECM help regulate cell behaviors. After her DPhil, she completed a Postdoc in Engineering Sciences at Oxford, supervised by Prof. Antoine Jerusalem, studying how the physical properties of neurons control neuronal firing, and how anesthetics and ultrasound alter these properties. She joined Prof. Shi’s lab in August, 2023, and looks forward to studying how the physical properties of neurons change and relate to their function after injury, and using this information to improve our understanding of how brain injury propagates and causes other neurological conditions.

Dr. Edmond Rogers received his MS in neurophysiology from Dr. Guenter Gross at the University of North Texas in 2018 and received his PhD in biomedical engineering as a CTSI TL1 Fellowship recipient in 2023, investigating the link between traumatic brain injury and the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Rogers developed a novel in vitro of trauma (Rogers and Gross, 2019), which allows for the simultaneous electrophysiological and morphological monitoring of neuronal networks exposed to high-g forces in real-time. He is combining this exciting new methodology with Dr. Shi’s well-established in vivo models to explore the underlying mechanisms of primary and secondary injuries and their relationship to neurodegeneration (i.e. Alzheimer’s disease).

Man Chen received her B.S. in Biological sciences from the Qingdao Agricultural University and finished her MS in electrophysiology at Nankai University. Her previous research focused on the effects of drugs on ion channels. She can record voltage-gated sodium, potassium, calcium and chloride channels, and glutamate-gated chloride channels. She hopes to continue focusing on neurotoxicity as well as neurodegenerative diseases, traumatic brain injury, and neuropharmacology.

Brianna is a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering. She also received her BS in Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University. She studies brain hemodynamics and CSF flow and their roles in the progression of injury and disease in humans and animal models. Her research focuses on multimodal imaging, including fMRI, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and EEG.

Nikita graduated with her Bachelor's and Master of Engineering degrees in biomedical engineering from Cornell University. Her previous research interests include tissue engineering and using microfluidic devices. Nikita started working toward her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering in Dr. Riyi Shi's Lab in August 2022, and her current interests include studying blood-brain barrier damage after traumatic brain injury and neurodegeneration. In her free time, she likes to play piano and watch Gilmore Girls.

Jhon received a Bachelor’s of Veterinary Medicine and finished his MS in Pharmacology at the National University of Colombia. During his time as a graduate student, Jhon’s research focused on the neurotoxic activity and neutralization of coral snake venom. He joined the Center for Paralysis Research in 2022 and is currently working towards his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in Dr. Riyi Shi’s lab. Jhon plans to continue working on neurotoxicity as well as neurodegenerative diseases, traumatic brain injury, and neuropharmacology.

Sara joined the Shi lab in August of 2025 as a PhD student in biomedical engineering. She obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Purdue University in Animal Sciences. Her previous research focused on cell to cell communication of skeletal muscle stem cells. Currently, Sara’s research interest is to study the mechanisms that underlie neurodegenerative disease such as multiple sclerosis and evaluate various therapeutic treatments of recovery using animal models. Besides research, Sara is an avid equestrian and enjoys cooking in her free time.

Rachel received her BA in neuroscience, with a minor in biology, from Washington & Jefferson College in 2019. In 2021, Rachel received her MS in neuroscience: systems, behavior and plasticity from Temple University. During her time as an undergraduate and graduate student, Rachel’s research focused on neurodegenerative mechanisms and behavioral outcomes as a consequence of mechanical injury, links between the gut-brain axis and dementia, and mapping motor pathways. As a PhD student in CPR, Rachel plans to continue working on spinal cord injury repair. Favorite movies: Rudy, Happy Gilmore Favorite food: Pizza.

Siyuan officially joined the Shi lab in August of 2020 as a PhD student through the Purdue Interdisciplinary Life Sciences (PULSe) program. He graduated from Capital Medical University (China), with a major in spine surgery, and finished his residency training as a surgeon in 2018. Currently, Siyuan’s research interest is to develop, refine and evaluate new treatments, diagnostic imaging tools and various therapy interventions for the individuals who suffer from spinal cord injury (SCI). Favorite hobbies: traveling, all kinds of car racing, especially Formula 1, and making car models.

Thomas graduated from West Point in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry. His research in Dr. Shi’s lab revolves around modeling traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). He hopes to apply his research to see how TBIs relate to neurodegenerative diseases and PTSD. Thomas hopes to investigate potential treatments for TBIs as well.