Principal Investigator

Dr. Mehdi Razavi is an Associate Professor of Medicine and a member of the Biionix (Bionic Materials, Implants & Interfaces) Cluster at the University of Central Florida (UCF) since 2024. He also holds secondary joint appointments with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Biomedical Engineering program at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He joined UCF as an Assistant Professor in 2019. Prior to his tenure at UCF, Dr. Razavi was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine from 2016 to 2019. He also served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biomaterials at the Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology within the Institute of Materials and Manufacturing and Brunel Institute for Bioengineering at Brunel University London from 2015 to 2016. Earlier in his career, he was a Research Scholar in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Helmerich Advanced Technology Research Center, Oklahoma State University from 2013 to 2014. Dr. Razavi earned his PhD in Biomaterials from Isfahan University of Technology in 2014, an MSc in Materials Engineering in 2011, and a BSc in Materials Engineering from the same university in 2008. His research focuses on biomaterials, nanomedicine, musculoskeletal tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, advanced biomanufacturing, and drug and gene delivery systems. He has taught courses in nanomedicine and biomaterials and has held numerous leadership and editorial roles, including serving on various College of Medicine committees, as a chief editor, an editorial board member, a scientific reviewer, a Society for Biomaterials committee member, and a reviewer for the NIH Study Section.

Lab Members

Pedram Sotoudehbagha, PhD
Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Major: Materials Science and Engineering
E-mail: pedram.sotoudehbagha@ucf.edu

Andres Larraza
Position: Graduate Research Assistant
Major: Materials Science and Engineering
E-mail: andres.larraza@ucf.edu

Samantha Gmitro
Position: Graduate Research Assistant
Major: Biomedical Sciences
E-mail: samantha.gmitro@ucf.edu

Margaret Nanfria
Position: Graduate Research Assistant
Major: Biomedical Engineering
E-mail: ma950573@ucf.edu

Alison Grise
Position: Medical Student
Major: Medicine
E-mail: al057618@ucf.edu

Andrew Romero, MD
Position: Resident
Major: Orthopaedic Surgery
E-mail: andrew.romero@ucf.edu

Sun Latt
Position: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Biomedical Sciences
E-mail: sun.latt@ucf.edu

Shane Burke
Position: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Biomedical Sciences and Health Sciences
E-mail: shane.burke@ucf.edu

Tristan G. Faze
Position: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Molecular and Cellular Biology
E-mail: tristan.faze@ucf.edu

Andres Alayon Mata
Position: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Biomedical Sciences
E-mail: andres.alayon@ucf.edu

Jasra Elahi
Position: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Biomedical Sciences
E-mail: ja618250@ucf.edu

David Jensen
Position: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Materials Science and Engineering
E-mail: david.jensen@ucf.edu

Ashna Mathur
Position: High School Student
E-mail: mathuras@lhprep.org

Former Members

Abel Cordova Flores, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Biomedical Sciences

Sanjana Bhatt, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Biomedical Sciences

Queenly Xie, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Computer Science (Minor: Materials Science and Engineering)

Melanie Paredes, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Health Sciences

Kayley Romero, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Mechanical Engineering

Angela Shar, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Biomedical Sciences

Valeria Cardenas, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Biomedical Sciences

Tara Pattilachan, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Biomedical Sciences

Thomas Hartmann, Medical Student

Laya Damaraju, High School Student

Nadia Aboutalebianarki, PhD, Graduate Research Assistant, Materials Science and Engineering

Peter Zeblisky, Medical Student

Madisyn Messmore, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Mechanical Engineering

Kaylee Misiti, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Biology

Md Sarker, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow