Farnoosh Saeedinejad | Biomedical Engineering | Best Researcher Award

Ms. Farnoosh Saeedinejad | Biomedical Engineering | Best Researcher Award

PhD Candidate, University of Connecticut United States

Farnoosh Saeedinejad is a driven biomedical engineer completing her Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut (May 2025), with research spanning scaffold design for tissue engineering, lipidic nanoparticles, biosensors, and tumor-on-chip systems. She possesses deep expertise in in vitro/in vivo experiments, microfabrication, and material characterization, with strong cross-disciplinary insight. Her research emphasizes practical, high-impact biomedical solutions. Farnoosh is a collaborative team player known for innovation and hands-on execution in translational medicine.

Publication Profile

Scholar

🎓 Education

Farnoosh is pursuing a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at UConn, focusing on scaffold porosity control via microfluidics (GPA: 4.0/4.0). She earned her M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering – Tissue Engineering from Amirkabir University (GPA: 4.0/4.0), with a thesis on nanofibrous composite scaffolds for neural tissue. Her B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering – Biomaterials Engineering, also from Amirkabir (GPA: 3.8/4.0), involved conductive scaffolds for spinal cord repair. She ranked top in her class in both M.Sc. and B.Sc. programs.

💼 Experience

Farnoosh serves as a Graduate Research Assistant at UConn Health, leading scaffold fabrication for tissue engineering, microfluidic-based 3D printing, prevascularized tissue constructs, and cultured meat bioengineering. She previously worked on lipid nanoparticles and biosensors at the Institute of Material Science and interned at Encapsulate LLC, optimizing tumor-on-chip systems, including those launched aboard the ISS. Earlier, she coordinated a tissue engineering lab at Amirkabir University, mentoring students and managing lab operations.

🏆 Awards & Honors

Farnoosh ranked in the top 0.1% in Iran’s national university entrance exam (2010), was 1st in her M.Sc. class, and 3rd in her B.Sc. class at Amirkabir University. She is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society (since 2022) and John Lof Leadership Academy (2018–2019). She was selected for the CTNext/Encapsulate talent bridge program (2021), and holds a U.S. patent (2022) for plant-based photocrosslinkable biomaterials in regenerative medicine.

🔬 Research Focus

Farnoosh’s research bridges biomaterials, tissue engineering, and drug delivery. She develops macroporous hydrogels, 3D-bioprinted scaffolds, and intrafibrillar microchannel networks for muscle regeneration and cultured meat. She engineers lipidic nanocarriers for intracellular drug delivery and designs biosensors using novel amplification strategies. Her work on tumor-on-chip systems and microfluidics supports translational oncology and space-based biomedicine. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates biology, material science, and microengineering to solve complex biomedical problems.

📝 Conclusion

Farnoosh SaeediNejad is an exceptional and well-rounded candidate for the Best Researcher Award, especially in the emerging investigator or early-career researcher category. Her blend of technical mastery, interdisciplinary innovation, impactful publications, and translational research (including space-based biomedical systems) places her at the forefront of biomedical engineering. With time, expanded grant leadership and international visibility will further solidify her place as a leading researcher.

Publication Top Notes

📄 1. Repurposing biomedical muscle tissue engineering for cellular agriculture: challenges and opportunities

Year: 2023
Authors: M. Samandari, F. Saeedinejad, J. Quint, S.X.Y. Chuah, R. Farzad, A. Tamayol

📄 2. Dissolvable immunomodulatory microneedles for treatment of skin wounds

Year: 2024
Authors: P. Ghelich, M. Samandari, A. Hassani Najafabadi, A. Tanguay, J. Quint, …

📄 3. Effect of drug-to-lipid ratio on nanodisc-based tenofovir drug delivery to the brain for HIV-1 infection

Year: 2022
Authors: C.R. Garcia, A.T. Rad, F. Saeedinejad, A. Manojkumar, D. Roy, H. Rodrigo, …

📄 4. Benefits of In Situ Foamed and Printed Porous Scaffolds in Wound Healing

Year: 2024
Authors: A. Seyedsalehi, F. Saeedinejad, S. Toro, F. Alipanah, J. Quint, T.A. Schmidt, …

📄 5. In Situ-Formed Tissue-Adhesive Macroporous Scaffolds Enhance Cell Infiltration and Tissue Regeneration

Year: 2025
Authors: F. Saeedinejad, F. Alipanah, S. Toro, N. Pereira, D. Ghanbariamin, I. Jozic, …

📄 6. Biodegradable Oxygen‐Generating Microneedle Patches for Regenerative Medicine Applications

Year: 2025
Authors: L. Barnum, M. Samandari, Y. Suhail, S. Toro, A. Novin, P. Ghelich, J. Quint, …

📄 7. Nanoliposome functionalized colloidal GelMA inks for 3D printing of scaffolds with multiscale porosity

Year: 2024
Authors: E. Omidvari, M. Samandari, D. Ghanbariamin, E.M. Lara, J. Quint, …

📄 8. Three-dimensionally Printed Gelatin Methacryloyl (GelMA) Scaffolds For Culture Of Hematopoietic Stem And Progenitor Cells

Year: 2024
Authors: N.S. Pereira, E.C. Mollocana-Lara, M. Kutrolli, E.N. McEwen, F. Saeedinejad, …

📄 9. Photo-crosslinkable plant-based materials, methods of manufacture thereof and articles comprising the same

Year: 2024
Authors: A. Tamayol, M. Samandari, F. Saeedinejad, J.P. Quint, E.A. Tehrany-Kahn, …

Milad Rahimzadegan | Tissue Engineering | Young Scientist Award

Assist Prof Dr. Milad Rahimzadegan | Tissue Engineering | Young Scientist Award

 

👨‍🏫Professional Profile 🌟

Highly accomplished research scientist with over 10 years of academic and industrial expertise in translational in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo pharmacology and toxicology. I possess a strong background in developing neurodegeneration and cognitive disorders, spinal cord injury, tissue engineering, drug delivery and their impacts on the central nervous system. A proven history of driving innovation through research, developing new technologies, and securing funding. Passionate about continuing to make a significant impact on the fields of cognitive neuroscience and biomedical engineering.

🌐 Professional Profiles

Education 🎓

PhD in Pharmacy-Toxicology and Pharmacology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran (2016 – 2021). Thesis title: Evaluation of Rolipram cytotoxicity after electrical stimulation to differentiate neural stem cells toward neuron-like cells in a conductive scaffold. M.Sc. in Medical Toxicology, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran (2012 – 2015). Thesis title: Evaluation of short term and long-term effect of single and repeated dose administration of scopolamine on memory impairment, oxidative stress and acetylcholinesterase activity in rat hippocampus. B.A. in Plant Medicine, University of Tehran, Iran (2008 – 2012).

Skills and Expertise 🧠💡

  • Neuropharmacology
  • Toxicology
  • Tissue Engineering
  • Drug Delivery
  • CNS Impact Studies
  • Research Innovation

Career Summary 🚀

2022 – Present: Assistant Professor, Functional Neurosurgery Research Center, Key Responsibilities: Mentoring, Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 impacts on the brain, Evaluation of PLGA-based drug delivery, Bioinformatics analysis of GPR116 expression in cancers, Clinical evaluations of drugs for CNS tumors, Managing cellular and molecular laboratory, Financial support for student projects, Scientific workshops and webinars. 2019 – 2022: Research Scientist, Neuropharmacology & Neurotoxicology Department, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences Key Responsibilities:, Evaluation of nano-aptasensors for early diagnosis of myocardial infarction, Utilizing nano-biomedicals for detecting AMI markers, Investigating graphene-based biosensing for Alzheimer’s biomarkers detection 2018-2021: Research Assistant, Tehran University of Medical Sciences Projects Title:, Decreasing Valproic acid hepatotoxicity by Silymarin, Synthesis and evaluation of Piroxicam derivative as a chelator, Neuroprotective effects of lipopolysaccharide and Naltrexone co-preconditioning, Memory impairment and oxidative stress evaluation following scopolamine, Computational biology, Stem Cells Culture, PCR (and real-time PCR), Western blot, Gene expression analysis, SCI modeling, Animal handling and treating, Electrospinning and microfluidics, Immunocyto/histochemistry (ICC and IHC), Toxicity tests (MTT, Trypan blue) HPLC and GC methods, Scientific writing, Statistical modeling (SPSS, GraphPad prism), Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), Language: English (B2), Turkish, Persian (native)

Teaching and Lecturer Experiences 🎓

Visiting Lecturer, International Campus of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 2022-Present. Teacher Assistant, International Campus of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 2020. Teacher Assistant, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 2017-2021.

Honors & Awards 🏆

First Rank student in Toxicology and Pharmacology in Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 2021. Rank 2 in the specialized Pharmacy-Toxicology and Pharmacology board exam, 2018. Rank 1 of the specialized PhD entrance exam in Pharmacy-Toxicology and Pharmacology, Iran, 2016. Member of Iran’s National Elites Foundation, 2018. Health Expert and show in Aparat.com media in the International Student Identity Card (ISIC), 2017.

 

Contribution to Research 📖

Journal Reviewer: Life Sciences Journal, PLOS ONE, Interventional Pain Medicine and Neuromodulation, International Clinical Neuroscience Journal. Member of Editorial Board: Interventional Pain Medicine And Neuromodulation, International Clinical Neuroscience Journal. Memberships: The International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), Member of the Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN) office, Iranian Neuroscience Society, Boards of scientific council (BSCs) member in Functional Neurosurgery Research Centre