Parinaz Fathi, Ph.D.

The goal of research in the Unit for NanoEngineering and MicroPhysiological Systems (UNEMPS) is to integrate biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering with basic mechanistic biology to understand and develop therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

UNEMPS research focuses on:

1. Developing organ-on-a-chip models of immune-related conditions
2. Evaluating the role of biological nanoparticles in autoimmune diseases and cancer

Dr. Parinaz Fathi has been leading the NIBIB Unit for NanoEngineering and MicroPhysiological Systems as an Independent Research Scholar since July 2022. She completed her postdoctoral training in Dr. Kaitlyn Sadtler’s Section on Immunoengineering, where she worked on developing microfluidic models of biomaterial-immune interactions, as well as applying high-throughput assays for biomarker identification and serological studies. She completed her Ph.D. and M.S. in Bioengineering with a graduate concentration in Cancer Nanotechnology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She conducted part of her doctoral research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) through the National Physical Science Consortium Fellowship. Prior to this, she completed her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, with minors in Nanoscale Science & Technology and Engineering Leadership Development. In 2020, Dr. Fathi was selected for the CAS Future Leaders program, and in 2021 she received the NIBIB Director’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship (Xiuwen Wang Memorial Award). In the past she received other awards including the UIUC Bioengineering Department Graduate Student Leadership Award, the NIH T32 Tissue Microenvironment Training Program Fellowship, the Mavis Future Faculty Fellowship, and the Nadine Barrie Smith memorial Fellowship.