Parinaz Fathi, Ph.D.

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

NEMPSS 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 is leading the NIBIB NanoEngineering and MicroPhysiological Systems Section, which develops microphysiological models of immune-related diseases and evaluates the roles of biological nanoparticles in immune responses.

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.

She joined NIBIB as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Kaitlyn Sadtler's Section on Immunoengineering, before beginning her own lab at NIBIB as an Independent Research Scholar and later a Stadtman Investigator.

Dr. Fathi was selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 Science List in 2025. She has also been recognized through selection for the UMD Alumni Excellence Award (2024), Rising Stars in Engineering in Health (2023), NIBIB Director's Award for Outstanding Scholarship (2021 Xiuwen Wang Memorial Award), and CAS Future Leaders program (2020). 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.