Zerin Mahzabin Khan
B.Sc., Biochemistry, University of Ottawa; B.ASc., Chemical Engineering with Option in Biomedical Engineering, University of Ottawa; Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Virginia Tech – Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Program (Virginia Tech campus); Future Professoriate Graduate Certificate, Virginia Tech; Postdoc, Biomedical Engineering, Yale University
I am interested in developing 3D in vitro platforms to recapitulate the tumor microenvironment and study immunotherapies and drug delivery to treat cancer. During my Ph.D., I investigated a biomaterials-based approach to treat brain cancer, where I developed an injectable hydrogel platform to attract and entrap glioblastoma cells with chemoattraction for their subsequent ablation with focused ultrasound. My previous postdoctoral research had focused on melanoma mechanobiology, where I had studied the impact of mechanical stimuli on acral melanoma progression and invasion using in vitro platforms such as hydrogels comprising heterogeneous architectures and microfluidic devices. In my current postdoctoral research, I am interested in studying cellular backpack-mediated glioblastoma immunotherapy in a microfluidic platform. Specifically, I aim to investigate the transport and interactions of cell-based immunotherapies in the tumor microenvironment to target glioblastoma toward personalized cancer treatment.
