Research Team

Principal Investigator

Jonathan Vande Geest, PhD
Professor
JPV20@pitt.edu
Office: 412-624-6496
Fax: 412-383-8788

Dr. Jonathan Vande Geest is a Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh.  He received his BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Iowa in 2000 and his PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 2005.  Upon graduation, Dr. Vande Geest began his career at the University of Arizona in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and joined the U of A’s Department of Biomedical Engineering in 2009.  Dr. Vande Geest returned to the University of Pittsburgh in January of 2016. Dr. Vande Geest currently holds affiliate positions in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science (MEMS), the Department of Ophthalmology, the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration, and the Vascular Medicine Institute.

Dr. Vande Geest leads the Soft Tissue Biomechanics Laboratory (STBL) whose primary goal is to develop and utilize novel experimental and computational bioengineering approaches to study the structure function relationships of soft tissues in human growth, remodeling, and disease. The STBL has also devoted significant effort in the development of novel endovascular medical devices. Advances in bioengineering are established in the STBL by seamlessly bringing together state-of-the-art techniques in tissue fabrication, nonlinear optical microscopy, finite element modeling, and cell mechanobiology. Current projects in the STBL are focused on neurodegenerative diseases including primary open angle glaucoma and vocal fold paralysis, as well as the development of a compliance matched tissue engineered vascular graft.

Prof. Vande Geest is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), the International Society of Applied Cardiovascular Biology, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the American Physiological Society (APS).  In 2013 Dr. Vande Geest was awarded the Y. C. Fung Young Investigator Award - a society wide medal awarded by the Bioengineering Division of ASME to recognize those demonstrating significant potential to make substantial contributions to the field of Bioengineering. He is currently an Associate Editor for the ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering and also serves as the Chair of the ASME Bioengineering Division Solids Technical Committee. Dr. Vande Geest received an NSF CAREER award in 2007 and has since secured extramural funding from the NSF, NIH, and AHA.

Postdoctoral Associate


Jr-Jiun Liou: JRL101@pitt.edu


Graduate Students

kenny furdella
Kenneth Furdella: KJF43@pitt.edu

hirut kollech
Hirut Kollech: HIK27@pitt.edu

Ali Behrangzade: ALB406@pitt.edu


Undergraduate Students

Gloriani Sanchez: GLS56@pitt.edu
Lucy Jones: LRJ15@pitt.edu

STBL Alumni

Postdoctoral Fellows

  • Aifang Zhou
  • Jianhua Tong
  • Dominic Muli

Research Engineers

  • Jordan Carbary
  • Forest Danford
  • Stephen Howerton

Graduate Students

  • Ariane Mortazavi, MS in ME, University of Arizona, 2008
  • Siddharth Vad, MS in ME, University of Arizona, 2009
  • Johnny Ashton, PhD in BME, University of Arizona, 2010
  • Amanda Eskinazi, AMP MS in BME, University of Arizona, 2011
  • Greg Johnson, MS in ME, University of Arizona, 2011
  • Dongmei Yan, MS in ME, University of Arizona, 2011
  • John Harper, MS in ME, University of Arizona, 2011
  • Daniel Warren, PhD in BME, University of Arizona, 2013
  • Joseph Keyes, PhD in BME, University of Arizona, 2013
  • Megan Alexander, PhD in BME, University of Arizona, 2014
  • Jeff Pyne, MS in BME, University of Arizona, 2014
  • Darren Haskett, MS/PhD in BME, University of Arizona, 2010/2015
  • Avinash Ayyalasomayajula, MS/PhD in ME, University of Arizona, 2010/2015
  • Michelle Hine Armstrong, PhD in Applied Math, University of Arizona, 2015
  • Scott Harrison, MS in ME, University of Arizona, 2016
  • Ehab Tamimi, PhD in Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, 2018
  • Catalina Ardila, PhD in Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, 2018
  • Michelle Drewry, PhD student in Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
  • Reza Behkam, PhD in Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, 2019

Undergraduate Students
  • Chris Hamilton, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Tyler Brown, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Stephanie Sara, Biosystems Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Jose Carlos Rodriguez, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Jennifer Watson, Physiology and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Jesse Hibbs, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Jill E. Smith, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Rachel Herlihy, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Sheridan McPheeters, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Timothy Kerrigan, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Stacy Borowicz, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • James Mertz, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Tamara Corrales, Biosystems Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Danielle Craig, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Franklin Ventura, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Erica Pursell, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Jessica Hung, Chemical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Dani Lockwood, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Ryan Grobmeier, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Pradeep Koripella, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Ben Erlick, Biosystems Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Robert Dreier, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Thomas Cahir, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Chelsea Miller, Materials Science Eng, University of Arizona
  • Shelly Garland, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Andrea Acuna, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Corina MacIsaac, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Erica Schwarz, Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins
  • Bryan Eberson, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Matthew Davis, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Cody Kalmic, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Joshua Uhlorn, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Jamie Lynn Hernandez, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Matt Fritzie, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • David Maestas, Biomedical Engineering and Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona
  • Addison Kaufmann, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Kara Roberts, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Michael Volk, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Victoria Lundine, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Genevieve Messina, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Raj Neeraj, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Andrew D’Arcangelis, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Matthew Strege, Biology, University of California Davis
  • Timothy Leach, Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona
  • Xiao Xizi, Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
  • Amy Hill, Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
  • Katelyn Axman, Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
  • Kelsey Sadlek, Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh
  • Daniela Krahe, Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
  • Ankith Rao, Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
  • Andres Quinones, Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
  • Austin Lin, Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Ashlinn Sweeney, Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
  • Rachel Lau, Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
  • Hannah Schmidt, Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
  • Seth Queen, Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh