Kevin Bellows is pursuing a Master of Science degree and has a background in electrical engineering. He has enjoyed the switch to biomedical engineering and is particularly interested in the applications of optics in the medical field.
Sayali Belsare
Joined OBSL: Fall 2017
Project: Developing a paper-based chip for monitoring gestational diabetes at the point-of-care
Description about project: I am working on developing aptamer-based assays to detect glycated albumin and hemoglobin for monitoring diabetes. The optical detection technique used is colorimetry and the assays are immobilized on a paper-based platform to enable application at the point-of-care.
Previous Education:
- E. Chemical from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Goa, India
- S. Biomedical Engineering from University of Florida, FL, USA
Future Career Goals: Joining the diagnostics industry in an R&D role
Other Hobbies and Interests: Reading, drawing, origami, Indian classical dance
Kimberly Branan
Joined Lab: I joined the lab in 2018 as an undergraduate and started working as a graduate student in 2020.
Project: Physiological Sensing Wearable Technology
Description about project: I am working to create several wearables to monitor cardiac and diabetic biomarkers. In particular the aim is to measure cuffless blood pressure and predict hypoglycemia noninvasively.
Previous Education: I graduated from Texas A&M in 2019 with a BS in biomedical engineering and a minor in electrical engineering.
Future Career Goals: After graduate school, I would like to work in research and development within the bioinstrumentation field.
Other Hobbies and Interests: I like to read, paint, and bake.
Kimberly Branan
Kimberly is a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering focusing on pioneering wearable technology for noninvasive health monitoring. She began her journey in the lab as an undergraduate in 2018, transitioning seamlessly into graduate research in 2020. Kimberly’s work centers on developing advanced wearables designed to monitor cardiovascular metrics, including heart rate, heart rate variability, cardiac output, and cuffless blood pressure, as well as diabetic biomarkers, such as predicting hypo and hyperglycemia. Her designs, which include arm, wrist, and finger-based devices, integrate multiple modalities like photoplethysmography, bioimpedance, electrocardiography, skin temperature sensors, and inertial measurement units, pushing the boundaries of personalized healthcare.
Linda Bustaman
Linda Bustaman is currently an undergraduate student researcher studying Biomedical Engineering and minoring in Electrical Engineering. Her research focuses primarily on signal processing and data collection. Her main interest is the integration of electrical and biological systems.
Nandita Chaturvedi
Nandita is a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering who joined Dr. Coté’s lab in 2019. Her research focuses on developing point-of-care diagnostics devices for monitoring cardiovascular diseases like heart failure and preeclampsia, by using lateral flow assays and paperfluidics. She is leading multiple assay developments using antibodies and nucleic acids like aptamers and microRNAs for biorecognition, and nanoparticle syntheses and functionalizations for detection. She is also leveraging computational modelling, optical, electrochemical, and material characterization techniques such as SERRS, colorimetry, TEM and SEM, for the verification of these devices. She holds a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from NYU Abu Dhabi, with a minor in Economics.
Lydia Colvin
Joined Lab: Fall 2016
Project: Development of a fully implantable glucose biosensor
Description about project:
This project aims to create a fully implantable glucose biosensor, approximately the size of a grain of rice, for continuous blood sugar monitoring. This biosensor consists of a free solution FRET-based, competitive binding assay for glucose detection that is dependent on changes in fluorescence intensity. This assay is then encapsulated within a small hollow hydrogel rod with a mesh-like membrane developed by Dr. Melissa Grunlan’s biomaterials laboratory at Texas A&M. This project also focuses on designing and building a wearable detector to transmit the data to a smartphone.
Previous Education: B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, University of South Carolina
Future Career Goals: Working in the nonprofit sector and with science communication.
Other Hobbies and Interests: Crafting of any kind, planning events, and reading.
Aubrey Devries
Aubrey is a Master of Science student in Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University. She joined Dr. Coté’s lab in June 2023 as an Undergraduate Researcher. Since May 2024, she has held a position as a Graduate Researcher, contributing to the investigation of multi-modal biosensing wearable technologies aimed at monitoring cardiovascular health. Her primary focus is studying the impact of strain gauge technology for cuffless blood pressure monitoring in wearable devices. She is also enhancing her proficiency in Arduino, SolidWorks, MATLAB, protocol design, data analysis, soldering PCB boards, and other related areas of expertise.
K. Serge Dogbevi
Serge’s research interest is interdisciplinary, but he has chosen to focus more on point-of-care diagnostics and lab-on-a-chip research for his Ph.D.
Benjamin Dunning
Ben is a Master of Science student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He joined Dr. Coté’s lab in 2023 as an undergraduate research assistant. After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2024, Ben continued his work in the lab as a graduate research assistant. His specialization area in graduate school is Biomedical Imaging, Sensing, and Genomic Signal Processing, and his research focuses on data visualization, live filtering, signal processing, and data analysis of biological signals.