Our October 25, 2024 webinar was a "Rising Scientists in Therapeutic Ultrasound" special session featuring Mixed Topics. This series provides postdocs and early career scientists (Asst Prof.) a platform to share their work with our society.
This session was moderated by Professor Gail ter Haar from The Institute of Cancer Research.
About the Professors
Muna Aryal, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Bioengineering
North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University
Talk Title: Low-Intensity Transcranial Ultrasound: Treating Brain Diseases with Global and Localized Strategies.
Before joining NC A&T as an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering in Fall 2023, Dr. Muna Aryal worked as an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Loyola University Chicago starting in 2021. During her time there, she was involved in teaching and overseeing her research lab. She specialized in Biomedical Engineering, particularly in low-intensity transcranial-focused ultrasound for brain drug delivery, refining her expertise through postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Texas, Austin (2014-2021). Additionally, she held research assistant positions in a Focused Ultrasound Laboratory at Harvard while pursuing her Ph.D. in Physics at Boston College (2008-2014). Before transitioning into the field of Biomedical Engineering, she laid a strong foundation in Mathematics and Physics during her bachelor's degree in Nepal in 2006.
Olivia Boerman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Bucknell University
Talk Title: Elucidating the Biological Mechanisms of Low-Frequency, Low-Intensity Ultrasound on Chronic Wound Healing
Dr. Olivia Boerman is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Bucknell University. She received her BS, MS, and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Drexel University. She completed her doctoral training under Drs. Peter Lewin and Kara Spiller conducting a human clinical study of low-intensity ultrasound treatment on chronic wounds. Following her PhD, she began her independent career as a faculty member at Bucknell University. Dr. Boerman's research is focused on elucidating the biological mechanisms of low-intensity ultrasound to further leverage ultrasound for use in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine with a particular focus on vascular disease and inflammation. Dr. Boerman's research has been funded by numerous funding agencies including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and U.S. Department of Education.
Himanshu Shekhar, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar
Talk Title: Active and Passive Imaging Strategies for Monitoring Histotripsy
Himanshu Shekhar is an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, India, where he co-leads the Medical Ultrasound Engineering (MUSE) Laboratory. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, India (2008), and a Master’s (2010) and Ph.D. (2014) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rochester, U.S.A. Dr. Shekhar trained as a postdoctoral fellow (2014 – 2019) at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, U.S.A. His research is focused on ultrasound-mediated therapy, molecular imaging, and sensing. His research has been recognized with the F. V. Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Med-into-Grad Fellowship, best paper awards from the Acoustical Society of America, the Har Govind Korana Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award, and the Star Ambassador Lectureship Award from the IEEE UFFC Society. Dr. Shekhar currently serves on the Technical Committee on Biomedical Acoustics of the Acoustical Society of America, and the Professional Networking and Mentoring Committee of the IEEE UFFC Society.