PhD Spotlight: Narges Yazdani, PhD’24, Bioengineering
Narges Yazdani, PhD’24, bioengineering, focused her research on integrin-mediated mechanotransduction and its effects on neural stem cell behavior. Her work contributed to peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences and had a co-op at AbbVie Bioresearch Center.
Narges Yazdani, PhD’24, bioengineering, who is advised by Rebecca Willits, ChE professor and chair, joined Northeastern’s PhD program in 2020 after earning her master’s in bioengineering and biomedical engineering at the University of Akron. Prior to that, she received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the Iran University of Science and Technology.
As a doctoral student, Yazdani’s research focused on integrin-mediated mechanotransduction and its effects on neural stem cell behavior. Her work contributed to peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences such as the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society-Americas (TERMIS-AM), the Society for Biomaterials (SFB), and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). For the TERMIS-AM 2023 conference, she received a Bioengineering Conference Travel Award, a competitive award for students who made outstanding contributions to their lab. She presented on the interactions between neural cells and their environment to develop innovative solutions to support nerve regeneration.
For her leadership, mentoring, and outreach contributions, Yazdani received the 2024 Bioengineering Departmental Leadership Award. She mentored undergraduate students and advised capstone projects. She also engaged in science outreach, including serving as a judge at science fairs and as a student ambassador. Additionally, Yazdani served as treasurer of the Bioengineering Graduate Student Council.
In 2024, Yazdani received the College of Engineering Co-op Award, recognizing her experience on co-op at AbbVie Bioresearch Center, a pharmaceutical research and development company where she contributed to high-throughput cell culture process development. Her work involved developing assays for oxidative stress markers and titer analysis, and automating workflows using the Biomek i7 platform.
Upon graduation, Yazdani joined Genezen, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in gene and cell therapy, as an analytical development scientist. Her work is focused on developing and executing infectious titer assays for AAV, LVV, and RVV vectors using flow cytometry. She has also supported other assay development efforts within the team.