I am an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of the Pacific. My research focus on developing novel imaging technologies for tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine applications. I have published over twenty peer reviewed publications on medical imaging applications in TE, disease diagnosis and developing novel imaging methods. I developed microscopic magnetic resonance elastography (μMRE) for my Ph.D. dissertation which led to my appointment as co-I on an NIH R21 grant that further developed my research. Upon graduation, I strengthened my skills in TE for three years by collaborating with experts in the field, including Dr. Jeremy Mao (Columbia University College of Dental Medicine). Additionally, I joined a well-established translational program at the University of Chicago on rodent cardiac gene expression imaging for my postdoctoral training. Following multiple years of training in various research areas, I was recruited to the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln through the University Of Nebraska Program Of Excellence in 2008. Once there, I built my first laboratory which is a dedicated multi-modal imaging laboratory for TE applications equipped with unique capabilities including tissue culture, MRI, and optical imaging. In the initial stages of building the lab, I received an NIH R03 grant, enabling me to strengthen the laboratory’s theme by collecting preliminary data. I also received two Nebraska Stem Cell grants on bone and cartilage TE, which allowed me to collaborate with distinguished scientists in the fields of TE and bioinstrumentation while collecting additional TE data on MRI and MRE. I also received the NSF first sward that enabled me to develop magnetic resonance elastography to test the mechanical properties of engineered tissues. Finally, I was recruited to the University of the Pacific to build their tissue engineering program with focus on training graduate and undergraduate student in the growing area of tissue engineering. I have been active in contributing my knowledge to the greater research community. I was invited to write a paper on the in vivo mechanical properties of mesenchymal stem cell-derived constructs. I was also invited to publish a chapter on the role of MRE in tissue engineering. I was invited to give a 30 minute "lead-off" in the Tissue Engineering podium session " Imaging Techniques in Tissue Engineering" at the 2016 Biomedical Engineering Society Meeting.