Eric Dy

Vita

I attended college at Cornell University and earned a B.S. in bioengineering from the School of Engineering.  While attending Cornell, I was exposed to micro and nanofabrication while working as a research assistant for Dr. Carlo Montemagno.  I worked in the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility developing and characterizing process flows for hollowed out nanotips, which are currently used in various areas of ongoing research.  Upon graduation I enrolled in the Department of Bioengineering at UCLA where I am currently pursuing my PhD.

 

Current Research

Muscle MEMS:

Muscle MEMS is groundbreaking work that unites tissue engineering with Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) to produce hybrid organic-inorganic devices.  The thrust of my research is to produce functional hybrid devices that can stimulate mechanotransduction pathways in self-assembled tissue bundles thru electrostatic MEMS actuators. 

 

Thus far we have successfully demonstrated the ability for both C2C12 skeletal and cardiac myocyte to selectively self-assemble onto MEMS devices and in situ differentiate into functional muscle tissue.  Work is currently underway to fabricate an electrostatic MEMS actuator capable of functioning in an ionic aqueous environment. 

 

Intracellular Calcium monitoring of NRVM:

In addition to Muscle MEMS I am looking to use calcium indicators as a means of monitoring cellular state in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes with the help of an undergraduate researcher, Audrey Nguyen.

 

Education

B.S. 2002 - Cornell University

M.S. 2006 - University of California Los Angeles

 

Work Experience

University of California Los Angeles                                                           Fall 2003 – Present

Graduate Researcher

§         Project leader on a $75,000 NASA grant to investigate the effects of microgravity and radiation on cardiovascular function; Secured an additional $100,000 NASA grant based on the work from the initial funding period

§         Collaborate with NASA researchers at Ames Research Center on GeneSat program

 

Hospital for Special Surgery ▪ New York, NY                                                         Summer 2002

Engineering Intern at Dana Center – Biomechanics Division

§         Researched wear and failure rates of unicondylar knee replacements to aid in the development of a mobile bearing unicondylar knee implant

§         Designed computer models using MSC Visual Nastran 4D software and verified the results of finite element analysis (FEA) data produced through various stress tests

 

Montemagno Research Group ▪ Ithaca, NY                                                       2001-2002

Research Assistant at the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility

§         Optimized process flow for nanofabrication of nanoscale needles

§         Developed electroplating experiments using nanoscale needles to create nickel shafts and analyzed results of said experiments

 

Publications

Xi J, Dy E, Hung MT, Montemagno C.  “Development of a Self-Assembled Muscle-Powered Piezoelectric Microgenerator” NSTI Nanotechnology Conference, March 7-11, 2004, Boston MA.

 

Dy E, Yeghiazarian L, Lin CK, Nister V, Montemagno C.  “Preventative Care and Medical Technologies:  A look at the foreseeable future” Thomas A Pitts Memorial Lectureship in Medical Ethics Conference Proceedings, September 2005. 

 

Wendell D, Dy E, Patti J, Montemagno C.  “Biological Inspired Nanostructured Materials” Bionanotechnology, 2006, in press.

 

Dy E, Montemagno C.  “Self-Assembly of Cardiac Myocytes onto MEMS Devices” CNSI Annotated Annual Research Report, 2005.

 

Contact Info

Mailing Address:
18-111 Engineering IV
420 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Phone:310-825-1350
Fax:310-825-1350
Email: ericdy@ucla.edu