Daniel Chavarria, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Lippmann Research Group
聽Growing up with a father who was a mechanical engineer and an aunt who was a physician, I was drawn early to bioengineering to apply engineering solutions to biomedical problems. My focus on Alzheimer鈥檚 disease was motivated by watching my grandfather live with the condition for over a decade. My research leverages tissue engineering principles by integrating microfabrication, synthetic biology, and stem cells to develop the next generation of in vitro models of neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. To achieve this, our team generates human stem cell鈥揹erived vascularized neural organoids that mimic the brain鈥檚 structural architecture and recapitulate its complex cellular composition.
Using VINSE’s state-of-the-art core facilities, we characterize and validate key dimensions of the microdevices we prototype in the Lippmann Lab. This high-precision characterization enables us to predict reliably and model hemodynamics in our vascularized neural organoids. In May 2026 our grouped published an article in RSC Advances titled, 鈥淭olerances in microfluidic master molds: a comparison of 3D printing and micromilling”. The results from this publication demonstrated a significantly rougher surface finish on 3D-printed master molds compared to micromilled aluminum master molds. This surface finished resulted in different fluid dynamic behaviors affecting our biological outcomes for each microfluidic chip. This work highlights the importance of facilities like VINSE to characterize key dimensions and surface roughness of our microdevices. Looking ahead, we aim to model Alzheimer鈥檚 disease pathology in these vascularized systems to enable mechanistic studies and high-throughput drug screening.
Outside the lab, I enjoy rock climbing, hiking, woodworking, and playing video games. My wife and I also love exploring local Nashville coffee shops and unwinding with movies alongside our pets.