Meet our Team
Melissa Kinney
Principal Investigator
Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute Of Technology (McDevitt Lab)
Postdoc, Boston Children's Hospital / MIT (Daley And Lauffenburger Labs)
Melissa loves solving the puzzles of stem cell biology and is intrigued by systems that appear so complex, yet function in elegantly simple and efficient ways. She runs on curiosity, coffee, and sunshine and loves spending time with her family, baking treats for lab celebrations and designing graphics to communicate science with the community.
Post Doctoral fellows
john ebben, MD/Phd
B.S. Biomedical Science / Political Science, Marquette University
M.D./Ph.D. tumor Immunology, Medical College of Wisconsin
Lab member since: 2021
Hi! My name is John. I was born and raised in Appleton, WI (near-ish to Green Bay). I did my undergraduate training at Marquette, followed by medical school and graduate school at Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee), and now Madison for residency, fellowship, and post-doctoral training! I love the concept of solving a puzzle, but also applying that knowledge to benefit patients and generate new cures. My dream is to take a basic science insight from the bench to a new medicine that can improve life for the patients that I see in clinic. I am a New York Times aficionado. I love skiing in the winter time (downhill/alpine), enjoy tennis in the summers, spending plenty of time at the Terrace and on lake(s). I have also been a life long Star Trek fan (evenly split between TNG and VOY).
Graduate students
Madeline Smerchansky
Major: Biomedical Engineering
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Lab member since: 2019
Hello! I’m Madeline. I’m from Arlington, VA, right outside of Washington DC. I love learning how to use our bodies’ tools to model and treat disease. Our cells have so much power bundled so tightly and it’s very exciting to me that as scientists and engineers, we can unlock that power and use it in novel and often unexpected ways. Outside of lab you can usually find me in the kitchen (usually making tacos or something quinoa based). Funny enough, while I love to cook, baking is usually too scientific (I left the science in lab!). I love the outdoors and am obsessed with all things water related including swimming, rowing or just floating on a hot summer day. I also enjoy going to concerts and experiencing all types of live music.
Andy Zhang
Major: Biomedical Engineering
B.S., M.Phil, Biomedical Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Lab member since: 2021
james rolland
B.S. Biochemistry, Valparaiso University
Lab member since: 2021
Hello! I’m James. I am from Kentwood Michigan which is a suburb of Grand Rapids. What excites me most about science is the possibilities. Science is a road to new and exciting ideas that can change the world. The opportunity to get up every day and work in a field like that is what is most meaningful to me.In my spare time I like to read, hike, and watch sports.
UNDERGRADUATE students
Karthik Madhusudhanan
Major: Biology
Lab member since: 2022
I’m from Eden Prairie, Minnesota! I think it is so cool that humans have come so far in technology in medicine just from conducting experiments over and over again. I want to be a part of that process and find something new that could help the human race as a whole! I’ve been passionate about science ever since I was a kid, I would always read books about space, technology, etc. because I thought they were all so cool. In my spare time, I play piano! I’ve been playing since I was in kindergarten, so I love just sitting down at any piano and playing whatever I have on my mind. I also like drawing every now and then. I could definitely spend all day talking about my video game interests, tv shows that I’m watching, or even anything science related.
Zachary Mayhew
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Lab member since: 2022
Hello! I’m Zac. I was born and raised right outside of Madison in Middleton, WI. What excites me most about science is that by gaining a better understanding of it we can work together to improve the quality of peoples lives. Also, there is still so much to discover and learn about science that it never gets boring. I enjoy spending my free time in nature, especially by traveling to state/national parks. When I don’t have time to travel, I enjoy relaxing and spending time with family and friends. If given the opportunity, I could easily talk about the vastness of the universe and the mysteries it contains.
We are looking for curious and enthusiastic graduate students and postdocs to join our team!
Melissa A. Kinney, Ph.D.
Department Of Biomedical Engineering
University Of Wisconsin-Madison
Engineering Centers Building
Room 2148
1550 Engineering Dr
Madison, WI 53706
