Simon Dunham Laboratory

Associated Lab Members

Simon Dunham
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Simon DunhamPh.D.
  • Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering in Radiology

Professor Dunham’s research focuses on the use of soft materials, 3D printing and nontraditional electronic fabrication to realize novel biomedical technologies.  He has a B.S. in materials science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.  His current research focuses on cardiac imaging, cardiac electrophysiology and airway interventions. 

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Abdellatif Ait LahcenPh.D.
  • Postdoctoral Associate in Radiology
Abdellatif Ait Lahcen, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Weill Cornell Medicine, developing soft robotic sensors for mapping heart arrhythmias. Previously a postdoc at KAUST in Saudi Arabia, he earned his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Hassan II University in Morocco in 2018, researching electrochemical and optical biosensors. He has authored and co-authored over 35 publications, 3 book chapters, and 1 US patent, with over 1500 citations and an h-index of 22. He serves on the editorial boards of several analytical chemistry journals and is a member of multiple professional societies. His work has been recognized through awards, including Best Oral Communication at the 2019 Euroanalysis XX conference in Istanbul, Turkey.
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Lina Sanchez BoteroPh.D.
  • Postdoctoral Associate in Radiology

Lina Sanchez Botero, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Weill Cornell Medicine developing novel soft robotic methods for ablation of cardiac tissue to treat arrhythmias of the heart.

Mousumi Dhara
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Mousumi Dhara
  • Laboratory Supervisor in Radiology

Mousumi Dhara manages purchasing, regulatory affairs and operations for the Biomedical Engineering and Brain Health Imaging Institute in the Department of Radiology. Prior to this, she was the biorepository coordinator in the Head and Neck Cancer Division at Johns Hopkins University, and in Tissue Procurement Services at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Department of Pathology. 

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Alexander DornbackB.S.E.
  • Research Technician I in Radiology

The research of Alex Dornback, B.S.E., focuses on 3D modeling, printing, and fluid dynamic assessment of patient-specific coronary artery models. He received his bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University with a concentration in biomechanics. Previously, he held a scientist role at Haima Therapeutics formulating and testing platelet-mimetic nanoparticles to prevent life-threatening bleeding, and has worked on other academic research in wearables and software development.

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Zixu HuangPh.D.
  • Postdoctoral Associate in Radiology

The research of Zixu Huang, Ph.D., focuses on the design and processing of functional polymers, soft robotics, and flexible electronics to advance innovative biomedical technologies. He has a B.S. in composite materials and engineering from East China University of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Houston. His current research is dedicated to the development of smart endotracheal tubings for patients with respiratory challenges.

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Sahar JalalPh.D.
  • Postdoctoral Associate in Radiology

Dr. Jalal’s research centers around characterizing the biomechanical properties of diseased coronary arteries, with the goal of replicating them via 3D printing. She received her Ph.D. in aerospace engineering and mechanics from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, where her thesis was on respiratory flows in idealized and patient-specific 3D-printed human airways. Her interests include fluid mechanics, biomechanics, Magnetic Resonance Velocimetry (MRV), medical devices and public health.  

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Laya SamM.D.
  • Research Associate in Radiology

Laya Sam, M.D., is an OBGYN surgeon who assists with various projects involving ex vivo and in vivo animal testing, performing medical image annotations, and interacting with patients for IRB-approved human studies.

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Lilia Soriano
  • Research Assistant in Radiology

Lilia Soriano is working as a research lab assistant in the Dalio Institute for Cardiovascular Imaging. She graduated from Queens College with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a concentration in biochemistry. 

Lab Goals 

The Dunham Lab focuses on efforts to utilize combinations of soft materials, 3D printing, flexible electronics and soft robotics, in order to develop novel diagnostic and/or therapeutic technologies.  The lab leverages expertise and soft materials, image analysis, and flexible sensing to develop these tools.  While our more mature efforts are centered around treatments for cardiac health, we are beginning to explore more diverse applications of these technologies.   

Research Projects

The goal of this project was to develop a patient-specific occluder for the left atrial appendage (LAA), as a stroke prevention device for atrial fibrillation (...

Intubation Procedures: For patients with obstructed airways or difficulty breathing, intubation is a lifesaver...

Atrial Fibrillation and Unstable Cardiac Arrhythmia: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a significant problem for the health care community. ...

Weill Cornell Medicine
Department of Radiology
525 East 68th Street New York, NY 10065