Welcome

The Mills Lab at RPI

We are an experimental cell and tissue biomechanics laboratory focused on understanding the role of mechanics in disease initiation and progression. We are currently involved in studies utilizing in vitro models of tumor growth in order to probe the relationship between tumor cells and their biomechanical environment.

We are an interdisciplinary team of mechanical, manufacturing, materials, and biomedical engineers as well as biophysicists and biologists. If you are interested in joining our collaborative team, check out the Contact page.


News
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    2021

    November 2021 Congratulations to Emma Brown for successfully defending her Masters thesis!

    Emma defended her masters thesis (with actual people, socially distanced, in the auditorium! as well as others online) “The effect of substrate stiffness on healthy and neurofibromatosis type 1 Schwann cell morphology and traction stress generation”.



    August 2021 Francesca LaPinta and Christina Rogers start masters degrees

    Francesca begins her masters project investigating time- and length scale-dependent mechanical properties of soft agarose gels.

    Christina continues her undergraduate research for her masters project on in vitro modeling the mammary duct to investigate biomechanical factors of the DCIS to IDC transition in breast cancer.



    August 2021 The Mills Lab welcomes Mariel Doriah, Charlotte Avra, and Laura Zwirn!

    Mariel, Charlotte, and Laura are all mechanical engineering juniors or seniors working on different research projects.



    July 2021 Dr. Mills is promoted to Associate Professor!


    May 2021 Congrats to our grads!

    Emma Brown, Christina Rogers, and Zoe Stetson complete their BS degrees in BME!



    April 2021 Samuel Chen wins First Place for his presentation in the Undergraduate Research Symposium

    Congratulations to Samuel for his excellent presentation “Analysis of Matrix-Dependent Traction Force and Stress Generation with Traction Forcce Microscopy” winning 1st Place at the 12th Annual RPI Undergraduate Research Symposium!



    March 2021 Jonathan’s Tissue Engineering Part A paper is published!

    Jonathan’s work on the development of a mammary duct model to investigate the influence of biomechanical factors on the transition from Ductal Carcinoma In Situ to Invasive Ductal Carcinoma was published in a special edition of Tissue Engineering Part A on Oncology and Tissue Engineering.



    February 2021 Dr. Mills wins research award

    Dr. Mills and her lab were recognized by the RPI School of Engineering with the 2020 Research Excellence Award!



    February 2021 Francesca LaPinta joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher

    Francesca LaPinta starts an undergraduate research project working on the mechanical characterization of hydrogels

    Welcome Francesca!



    January 2021 Dr. Mills is interviewed on WNYT local news

    Health reporter Benita Zahn from WNYT interviewed Dr. Mills for a multi-part reporting piece on cancer research.



    January 2021 Jonathan’s Integrative Biology paper published

    Jonathan’s research on the growth of tumor emboli was published in Integrative Biology.

    The paper also features some nice mechanical characterization by Jamie. Thanks to Xiangyu and Nora and our other collaborators for their contributions!

    RPI issued a press release on that publication.

    Congratulations Jonathan and Jamie!


    2020

    September 2020 Agnes Han joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher

    Agnes Han, a junior in mechanical engineering, starts an undergraduate research project investigating the contact guidance of NF1 and NF2 fibroblasts.

    Welcome Agnes!



    September 2020 Emma Brown joins the lab as an MS Co-term student

    Emma Brown, who is finishing up her BS in BME, starts her MS thesis work in the Mills Lab studying the biomechanics of NF1 Schwann cell aggregates.

    Welcome Emma!



    July 2020 Help, we’re still at home!

    The Mills Lab is trying to make the best of quarantine….




    June 2020 Dr. Mills presents a Lightning Talk at SB3C

    View Dr. Mills’s 5-minute Lightning Talk “Rapid fabrication of micro-scale collagen bundles and their application in studies of tumor cell-matrix interactions,” presented at this year’s virtual Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Biotransport Conference.




    May 2020 New undergraduate student joins the lab

    Zoe Stetson, a sophomore in biomedical engineering, joins the lab.

    She and Christina Rogers will both receive NSF REU (research experience for undergraduates) stipends to develop Outreach modules for the Engineering Ambassadors program and do literature review and develop research plans for when we can return to the lab.

    Welcome Zoe and congratulations to you both!



    May 2020 Congrats to our grads!

    Gavin Mays graduated with BS, Jamie with MS, and Jonathan with PhD!



    May 2020 Gavin and Samuel recognized for their undergraduate research


    May 2020 Jamie is recognized for an outstanding Masters thesis

    Jamie Gearhart won the MANE Department’s Michael A. Sodowsky Prize recogning outstanding scholarship and demonstrated ability in the application of mechanics.

    Double congratulations Jamie!!



    May 2020 Samuel is recognized with Charles D. Dyce Prize

    Samuel Chen won the Charles D. Dyce Prize, in recognition of demonstrated high scholastic ability and involvement in extracurricular activities and potential for constructive leadership.

    Congratulations Samuel!!



    March 2020 Jamie successully defends MS thesis

    Jamie’s master’s thesis is titled, “A study on utilizing multi-scale indentation and compression methods to robustly characterize the mechanical properties of viscoelastic materials”, and her results are integral to an upcoming paper (stay tuned).

    Congratulations Jamie!



    March 2020 Xiangyu’s second paper is published

    Xiangyu’s paper, “Rapid fabrication of collagen bundles mimicking tumor-associated collagen architectures” is published in Acta Biomaterialia.

    RPI has issued a press release on that publication comprising a short and general video on the work in our group:




    January 2020 New undergraduate student joins the lab

    Samuel Chen, a sophomore mechanical engineering student, joins the lab.

    Welcome Samuel!


    2019

    December 2019 Congrats to our winter grads!

    Congratulations to Sarah Ahearn on her graduation with a BS degree in biomedical engineering!

    Congratulations to Aly Tremblay on her graduation with an MEng in mechanical engineering and finishing up her project titled, “Spreading Behavior and Morphology of NF1 and NF2 Fibroblasts”!

    And, congratulations to the lab’s first PhD: Xiangyu Gong!

    We wish you all the best!



    November 2019 Xiangyu successfully defends PhD thesis

    Xiangyu successfully defended his thesis titled, “A Multiscale Study Revealing the Interplay Between Tumor Growth and the Three-Dimensional Extracellular Matrix”.



    October 2019 Dr. Mills recieves teaching award

    Dr. Mills was recognized for her teaching with the RPI School of Engineering Classroom Excellence Award



    October 2019 Mills Lab attends BMES in Philadelphia

    We had a record number of abstracts accepted – both grad and undergrads – to present posters at BMES.

    Xiangyu, Jonathan, Rufeng, Aly, Jamie, Sarah, and Gavin braved the van ride down to Philadelphia with Dr. Mills!




    October 2019 Dr. Mills wins DoD CDMRP New Investigator Award


    September 2019 New undergraduate student joins the lab

    Christina Rogers, a sophomore in biomedical engineering, joins the lab. She will work with Jonathan on an in vitro model of the mammary duct to study the effects of the physcial environment on the invasive transition of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

    Welcome Christina!



    September 2019 Visiting student from Germany

    Alina Hunecke, an undergraduate student in Biomedical Science at Reutlingen University in Germany, joins the lab to do a semester-long research project.

    Welcome Alina!



    July 2019 Dr. Mills runs the Engineering Exploration Program

    Engineering Exploration is a week-long residential program for high school students (rising juniors or seniors) to experience hands-on activities that introduce them to the various engineering fields.

    Sarah Ahearn serves as a group leader and mentor for a group of 24 students for the week!

    Xiangyu helps out in the mechanical engineering lab!

    Thank you Sarah and Xiangyu!



    June 2019 New graduate student joins the lab

    Micah Rambo, who recently completed his BA in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology at Whimann College, joined the lab. Micah will be studying the biomechanics of tumors associated with neurofibromatosis type I.

    Welcome Micah!



    May 2019 New undergraduate students join the lab for summer research

    Sarah Ahearn and Gavin Mays, both seniors in biomedical engineering, join the lab.

    Sarah will continue to build on the work of Elly Pontius and study the effects of production method on tumor spheroids.

    Gavin Mays will begin an investigation into Schwann cell behavior in our 3D in vitro matrix models.

    Welcome Sarah and Gavin!



    May 2019 Congrats Grads!

    Elly Pontius, Gilad Drillich, Devon Forsythe, and Peter D’Almeida all graduate with BS degrees in Biomedical Engineering.

    Congratulations to you all and please keep in touch!



    March 2019 Ashok successfully defends his Masters Thesis

    Ashok Williams defended his masters thesis titled “Designing 3D fiber reinforced hydrogels for in vitro cell studies” in which he describes the project he took on, in collaboration with Prof. Johnson Samuel’s lab, to develop a continuous hybrid manufacturing process to make fiber-reinforced composite hydrogels. The first hydrogel-embedded 3D random fibrous network for cell studies.



    February 2019 Dr. Mills wins NSF CAREER Award

    The award for Dr. Mills’s work titled, Force-Generating Mechanisms Responsible for Matrix-Dependent Compressive Mechanical Feedback During Tumor Growth, will support the lab’s research on how tumor cells transduce mechanical force and outreach efforts including engaging visits to local high school classrooms to talk about the interdisciplinary nature of cell biomechanics and mechanobiology research.

    RPI-news



    January 2019 Aly Tremblay graduates with BS, will stay for MEng

    Aly Tremblay receives her BS in biomedical engineering this term as she finishes up her undergraduate requirements. Exciting news is that she’s decided to stay on at RPI and in the lab to work on her MEng project in mechanical engineering! Aly will continue with her project on studying the dynamics of cell spreading with the NF fibroblasts.

    Congrats Aly!



    January 2019 New undergraduate student joins the lab

    Jaime Gearhart, a senior undergraduate student in biomedical engineering, joined the lab and will start her project (building on with the work started by Rachel Dass) on mechanical characterization of tumor spheroids and tissues using milli- and nano-scale indentation techniques.

    Welcome Jaime!


    2018

    December 2018 Rachel Dass defends Masters Thesis


    October 2018 Mills Lab attends BMES in Atlanta
    • Rachel – poster
    • Gilad – poster
    • Rufeng, Ashok, Xiangyu, and Jonathan – talks



    September 2018 New undergraduate students join the lab

    Aly Tremblay and Peter D’Almeida, both senior undergraduate student in biomedical engineering, joined the lab. Aly will start a project studying the spreading of NF fibroblasts and Peter will work on the development of a microfluidic platform for incresing the efficiency of cell patterning.

    Welcome Aly and Peter!



    July 2018 The lab hosts a high school student for the Rensselaer Research Program

    Samuel Weinstein joins the lab from Montville Township High School in Montville, NJ for a month-long research experience as part of the Rensselaer Research Program.

    Update August 2018: Sam starts a lab tradition of winning the faculty-selected Best Poster Award for this year’s Renssleaer Research Program for his poster “Mechanical Characterization of In Vitro Hydrogel Models”.

    Congratualtions Sam!




    July 2018 Ashok and Rachel publish their work

    Ashok Williams and Rachel Dass are first and second authors, respectively, on a paper of collaborative work with Prof. Johnson Samuel’s group on a novel 3D fiber-reinforced hydrogel ECM in vitro model in Frontiers of Physiology.

    Congratulations!



    June/August 2018 Rachel wins travel award

    Rachel Dass won a Graduate Student Travel Award to present her work at the 2018 BMES: Advanced Biomanufacturing Special Interest Group meeting August 23 & 24 at WPI! Her poster is titled, “Toward Morphologically Relevant Extracellular Matrix in Vitro Models: 3D Reinforced Hydrogels “.

    Congratulations on a job well done, Rachel!




    May 2018 New undergraduate student joins the lab for summer research

    Gilad Drillich, an undergraduate student dual majoring in biomedical and mechanical engineering, joins the lab. He will work on Matlab coding for data analysis and image processing.



    May 2018 Xiangyu passes Candidacy Exam

    Xiangyu presented his reseach progress and plan for completing his PhD work to his committee and passed his candidacy exam.

    Congratulations PhD Candidate!



    March 2018 Xiangyu Gong publishes first paper

    Xiangyu’s first paper, “Large-scale patterning of single cells and cell clusters in hydrogels,” was published in Scientific Reports.

    Congratulations Xiangyu!



    January 2018 New undergraduate student joins the lab

    Devon Forsythe, an undergraduate student in biomedical engineering, joins the lab. He will work with Sebastian Barrutia on cell invasion assays and with Xiangyu on image analysis.

    Welcome Devon!


    2017

    December 2017 Jonathan passes Candidacy Exam

    Jonathan presented his reseach progress and plan for completing his PhD work to his committee and passed his candidacy exam.

    Congratulations PhD Candidate!



    December 2017 Rachel Dass graduates with BS, will stay for MS

    Rachel Dass receives her BS in mechanical engineering this term as she finishes up her undergraduate requirements. Exciting news is that she’s decided to stay on at RPI and in the lab to work on her MS in biomedical engineering! Rachel will work on characterizing soft materials and tissues using the microcompression system.

    Way to go Rachel!



    October 2017 Congratulations to Xiangyu for Founders Award

    Xiangyu wins RPI’s Founders Award of Excellence.

    The award honors “students who embody qualities of creativity, discovery, leadership, and the values of pride and responsibility at Rensselaer.”



    October 2017 Mills Lab attends BMES in Phoenix

    Dr. Mills, Xiangyu, Jonathan, Ashok, Rufeng, and Rachel travel as a group to Phoenix for the BMES Annual Meeting. All students had a wonderful experience and did a great job presenting their posters.

    Congratulations!




    July 2017 The lab hosts a high school student for the Rensselaer Research Program

    Trijal Koduri joins the lab for a month-long research experience as part of the Rensselaer Research Program.

    Update August 2017: Trijal wins the Outstanding Poster Presentation award for this year’s Renssleaer Research Program for his poster “Tumor growth in response to cell density”. Congratulations Trijal!



    May 2017 New undergraduate students join the lab for summer research!

    Nora Herzog, an undergraduate student in Cell Biology and Neuroscience at Rutgers University will join the lab as a research assistant and work with Jonathan Kulwatno on studying the growth of tumor emboli in in vitro model lympatic vessels. Welcome Nora! Andrew Nicholas, a senior mechanical engineering student at RPI, joins the lab for the summer to work on Matlab coding for image processing and analysis. Welcome Andrew! Elizabeth “Elly” Pontius, a sophomore biomedical engineering student at RPI, joins the lab and will study tumor spheroid production methods. Welcome Elly!




    March 2017 Walter “Sebastian” Barrutia joins the lab

    Sebastian Barrutia, an undergraduate student dual majoring in biomedical and mechanical engineering joins the lab. His experimental project will be on cell invasion into collagen matrices and he will develop Matlab image processing code. Welcome Sebastian!



    Spring 2017 Ihsan Nordin will complete is MEng Co-term project in the lab

    Ihsan Nordin will do his MEng project in the lab. He will study the effects of cell density on the growth of aggregates in agarose gels. Welcome Ihsan!



    Spring 2017 Two graduate students start projects in the lab

    Rufeng Ma (MS in mechanical engineering from Beijing Jiaotong University) and Robert Altman (MS in mechanical engineering from RPI) joined the lab to work on projects in mechanosensing of NF fibroblasts and microfluidic cell patterning, respectively.

    Welcome Rufeng and Robert!


    2016

    October 2016 Xiangyu and Dr. Mills attend BMES in Minneapolis


    October 2016 Two graduate students join the lab

    Jonathan Kulwatno, who recently earned an MS in biomedical engineering from RPI, joins the lab.

    Jonathan will develop in vitro models of ductal and vessel structures.

    Welcome Jonathan!

    Ashok Williams (BS in mechanical engineering from UMBC) joins the lab and will work on the electrospinning project.

    Welcome Ashok!



    February 2016 Rachel Dass joins the lab

    Rachel Dass joins the lab to work on the electrospining project in collaboration with Prof. Johnson Samuel’s lab


    2015

    Fall 2015 Undergraduate students join the lab

    James Sherman, Andrew Chi, Jeffrey Chen, and Alexis Hill all join the Mills Lab to do undergraduate research projects. James Sherman is working on developing an electrospinning setup for creating 3D ECM-mimicking environments. Andrew Chi and Alexis Hill are fabricating and mechanically characterizing agarose-collage co-gels.



    July 2015 The labs gets its first graduate student

    Xiangyu Gong, who recently received his MS in manufacturing from Rutgers University, joins Dr. Mills as her first graduate student.

    After learning cell culture and working in a wet lab, Xiangyu will work on a 3D cell patterning project.

    Welcome Xiangyu!


© 2015 Kristen Mills. Statements.