
Principal Investigator

Neil Y.C. Lin
Assistant Professor, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering + Bioengineering 2020
Postdoc, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Wyss Institute, Harvard University 2016-2019
Ph.D. Physics, Cornell University 2016
B.S. Physics, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan 2008
Email: neillin@g.ucla.edu
Graduate Students

Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering
B.S. Civil Engineering, Stanford University 2020
E-mail: mpayne6@g.ucla.edu
Project: AI diagnostics, organoid biomanufacturing & cell culture instrumentation
About me: Outside of lab I love to get outside and be active! Favorite activities are hiking, frisbee & tennis.

Marie Payne
David Choi
Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin 2020
E-mail:
Project: Live tissue imaging & mechanobiology
About me: I love exploring restaurants and finding the best places to eat in LA. I also enjoy traveling (when I can) and drawing.

Alex Bermudez
Ph.D. Student, Bioengineering
B.S. Physics, UCLA 2022
E-mail: alexberms@gmail.com
Project: Epithelial modulus heterogeneity
About me: I was born and raised in Imperial, California. I love working with others, eating, and playing with my mischievous kitten, Playboi Calamari!
Undergraduate Researchers

Melissa Rupert
B.S. Bioengineering, UCLA 2023
E-mail: mrupert@g.ucla.edu
Project: Cell culture instrumentation
About Me: Outside of lab, I am a member of BMES and the Cell Team technical project, and I also play flute in the UCLA marching band. My favorite pastimes include reading, swimming, and hiking with family and friends!

Nathan Cai
B.S. Bioengineering, UCLA 2023
Minor, Bioinformatics
E-mail: nathanycai@g.ucla.edu
Project: Organoid biomanufacturing
About Me: I'm a bioengineering and bioinformatics student from Redwood City in the Bay Area. I love cooking, photographing the stars, and taiko drumming with UCLA's Kyodo Taiko.


Zachary Gonzalez
B.S. Biophysics, UCLA 2022
Minor, Biomedical Research
E-mail: zackgonzalez039@gmail.com
Project: Epithelial modulus heterogeneity
About Me: Member of CARE Fellows, looks forward to riding a unicycle to class, and plays disc golf on weekends.
Ethan Salter
B.S. Bioengineering, UCLA 2022
E-mail: ethansalter3@gmail.com
Project: Epithelial modulus heterogeneity
About Me: Hi! In my free time I like to surf the coastline and go on long walks with my dog. Outside of Lin Lab, I am involved in Bruin Spacecraft Group and UCLA's Biomedical Engineering Society. In the future, I hope to continue to apply my knowledge of human physiology and bioengineering principles to create positive change.

Brandon Lee
B.S. Bioengineering, UCLA 2023
E-mail: leebrandonsong@gmail.com
Project: AI diagnostics & Prostate cancer 3D flow culture
About Me: Hi! I'm a Bioengineering Major with a hopeful Japanese Minor from Los Altos in the Bay Area. In my free time I love playing tennis, watching anime, and talking with friends.

Alex Ma
B.S. Bioengineering, UCLA 2023
E-mail: ajma1208@g.ucla.edu
Project: Live tissue imaging
About Me: I am studying Bioengineering on the Pre-Med tech breadth. At UCLA, I am a chair of the Biomedical Engineering Club's Community Outreach Program and an active member of the Asian Pacific American Healthcare Club. I enjoy running, playing cello, and watching Stephen Curry be the best point guard of all time.

Shannon Li
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, UCLA 2024
E-mail: sfshanli820@gmail.com
Project: Mechanical properties of PDMS-particle composites
About Me: Hi!! At UCLA I am a member of BMES and ASME. I was born and raised in San Francisco (go Giants and 49ers!). In my free time I love to play soccer, draw, do crafts, bake, and go on walks.

Alyssa Gee
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, UCLA 2024
E-mail: alyssagee@g.ucla.edu
Project: Mechanical properties of PDMS-particle composites
About Me: Hi! Outside of the lab, I am currently a part of ASME's Bruin Underwater Robotics Project on the manipulator and research subteams. I enjoy baking/cooking, reading, and solving puzzles.

Kathryn Saxton
B.S. Bioengineering, UCLA 2024
Email: ksaxton@g.ucla.edu
Project: Organoid biomanufacturing
About Me: I’m a bioengineering student planning on minoring in statistics. At UCLA, I am involved in BMES, COHL and TBP, and outside of school, I enjoy reading and crocheting!

Zoe Latham
B.S. Bioengineering, UCLA 2024
Email: zoelatham@g.ucla.edu
Project: Epithelial modulus heterogeneity
About Me: Hi! I am a bioengineering student from San Diego, CA. At UCLA I'm currently involved with BMES and I love playing tennis, baking, and reading!
Visiting Graduate Students

Sara Imboden
MSc ETH Health Sciences and Technology – Major in Medical Technology
E-mail: imbodens@student.ethz.ch
Project: AI diagnostics & Prostate cancer 3D flow culture
About Me: In my free time, I love to play soccer, go on hikes and play board games with friends!

Leya Weber
MSc Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Major in Medical Technology
Email: leyweber@student.ethz.ch
Project: AI diagnostics
About me: I’m a master student from ETH Zurich and currently writing my master thesis. In my free time I love to do sports like gymnastics, running, hiking, biking, and do something with friends. In general, I love enjoying nature and explore nice places in LA.
Lin Lab Alumni

Sum Yat (Thomas) Ho
B.S. Biochemistry, UCLA 2020
E-mail: traumerei118@g.ucla.edu
Currently: Attending medical school in Hong Kong
About Me:
| INFJ | HK | TENNIS | PIANO | 1998 |
I am spending my time on my prostate cancer model project at Neil’s lab before the beginning of my medical school life. “Sum Yat” literally means one heart by the way.