Contact Information

Biography

Dr. Melikhan Tanyeri earned his BS degree from Bogazici University in 1999 and his PhD from the University of California, Davis, in 2006. He conducted postdoctoral research with Paul Selvin and Charles Schroeder at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2006 to 2013, subsequently serving as an Assistant Professor at Istanbul Şehir University and as a Research Scientist at the University of Chicago before joining Duquesne University, where he is currently an Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering.

His research integrates microfluidics, optofluidics, high-resolution imaging, and mechanobiology to develop technologies for sensing, characterizing, and manipulating biological systems. His foundational contributions include hydrodynamic trapping methods for the precise confinement and manipulation of individual particles, cells, and microorganisms; and micro- and nanoscale platforms for biomolecular detection, microbial analysis, and organ-on-chip applications.

More recently, he and his collaborators have developed a microfluidic platform enabling cell pairing for single-cell mechanobiology studies and a heart-on-a-chip platform for studying the impact of mechanical loading on cardiomyocytes. Collectively, his work advances experimental tools for single-cell mechanobiology, cardiovascular research, therapeutic screening, and the label-free characterization of cells and soft biological materials.

Education

  • Ph.D., Physics, University of California, Davis, 2006
  • BS, Physics, Bogazici University

Areas of Expertise

  • Biomedical microdevices, micro and nanosystems for biology and medicine
  • Microfluidics, bioMEMS/NEMS, in vitro diagnostics, lab-on-a-chip, organ-on-a-chip, biosensors
  • Detection and manipulation techniques for biomolecules, cells and microorganisms
  • Microfabrication, soft lithography, micropatterning
  • Superresolution imaging, fluorescence spectroscopy

School

About

We develop micro- and nanoscale technologies, integrated with advanced optical imaging, to address challenges in biosensing, point-of-care diagnostics, mechanobiology, and the characterization and manipulation of biomolecules, cells, and soft biological materials. Our group has expertise in microfabrication, soft-lithography microfluidics, micropatterning, brightfield and fluorescence microscopy, high-resolution imaging, cell–material interactions, and the development of novel sensors, actuators, and biomedical devices. We design methods, assays, and platforms for sensitive detection, controlled confinement, quantitative characterization, and precise manipulation of biological systems. Current research directions include:

  • Microfluidic platforms for single-cell capture and pairing, and controlled application of shear, compressive, and extensional forces
  • Heart-on-a-chip systems for mechanically stimulating engineered cardiac tissues and evaluating cellular responses
  • Sensor-integrated biomedical devices for continuous physiological monitoring and point-of-care diagnostics
  • Hydrodynamic trapping and programmable manipulation of particles, cells, and biomolecules in microfluidic flow networks
  • Microfluidic and optofluidic sensors for biomolecular detection, microbial analysis, and characterization of soft particles
  • High-resolution and high-throughput imaging methods for quantifying cellular behavior, mechanotransduction, and cell–cell interactions

Overall, we pursue a multidisciplinary research program that combines engineering, biology, and physical science to create microfluidic and optofluidic tools for fundamental biological discovery, disease modeling, therapeutic screening, and biomedical diagnostics.

I embrace the “educate, inspire, engage” approach. My overall objective in teaching and advising (mentoring) is to foster a positive learning environment in order to engage students in acquiring, testing and generating knowledge, and to attain skills indispensable for establishing themselves as distinguished individuals of the next generation of engineers. I envision my role as a teacher/mentor to motivate students by curbing their enthusiasm and stimulating their interest; and eventually empower them to think creatively and independently.

I teach the following courses under our undergraduate and graduate programs in Biomedical Engineering:

  • ENGR 110 Programming for Engineers
  • BMED 310 Biomedical Signals and Systems
  • BMED 451W/551W Biomedical Microdevices I
  • BMED 452/552 Biomedical Microdevices II

Synopsis:

2 book chapters, 22 journal articles, 11 conference proceedings, 4 issued/pending patents, ORCID ID: 0000-0003-3353-4263

Web of Science: h-index: 14, total citations: 902, total publications: 35, ResearcherID: J-5670-2013

Scopus: h-index: 14, total citations: 964, total publications: 37, Scopus Author ID: 8572670800

Google Scholar: h-index: 16, total citations: 1421, total publications: 64, Google Scholar Profile

Selected recent publications are listed below:

Book chapter:

  1. Tanyeri M, and Tay S

“Viable cell culture in PDMS-based microfluidic devices”

Methods in Cell Biology, Volume 148

Microfluidics in Cell Biology Part C: Microfluidics for Cellular and Subcellular Analysis (2018)

Editors: Daniel A. Fletcher, Junsang Doh and Matthieu Piel, ISBN: 978-0-12-814284-4, Elsevier.

Journal

  1. Mansoor H, Juul G, Patel J, Pradhan H, Hepner G, Jewell J, Bardin M, Slusser R, Glezer A, Klouda L, Tanyeri M, Saraf A
    “Cyclic Mechanical Loading of Cardiomyocytes via Pressure-Driven Non-Planar Membrane Deformation in a Bioreactor System”

Advanced Science, 2026, DOI: 10.1002/advs.202523820

  1. Tanyeri M

“Integrating an Annotation Project in a Senior-Level Biomedical Engineering Course to Develop Primary Literature Analysis and Science Communication Skills”

Biomedical Engineering Education (2025) 5, 69–77. DOI: 10.1007/s43683-024-00161-7

  1. Mustafa A, Ertas Uslu M, and Tanyeri M

“Optimizing Sensitivity in a Fluid-Structure Interaction-Based Microfluidic Viscometer: A Multiphysics Simulation Study”

Sensors (2023) 23(22), 9265. DOI: 10.3390/s23229265

  1. Yang B, Schinke J, Rastegar A, Tanyeri M, and Viator JA

“Cost-Effective Full-Color 3D Dental Imaging Based on Close-Range Photogrammetry”

Bioengineering (2023) 10(11), 1268. DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10111268

  1. Mustafa A, Haider D, Barua A, Tanyeri M, Erten A, and Yalcin O

“Machine learning based microfluidic sensing device for viscosity measurements”

Sensors and Diagnostics (2023) 2, 1509-1520. DOI: 10.1039/d3sd00099k

  1. Boyd J, Hepner G, Ujhazy M, Bliss S, and Tanyeri M

“Dual hydrodynamic trap based on coupled stagnation point flows”

Physics of Fluids (2023) 35, 062001. DOI: 10.1063/5.0150089

  1. Mustafa A, Eser A, Aksu AC, Kiraz A, Tanyeri M, Erten A, and Yalcin O

“A micropillar-based microfluidic viscometer for Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids”

Analytica Chimica Acta (2020) 1135 107-115. DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2020.07.039

  1. Watterson WJ, Tanyeri M, Watson AR, Cham CM, Shan Y, Chang EB, Eren AM, and Tay S

“Droplet-based high-throughput cultivation for accurate screening of antibiotic resistant gut microbes”

eLife (2020) 9:e56998. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.56998

  1. Evans A, Sutton K, Hernandez S, and Tanyeri M

“Viscoelastic Hemostatic Assays - A Quest for Holy Grail of Coagulation Monitoring in Trauma Care”

Journal of Annals of Bioengineering (2019) 1: 61-64. DOI: 10.33513/BIOE/1901-06

Patents

  1. Tanyeri M, Lin J, Abasiyanik F, Angarita Marmolejo YD

“Rapid Enumeration of Microorganisms”

US Application No: 63/184,447 (May 5, 2021), WO 2022/235284 (Nov 10, 2022).

  1. Yalcin O, Erten AC, Tanyeri M

“Microfluidic Thromboelastometry Instrument”

US Patent 11,998,911 B2 (Jun 4, 2024), EPO Patent 3830573 (Oct 16, 2024). WO 2020/027741 (Feb 6, 2020).

Conference Proceedings

  1. Hoying M, Kazimer B, Evans A, Carbino B, Sutton K, McCallin R, and McGee A

“Project MADMEN: Proposed Analogue Fidelity Comparison to ALIEN Martian Mission”

IEEE Aerospace Conference (AERO) (2022) pp. 01-10, DOI: 10.1109/AERO53065.2022.9843386.

Selected recent presentations are listed below:

Invited:

  1. “Microfluidic techniques for probing molecular and cellular processes”

Duquesne University, Biological Sciences Seminar

Pittsburgh, PA (October 27, 2023)

  1. “Microfluidic tools for studying biomolecules, cells and soft matter”

Ohio State University, Biophysics Seminar

Columbus, OH (September 29, 2021)

  1. “Hydrodynamic Trap: A new microfluidic tool for studying soft matter”

Carnegie Mellon University, Colloids, Polymers and Surfaces Seminar

Pittsburgh, PA (March 9, 2018)

  1. “Observation of droplet dissolution in aqueous media using a hydrodynamic trap”

3rd World Chemistry Conference

Dallas, TX (September 11-12, 2017)

Contributed:

  1. Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES 2026) Annual Meeting (oral)

“Pressure-Driven Non-Planar Mechanical Loading Reveals Preload-Dependent Structural and Transcriptomic Remodeling of Human iPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes”

Haris Mansoor, Gabrielle Juul, Jil Patel, Heran Pradhan, Gram Hepner, Jackson Jewell, Mark Bardin, Leda Klouda, Melikhan Tanyeri, Anita Saraf

Orlando, FL (Oct 21-24, 2026)

  1. Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES 2025) Annual Meeting (poster)

“Sequential Capture and Pairing of Cells and Particles Using a Microfluidic Array”

Merve Ertas Uslu, Shainy Ojha, Sara Knox, Mark Bardin, Jayakrishnan Thamattumadom Unnikrishnan, Michael Smutny, Till Bretschneider, Melikhan Tanyeri

San Diego, CA (Oct 8-12, 2025)

  1. 2025 (7th) Carnegie Mellon Forum on Biomedical Engineering (poster)

“Cell Pairing via Fibronectin Micropatterning for Studying Intercellular Mechanobiology”

Jay Unnikrishnan, Melikhan Tanyeri

Carnegie Mellon University (September 19, 2025)

  1. 2025 (7th) Carnegie Mellon Forum on Biomedical Engineering (poster)

“Model-Guided Design of Microfluidic Traps for Controlled Cell Pairing”

Mark Bardin, Merve Ertas Uslu, Melikhan Tanyeri

Carnegie Mellon University (September 19, 2025)

  1. National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR 2025) (poster)

“Microfluidic Fabrication of Monodisperse Alginate-based Hydrogel Microparticles”

Sara Knox, Merve Ertas Uslu, Melikhan Tanyeri

Pittsburgh, PA (Apr 7-9, 2025)

  1. National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR 2025) (poster)

“Optimizing Laser-Induced Graphene Fabrication on Polyimide for Flexible and Stretchable Bioelectronic Sensors”

Jackson Jewell, Chandler Last, Melikhan Tanyeri, Leda Klouda, Panayiota Senekkis-Florent

Pittsburgh, PA (Apr 7-9, 2025)

  1. 51st Northeast Bioengineering Conference (NEBEC 2025) (poster)

“Bioreactor for Studying the Impact of 3D cyclic strain on iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes”

Gabrielle Juul, Haris Mansoor, Jil Patel, Heran Pradhan, Gram Hepner, Jackson Jewell, Ryan Slusser, Leda Klouda, Anita Saraf, Melikhan Tanyeri

New York University, NY (April 4-5, 2025)

  1. 51st Northeast Bioengineering Conference (NEBEC 2025) (poster)

“Microfluidic Fabrication of Monodisperse Alginate-based Hydrogel Microparticles”

Sara Knox, Merve Ertas Uslu, Melikhan Tanyeri

New York University, NY (April 4-5, 2025)

  1. 51st Northeast Bioengineering Conference (NEBEC 2025) (poster)

“Flexible biosensors: The effect of laser engraving parameters on direct writing of electrodes onto polyimide substrates”

Jackson Jewell, Chandler Last, Leda Klouda, Panayiota Senekkis-Florent, Melikhan Tanyeri

New York University, NY (April 4-5, 2025)

  1. 12th Annual BioE Day (CMU & Pitt) (poster)

“Flexible biosensors: The effect of laser engraving parameters on direct writing of electrodes onto polyimide substrates”

Jackson Jewell, Chandler Last, Leda Klouda, Panayiota Senekkis-Florent, Melikhan Tanyeri

University of Pittsburgh (March 20, 2025)

  1. 12th Annual BioE Day (CMU & Pitt) (poster)

“Microfluidic Fabrication of Monodisperse Alginate-based Hydrogel Microparticles”

Sara Knox, Merve Ertas Uslu, Melikhan Tanyeri

University of Pittsburgh (March 20, 2025)

  1. Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting (poster)

“A Microfluidic Method for Cell Trapping and Pairing towards Mechanobiology Studies”

Merve Ertas Uslu, Shainy Ojha, Michael Smutny, Till Bretschneider, Melikhan Tanyeri

Baltimore, MD (Oct 23-26, 2024)

  1. Chicago Bioengineering Conference (CBEC) (poster)

“Digital CFU: Rapid bacterial enumeration method based on droplet microfluidics and machine learning”

Shawn Bliss, Daniel Angarita, Matt Nestler, Melikhan Tanyeri

Chicago, IL (Sep 30 – Oct 1, 2024)