People | Therapeutic Testbed Engineering Lab

Principal Investigator

Younghye (Young Hye) Song, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Cell & Molecular Biology

Education/Training:
B.S., Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering (Honors Research Advisor: Dr. Jeffrey Hollinger).
Carnegie Mellon University.
Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering (Advisor: Dr. Claudia Fischbach). Cornell University.
Postdoc, Biomedical Engineering (Advisor: Dr. Christine Schmidt). University of Florida.

Teaching:
BMEG 2614 Introduction to Biomedical Engineering
BMEG 3634 Biomaterials
BMEG 4413/5413 Tissue Engineering

Select Awards and Honors:
Outstanding Researcher in Biomedical Engineering, University of Arkansas
Dean’s Award of Excellence Rising Star Research Award, College of Engineering, University of Arkansas
Outstanding Teacher in Biomedical Engineering, University of Arkansas
Early Career Editorial Board Member, ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering
Review Editor, Frontiers in Medical Technology
Postdoc Excellence Award, Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida
MOGAM Science Foundation Fellow, Korea
Swanson Graduate Fellow in Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University

Postdoctoral Fellow

Emory Gregory

Postdoctoral Fellow

Emory examines tumor extracellular vesicles cargoes and microenvironmental remodeling implicated in pancreatic cancer perineural invasion. Outside of the lab, she likes to knit, explore northwest Arkansas with her friends, and watch movies with her French bulldog.

Education:
Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, University of Arkansas
B.S., Biophysics, Ouachita Baptist University

Graduate Students

Inha Baek

PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering

Inha completed his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the Jeonbuk National University, Korea in 2013 and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida in 2018. He joined the University of Arkansas Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. program in Fall 2020 and his research focuses on spinal cord injury. In his free time, he enjoys watching YouTube and playing tennis and pickleball.

Education:
M.S., Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Jeonbuk National University

Patrick Kuczwara

PhD student in Biomedical Engineering

I became interested in research, specifically neurology after learning my great-grandfather played baseball with Lou Gehrig. I enjoy working in our collaborative environment at cutting edge of neuroregenerative research. Outside of the lab, I enjoy sports, SCUBA diving, baking, and attending the Indianapolis 500 every year.

Education:
M.S., Biological Engineering, University of Arkansas
B.S., Biomedical Engineering, University of Arkansas

Vuong Van Vu

PhD student in Cell & Molecular Biology

Vuong Vu is a Ph.D. student who joined Song lab in the Fall of 2023. He has hands-on experience in both in vitro and in vivo models due to his past research on animal research. Vuong is currently interested in investigating the impact of fat tissue/fat cells on cancer-nerve crosstalk. He has a sweet tooth and enjoys eating delicious food, hanging out, and traveling.

Education:
M.S., Biochemistry, Jeju National University
B.S., Biotechnology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

Niko Ala-Kokko

PhD student in Biomedical Engineering

My research focuses on understanding the role the tumor microenvironment has on cancer progression, metabolism, and how cancer-nerve crosstalk contributes to metastasis. I enjoy being outside in my free time, whether with my dog, Stella, or climbing some of the beautiful rock faces Northwest Arkansas has to offer.

Education:
M.S., Biomedical Engineering, University of Arkansas
B.S., Biomedical Engineering, University of Arkansas

Undergraduate Students