by Hannah Buckelew
The Department of Biomedical Engineering welcomed a new faculty member on January 2, 2024.
Juhi Samal, Ph.D., M.Tech, joins the department as an assistant professor. Dr. Samal was previously a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Tatiana Segura, Ph.D., at Duke University where she researched the brain glycosignature in aged and young adult ischemic stroke models and the modulation of stroke brain glycosignature with therapeutic biomaterial intervention to identify pro-regenerative glycan cues.
Samal pursued her Master of Technology at both the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, India, and Rheinisch-Westfalische Technische Hochschule Aachen in Germany in 2013 before earning her Ph.D in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering from the National University of Ireland, Galway, in 2019. From 2013-2019 Samal worked as a graduate researcher at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in the laboratory of Abhay Pandit, Ph.D., researching the development of multimodal fibrin-based delivery system for the controlled spatio-temporal release of neurotrophic factors.
A recipient of several honors and awards, Samal most recently won Duke University’s CBTE Postdoctoral Achievement Award. In 2021, she received the Julia Polak European Doctoral Award for best graduate thesis and overall performance in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering. She has authored nearly 20 publications and manuscripts and 2 book chapters.
In addition to Samal’s research experience, she is well-versed in the realm of education, having served as an instructor and guest lecturer for several courses at Duke and a mentor for nearly 10 undergraduate and graduate students since 2015. She is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), American Society for Mass Spectometry (ASMS), American Heart Association (AHA), Society of Biomaterials (SFB), Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS-EU), European Society of Biomaterials (ESB), Matrix Biology Ireland (MBI) and Neuroscience Ireland. She is a passionate advocate of increased representation of women in STEM and has been actively involved in promoting DEI initiatives in the field of engineering during her graduate and postdoctoral training.