Raha Kannan
PhD Candidate
Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan
rakannan (at) umich (dot) edu
Hometown: Beaverton, Oregon
​
Education: BS in Biological Engineering, Oregon State University, 2017
​
Research interests: My research interests lie at the intersection of immunology, tissue engineering, and biomaterials. A shift in understanding about the diverse roles of macrophages and emphasis on the importance of biophysical cues has opened up a lot of exciting questions in this area. For my graduate work, I use mouse models and biomaterials to study the role of macrophages in bone regeneration and macrophage behavior in response to apoptotic cellular and biophysical cues. I aim to expand our understanding of macrophage behavior in the context of regenerative medicine.
​
Outside interests: I enjoy rock climbing (indoors), hiking/backpacking, learning new languages, and watching TV.
Awards and honors:
2021, NIH/NIDCR F31 - Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (Project #: 5F31DE030697-02)
​
​
Publications:
Halperin-Sternfeld M, Pokhojaev A, Ghosh M, Rachmiel D, Kannan R, Grinberg I, Asher M, Aviv M, Ma PX, Binderman I, Sarig R, Adler-Abramovich L. "Immunomodulatory fibrous hyaluronicacid-Fmoc-diphenylalanine-based hydrogel induces bone regeneration," Journal of Clinical Periodontology, 2022, doi: doi.org/10.1111/jcpe.13725
​
Halperin-Sternfeld M, Liberman GN, Kannan R, Netti F, Ma PX, Arad SM, Adler-Abramovich L. "Thixotropic Red Microalgae Sulfated Polysaccharide-Peptide Composite Hydrogels as Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering," Biomedicines, 2022, doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10061388
​
Kannan R, Wei G, Ma PX. "Chapter 2 - Synthetic polymeric biomaterials for tissue engineering," Tissue Engineering Using Ceramics and Polymers (Third Edition), 2022, doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-820508-2.00023-4