Daniel Naveed Tavakol

About Daniel Naveed Tavakol

PhD-trained bioengineer and postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University specializing in human stem cell systems, cancer microenvironments, immune engineering, space health, and organ-on-chip platforms. Extensive experience interacting with academic labs, clinicians, funding agencies, and lab-to-market efforts. Experience working with multi-institutional, federally funded programs (NASA, NIH, FDA, BARDA) and evaluating translational potential, limitations, and strategic positioning of advanced biological technologies. As a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Columbia University\'s Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, I work under Dr. Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic in her Lab for Stem Cells & Tissue Engineering to integrate \"organ-on-a-chip\" models of disease and drug toxicity - with a specific focus on the immune system and how these changes impact systemic physiology in other organs. My doctoral work was focused on using these engineered models to better study cosmic radiation exposures anticipated in deep space missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as developing patient-specific, iPSC-derived models of the human bone marrow. As a postdoctoral scientist, my focus has shifted to studying systemic diseases like cancer, as well as disseminating these model systems to collaborating laboratories.See for a more updated portfolio of my research and professional experiences.

Experience

1. Postdoctoral Research Scientist

   Columbia University Biomedical Engineering

   May 2023 — Present

   Extending the lifetime of engineered multi-organ-on-a-chip systems for up to 6 months of in vitro culture• Project lead on a NASA/FDA/BARDA/NIH-funded contract for extending the lifetime of engineered human tissue models for up to 6 months, in collaboration with Dr. Mirjana Maletic-Savatic at Baylor College of Medicine• Developing a scalable and reproducible multi-organ platform for integrating either (1) heart and bone marrow microtissues (at Columbia) or (2) brain organoids and bone marrow microtissues (at Baylor College of Medicine)Organs-on-a-chip for studying galactic cosmic radiation and radioprotective countermeasures • Project lead on a TRISH/NASA-funded grant for identifying the effects of galactic cosmic radiation on human tissues (heart, vasculature, bone marrow)• Led two multi-month efforts to use simulated galactic cosmic radiation from NASA’s space radiation lab at Brookhaven National Labs on engineered human tissues

Education

• University of Virginia

  Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Biomedical/Medical Engineering

  2013 — 2017

• Columbia University

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering

  2018 — 2023

• Columbia University

  Master's degree, Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering

  2018 — 2019

• James Madison High School

  Advanced Diploma

  2009 — 2013

Skills

• Matlab
• Autodesk Inventor
• Immunohistochemistry
• Powerpoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Python
• Event Planning
• Latex
• Animal Surgery
• Teamwork
• Film Production
• Social Media
• Cell Culture
• Final Cut Pro
• Ni Labview
• Microsoft Publisher
• Mathcad
• Confocal Microscopy
• Microsoft Powerpoint
• Research
• Teaching
• Leadership
• Microsoft Office
• Mathematica
• Microsoft Word
• Java