ABACI LAB AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Abaci Lab is a multidisciplinary research group at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) working at the intersection of dermatology, biomedical engineering, and regenerative medicine. Our research focuses on engineering near-native human skin and vasculature using 3D biofabrication, microfluidics, biomaterials, robotics, and mechanobiology.
Located within the Department of Dermatology, the lab brings together engineers, biologists, dermatologists, and medical students in a highly collaborative environment. We aim to bridge fundamental engineering principles with clinical practice to advance skin and vascular disease modeling, drug testing, and next-generation regenerative therapies.
Dermatology Profile: https://www.dermatology.columbia.edu/profile/hasan-e-abaci-phd
Biomedical Engineering Profile: https://www.bme.columbia.edu/erbil-abaci
research
Form & Force-Driven Tissue Engineering (F2T)
Form (Geometry)
We bioengineer skin and vasculature in anatomically realistic geometries to uncover how form itself directs tissue organization and fate.
Force (Actuation)
We integrate bioengineered skin and vasculature with robotic systems to reproduce the mechanical forces of the musculoskeletal system that drive skin maturation.
Skin-on-a-chip (Disease Modeling)
We create complex human skin and vascular models by integrating microvasculature, innervation, and skin appendages to mimic healthy and diseased human skin.
Translation (Grafts)
We translate bioengineered skin and vasculature technologies toward clinical applications, including treatments for burn injuries and epidermolysis bullosa, with a focus on scalability and patient impact.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
- Alberto Pappalardo, Deniz Ornek, Laura Cerda Garriga, Charlotte Yi-Len Lee, Kristin Myers, H. Erbil Abaci*. A mechano-mimetic 3D skin model of fibrosis, Lab on a Chip (2026, DOI: 10.1039/D5LC00560D; also published in ChemRxiv as a preprint)
- Laura Cerda-Garriga, Alberto Pappalardo, Luan Lee, Charlotte Yi-Len Lee, Jeffrey Kysar, Kristin Myers, H. Erbil Abaci*. iPSC-derived organoid-sourced skin cells enable functional 3D skin modelling of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. Journal of Tissue Engineering 16 (2025)
- Alberto Pappalardo, Jin Yong Kim, H. Erbil Abaci, Angela Christiano. Restoration of hair follicle inductive properties by depletion of senescent cells. Aging Cell 24(1):e14353 (2025).
- Cristina Quilez Lopez#, Eun Young Jeon#, Alberto Pappalardo, Pooja Pathak, H. Erbil Abaci *. Efficient generation of skin organoids from pluripotent cells via defined extracellular matrix cues and morphogen gradients in a spindle-shaped microfluidic device. Advanced Healthcare Materials 13(20):e2400405 (2024).
- Krutav Shah, Laura Cerda Garriga, Alberto Pappalardo, Leila Sorrells, Hun Jin Jeong, Chang H Lee, H. Erbil Abaci*. A biopsy-sized 3D skin model with a perifollicular vascular plexus enables studying immune cell trafficking in the skin. Biofabrication 12;16(4):045006 (2024).
- H. Erbil Abaci * and Mandy B. Esch *. Editorial: Organ-specific vasculature-on-a-chip systems. Special Issue of Biomicrofluidics (2024).
- I. Deniz Derman, Shweta Saini, Tai Rivera, Yogendra Pratap Singh, Laura Cerda Garriga, H. Erbil Abaci and Ibrahim T. Ozbolat. Advancements in 3D Skin Bioprinting: Processes, Bioinks, Applications and Sensor Integration, International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing (2024; Review).
- Alberto Pappalardo, David Alvarez-Cespedes, Shuyang Fang, Abigail R. Herschman, Eun Young Jeon, Kristin M. Myers, Jeffrey W. Kysar, H. Erbil Abaci*. Engineering edgeless human skin with enhanced biomechanical properties. Science Advances 27;9 (4) (2023)
- Jia Zhu* and H. Erbil Abaci*. Human skin-on-chip for Mpox Pathogenesis and Drug Development. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences (2023; Perspective)
- Kacey Ronaldson-Bouchard, Diogo Teles, Keith Yeager, Daniel Naveed Tavakol, Yimu Zhao, Alan Chramiec, Somnath Tagore, Max Summers, Sophia Stylianos, Manuel Tamargo, Busub Marcus Lee, Susan P. Halligan, H. Erbil Abaci, Zongyou Guo, Joanna Jackow, Alberto Pappalardo, Jerry Shih, Rajesh K. Soni, Shivam Sonar, Carrie German, Angela M. Christiano, Andrea Califano, Karen K. Hirschi, Christopher S. Chen, Andrzej Przekwas, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, A multi-organ chip with matured tissue niches linked by vascular flow, Nature Biomedical Engineering 6:351-371 (2022)
- Eun Young Jeon, Leila Sorrells, and H. Erbil Abaci*. Biomaterials and bioengineering to guide tissue morphogenesis in epithelial organoids. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 10 (2022; Review).
- Alberto Pappalardo, David Alvarez-Cespedes, Linh Ha Vu, H. Erbil Abaci*. Advances on skin-on-a-chip technologies” in the book: “Principles of Human Organs-on-Chips” edited by Dr. Masoud Mozafari (2022; Book Chapter).
- Alberto Pappalardo, Lauren Herron, David Alvarez Cespedes, H. Erbil Abaci*. Quantitative evaluation of human umbilical vein and iPSC-derived endothelial cells as an alternative cell source to skin-specific endothelial cells in engineered skin grafts. Advances in Wound Care 10 (9):490-502 (2020).
CURRENT LAB MEMBERS
Our lab brings together a dynamic, multidisciplinary team of researchers and students with expertise ranging from bioengineering and mechanical engineering to biology, medicine, and dermatology.
Hasan Erbil Abaci, PhD
Dr. Abaci is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dermatology (primary) and an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University. He leads research at the intersection of regenerative medicine, skin and vascular biology, and biomechanics. Dr. Abaci completed his pre- and postdoctoral trainings at Johns Hopkins University and Cornell University.
Laura Garriga-Cerda, B.Sc.
Laura is a Staff Associate I working on bioprinted patient-specific 3D skin models. She earned her BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Miami. Her current projects involve developing edgeless skin grafts from both primary patient biopsies and RDEB iPSC-derived cells, as well as to generate decellularized grafts for translational applications.
Deniz Ornek, M.Sc.
Deniz is a 2nd year PhD student studying how skin geometry and biomechanical cues shape tissue development and function using 3D human skin models. She earned her MSc in Cellular and Molecular Medicine from Koç University. Her current projects focus on developing vascularized melanoma-on-a-chip platforms and integrating neuronal components to build innervated skin constructs.
Dylan Walsh, M.Sc
Dylan is a Research Technician working on laboratory automation devices. He earned his M.S in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University. His current projects include developing a bioprinter/bioreactor hybrid instrument to automate the construction of wearable skin grafts, and the creation of an edgeless skin compression platform to study how mechanical compressions influencewrinkle formation.
Salvador Parot, M.Sc.
Salvador is a Research Technician in the lab. He earned his M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University in 2025 and specializes in tissue-engineered skin models. His current work involves developing edgeless engineered skin platforms to study wrinkle formation and the emergence of palmar creases through mechanical compression and actuation.
Ethan Shen, B.Sc.
Ethan is a 1st year Master’s student researcher in Biomedical Engineering. He earned his B.S. in Bioengineering from UC San Diego. His research interests are in developing preclinical tissue engineering models and translating laboratory technology toward industry applications. His current work focuses on creating an artificial sebaceous glad model for topical research, combining 3D reconstruction of human sebaceous glands with bioprinting fabrication
Arushee Kamra, B.Sc.
Arushee is a first-year Master’s student working as a graduate research assistant in Abaci Lab at Columbia University, interested in tissue engineering and wound healing. She completed her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from NC State University and UNC Chapel Hill in May 2025, with a concentration in Regenerative Medicine and a minor in Biological Sciences. Her current research focuses on engineering a mechanically dynamic, multilayered vascular graft for small-diameter arteries that integrates and remodels with host tissue over time
Norie Hirai
Norie is an undergraduate student at Columbia University studying Biomedical Engineering with a focus in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. In the Abaci Lab, she is currently integrating neuronal components to build innervated skin constructs, aiming to better replicate native tissue–neural interactions in engineered skin.
Ray Nobuhara
Ray Nobuhara is an undergraduate research assistant in the Abaci Lab with interests in tissue engineering. She is a Chemical Engineering major with a minor in Psychology at Columbia University. Her current research focuses on optimizing gelatin-based coating strategies for skin scaffolds to achieve reproducible surface properties that support cell proliferation under air–liquid interface culture conditions.
Alumni
- Alberto Pappalardo, M.D., (Dr. Pappalardo trained in the lab as a Postdoctoral Scientist and later Associate Research Scientist; he published 5 original research articles and one book chapter and has given over 10 talks. He is currently preparing for Dermatology Residency programs in the U.S.)
- David Alvarez Cespedes, M.D., M.Sc. (Dr. Cespedes was a medical student at Columbia University; co-authored a publication in Abaci Lab; he went on to complete his Dermatology Residency at the University of Miami. He is currently a faculty member at the Department of Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and will be pursuing a Dermatopathology Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania next year)
- Eun Young Jeon, Ph.D. (Dr. Jeon trained in Abaci Lab as a postdoctoral scientist; published a co-first author paper, and returned to her home country, South Korea, to start her own research group at the Korea Food Research Institute as a PI)
- Cristina Quilez Lopez, Ph.D. (Dr. Lopez trained in Abaci Lab as a postdoctoral scientist; published a first author paper, and returned to her home institution UC3M in Spain to start her own lab as a PI)
- Luan Lee, B.Sc. (Luan worked in Abaci Lab as a research Technician; he has been recently accepted to the Medical School at the Vanderbilt University which started in Fall 2025.)
- Other Alumni: Ha Linh Vu, M.D./Ph.D.; Lauren Herron, BSc; Eva Chen, BSc; Abby Herschman, PhD; Monika Belak, PhD; Felikss Rumnieks, BSc; Angela Cirulli, PhD; Zachary Taylor Azevedo, MSc; Krutav Rakesh Shah, M.Sc.; Chinyere Denise, M.Sc.; Mark Nathaniel, MSc; Leila Sorrells, MSc; Abigail Marx, MD; Pooja Pathak, BSc; Chayse Skylar Chandler, BSc; Eva Margaret Geoghegan, BSc; Rosnel Alejandro, BSc; Logan Whitesel, BSc; TaQuarus Eberhart, BSc; Deja Showers, BSc; Claudibel Gomez, BSc; Kalila Bain, BSc; Daniel Park, BSc; Geetika Chanchalani, BSc.
News
New Publication Alert!
Our lab’s latest research has been published in Lab on a Chip:
Alberto Pappalardo, Deniz Ornek, Laura Cerda Garriga, Charlotte Yi-Len Lee, Kristin Myers, and H. Erbil Abaci*
“A mechano-mimetic 3D skin model of fibrosis”
Lab on a Chip (2026), DOI: 10.1039/D5LC00560D
In this work, we present a 3D engineered skin platform that reproduces key mechanical features of fibrosis, enabling controlled study of stromal remodeling and disease progression.
The article is also available as a ChemRxiv preprint.
Congratulations to the team!
Alberto and Laura presented at TERMIS 2025
Big shout-out to Laura and Alberto, who took Abacı Lab science on the road to TERMIS 2025!
Alberto presented “A mechano mimetic 3D skin model of fibrosis.”
Laura shared her work “PSC-derived organoid-sourced skin cells enable functional 3D skin modelling of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.”
We are proud of both of you for representing the lab, bringing great science, great energy, and great conversations to the meeting! 💙🧫🧪
Deniz presented at CSHL conference at 2025
Big congratulations to Deniz, who presented her poster “Mechanomimetic Skin-on-a-Chip with Continuous Geometry Models Fibrosis” at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory meeting in 2025!
We are thrilled to see her out there sharing the lab’s science and representing us so well!✨⭐️🧫🧪
CURRENT OPENINGS
The Abaci Lab is actively recruiting motivated graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to join our growing team. Interested applicants may contact Dr. Abaci (hea2113@cumc.columbia.edu) for further information.
CONTACT
| Address | Columbia University Irving Medical Center Department of Dermatology Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavilion, Room 302B, 1150 St. Nicholas Avenue, New York, New York 10032 USA |
| hea2113@cumc.columbia.edu | |
| Phone | 212-851-4830 |