Meet the Team

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.

Dr. Minji Choi is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She received her MS/PhD in Medical Bioengineering from Soonchunhyang University, Republic of Korea. Her research focuses on tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, with expertise in biomaterials, decellularized extracellular matrices, recellularization, bioreactor-based tissue engineering, 3D cell culture, and In vivo works. Her research involved the development of cell, tissue and organ derived extracellular matrix platforms for regenerative applications, including kidney, pancreas, vascular, and skin tissues.

I’m Ayda Pourmostafa, a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Dr. Abaci’s lab in Columbia University’s Department of Dermatology, where I work on skin-on-a-chip and skin-graft platforms. I earned my PhD in Biomedical Engineering from NJIT/Rutgers Medical School in July 2026, where my doctoral research in the Advanced Biofabrication Lab focused on real-time monitoring of the tumor microenvironment using tumor-on-a-chip models. My expertise includes biomaterial scaffold fabrication, organ-on-a-chip engineering, 3D cell culture, cell-based assays, and multimodal characterization. I also joined Dr. Abaci’s lab as a visiting researcher during my doctoral training, which gave me a strong foundation in the lab’s research and ongoing directions.

Deniz is a 3rd 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 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 influence wrinkle formation.

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 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 gland model for topical research, combining 3D reconstruction of human sebaceous glands with bioprinting fabrication.

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.

Ren is an undergraduate junior at Columbia University studying applied mathematics and architecture. Her background is in deployable space systems, where she designed aspects of the unfolding sequence for the European Space Agency’s Moon Village project. Ren applies architectural modeling and applied geometry to skin tissue engineering, with a focus on CAD and cell culture. Her current projects include developing computational and CAD models to guide skin growth, including hand-shaped skin constructs, supporting lab-grown skin for RDEB, and contributing to cell culture for vascularized melanoma-on-a-chip platforms.