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Amina Ann Qutub, PhD
Amina has focused her career on pioneering methods at the interface of computer science, neurovascular biology and engineering in order to understand how human cells communicate during processes of growth and repair, and to use this fundamental knowledge to help eradicate hematological and neurological diseases.
Bio | Resume | CV
email: amina.qutub@utsa.edu
PhD: Bioengineering, Berkeley & UCSF
Postdoc: Johns Hopkins University
Department: Biomedical Engineering
Awards: AIMBE Fellow, NSF CAREER Awardee, Bioinformatics Peer Prize, NAKFI Awardee, NIH NRSA Fellow, Whitaker Fellow
Affiliations:
Member, U.S. National Academies, Biotechnology & National Security Committee
Member, Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Member, Brain Health Consortium
Principal Investigator
Burzik Professor in Engineering Design
Assistant Director and Research Thrust Lead, MATRIX AI Consortium
Director, UTSA-UT Health San Antonio Graduate Group in Biomedical Engineering
Byron Long, PhD
Byron Long’s doctoral research was in logic for programs that use dynamic memory. Byron built on his training in logic to develop innovative state machine models of endothelial cells and a modeling framework for testing biological hypotheses. He combines these approaches with novel image-analysis programs to study how human cells form tissues, and predictive algorithms to interpret how molecular and cell-level changes influence daily behaviors at a systems level.
email: byron.long@utsa.edu
PhD: Computer Science, Indiana University
Postdoc: Rice University
Projects: Quantu, cytoNet
Awards: Computational Cancer Biology Training Fellow
Assistant Professor of Instruction,
Computer Science
Sambit Panda, PhD
Sambit Panda's doctoral research focused on developing optimal computational models to test scientific and data-driven hypotheses.
Sambit joined our team in Dec 2024. As an AI Engineer in the MATRIX Consortium, Sambit is helping lead the development of novel models to predict optimal decisions for end-to-end trauma care, based on multimodal data that spans biomolecular markers to traffic flow.
email: sambit.panda@utsa.edu
PhD: Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Projects: AI to improve trauma care (iRemedyACT)
Links:
Sambit's home page.
LinkedIn
Google Scholar
AI Research Scientist, MATRIX Artificial Intelligence Consortium
Sean Tritley
Sean is a fourth year doctoral student developing innovative models of brain regions that regulate sleep, exercise response and circadian rhythm. Sean's co-mentor is Dr. Eric Brey, vascular engineer and Dean of the UTSA Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Sean holds an Air Force Research Laboratory ORISE fellowship and prior to joining the lab and UTSA served in the U.S. Air Force.
email: tritley.sean@yahoo.com
Projects: Brain models, neurological response to environmental stress
Awards: UTSA College of Engineering Fellowship, NSF BRAVe Fellowship, NSF GRFP fellowship awardee (declined, in order to accept ORISE Fellowship), Air Force Research Laboratory ORISE Fellowship
Graduate Researcher, Biomedical Engineering
David Hernandez-Guzman
David is a second year doctoral student developing methods to study the neurovasculature and lymphatics non-invasively. Goals of his thesis work are to uncover mechanisms of how metabolism and metabolic dysfunction (e.g., diabetes) affect risks of dementia and test therapeutic interventions.
email: david.hernandez-guzman@my.utsa.edu
Projects: Brain immune response
Awards: NSF BRAVe Fellowship
Graduate Researcher, Biomedical Engineering
Mignon Frances Dumanjog
Mignon is a second year Masters student developing AI and computer vision methods to classify human tissue, including burn wounds from advanced non-invasive imaging. She also has developed AI methods to analyze the process of neurogenesis and predict neurotherapeutic responses.
email: mignonfrancesdumanjog@my.utsa.edu
Projects: Image analysis, hyperspectral imaging, brain models
Links:
LinkedIn
Graduate Researcher, Biomedical Engineering
Christian (Alex) Cruz
Christian is a Masters student in biomedical engineering and a research software engineer developing new artificial intelligence models to improve trauma care. As an undergraduate, Christian also developed experimental models of neovascularization.
Christian also brings to the team and lab his leadership experience from a 7-year career in the U.S. Air Force.
email: cristian.cruz@utsa.edu
Projects: AI to improve trauma care (iRemedyACT); vascularized brain-in-a-dish models & experiments
Awards: UTSA College of Engineering Fellowship, NSF BRAVe Fellowship
Links:
LinkedIn
Graduate Student, Biomedical Engineering
Mariam Dayeh
Mariam is a first year doctoral student in chemical engineering, and joined the lab in January 2025. She is starting on a project that includes the design of AI tools for biochemical, cellular and systems engineering.
email: mariam.dayeh@my.utsa.edu
Projects: AI tools for the biochemical engineering sciences, neurological response to environmental stresses
Graduate Researcher, Chemical Engineering
Gloria Manavi
Gloria is a Masters student in biomedical engineering conducting two related projects as part of her thesis work: (1) an imaging and AI study to model retinal changes as a function of exercise, and (2) the design of quantitative clinical surveys aimed at enhancing and evaluating AI technologies.
email: gloria.manavi@my.utsa.edu
Projects: Eye imaging for brain and cardiovascular health, Quantu Project, clinical survey design for AI technologies
Graduate Researcher, Biomedical Engineering
Lorinda Aspiras
Lorinda is a biomedical engineering Masters student working with the Air Force Research Laboratory on a collaborative project to study the effect of phototherapy on cells. As an undergraduate in the lab, she helped develop cellular model systems of areas of the brain regulating sleep and response to exercise.
email: lorinda.aspiras@my.utsa.edu
Projects: Brain models
Graduate Researcher, Biomedical Engineering
Belem Suarez
Belem Suarez is an undergraduate biomedical engineer focused on developing analyses and AI models to understand how the CNS (our brain and eyes) responds to daily changes in activity including exercise and sleep.
email: belem.suarez@my.utsa.edu
Projects: Brain models, Quantu Project for Brain Health, Eye imaging for brain and cardiovascular health
Undergraduate Researcher, Biomedical Engineering
Parker Aldridge
Parker is an undergraduate biomedical engineer focused on experimental models of the brain, and models to understand and control molecular mechanisms of aging.
email: parker.aldridge@my.utsa.edu
Projects: Brain models
Undergraduate Researcher, Biomedical Engineering
Amina
Sean Tritley
David Hernandez-Guzman
Miggy Frances Dumanjog
Christian A. Cruz
Lorinda Aspiras
Sambit Panda
Mariam Deyah
ByronLong
Gloria Manavi
Belem Suarez
Parker Aldridge
Qutub Lab Alumni
Qutub Lab Graduate Profiles & Alumni List
Jordan Scott
Undergraduate Alumna
As an undergraduate, Jordan helped research non-invasive methods to identify and target the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on treatments for Alzheimer's disease.
email: jordan.scott@my.utsa.edu
Projects: Quantu Project
Tomisin Adebayo
Undergraduate Alumna
Tomisin graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering. Her project focused on computational and experimental methods to uncover how neural networks form.
email: tomisinadebayo@gmail.com
Projects: cytoNet, Quantu Project
Awards: Xilinx Fellowship in Artificial Intelligence, NSF BRAVe Fellowship
Current Position: Graduate Student, Georgia Tech
Jennifer Brethen
Quantu Project Manager
Jennifer (Jenny) Brethen was the first Quantu Project manager and a post-bac fellow in UTSA's Department of Biomedical Engineering. Jenny spearheaded an exercise-intervention study to uncover how sleep quality affects cognition and circulating proteins relevant to neurogenesis. She also coordinated volunteer recruitment, sample collection and project-sponsored fitness classes.
email: jennifer.brethen@utsa.edu
BS: University of Texas, San Antonio
Projects: The Quantu Project
Aishwarya Sathish
Undergraduate Alumna
Ash graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering. Her project focused on applying computational methods to interpret patterns in sensor-based fitness data and identify how changes in daily activity affect the brain.
email: welcomenature12@gmail.com
BS: Biomedical Engineering, UTSA
Projects: Quantitative analysis of exercise and sleep from sensor data, Quantu Project
Current Position: Research and Development Scientist, Roche
Elif Ozdemir Kaynak
Visiting Graduate Researcher
Elif was a graduate student in bioengineering at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University. While visiting in the Qutub lab as part of her thesis work, she developed a computational model of nanoparticle-encapsulated delivery of bioactive flavanoids (anthocyanins) through the blood-brain barrier and anthocyanin uptake as a potential novel treatment of brain cancer.
email: elifozdemir89@gmail.com
BS: Bioengineering, Ege U.
Masters: Bioengineering, Ege U.
George Britton
PhD Alumnus
George Britton graduated as a PhD student in Rice’s Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology Program. His project focused on uncovering the mechanisms underlying human embyronic cell development into neural tissue. George is jointly advised by our collaborator Aryeh Warmflash, a stem cell biologist in Rice’s Biochemistry and Cell Biology Department.
email: glb3@rice.edu
PhD: SSPB, Rice University
BS: Neurobiology, UT-Austin
Masters: Biochemistry, UT-Health Sciences
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Projects: Ectoderm modeling, analysis of neural lineage
Arun Mahadevan
PhD Alumnus
Thesis: Network Analysis of Developing Neural Progenitor Cells
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Awards: NSF Neuroengineering IGERT Fellow; Ideas that Go Viral Speaker; Bioengineering Department Travel Award, 2015; Outstanding Student Poster Award GEM4 Mechanobiology of the Brain Workshop, 2015; IBB Travel Award, 2017; Screech People’s Choice Award, 2017; Bioengineering Innovation Day Research Pitch Award Winner, 2017; 3-Min Thesis Overall Winner & Alumni Choice Winner, 2018
email: asm7@seas.upenn.edu
PhD: Bioengineering, 2018
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Current Position:
Postdoctoral Fellow, Bassett Lab
University of Pennsylvania
Tien Tang
PhD Alumna
Thesis: Identifying Image Derived Features of Radiation Therapy Response: Tumor and Normal Tissue
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Awards: HHMI Med-Into-Grad Fellowship; Rice University Graduate Student Travel Award, 2015; Radiation Research Meeting Award, 2016; Smalley-Curl Institute’s Transdisciplinary Award for Best Student Talk, 2016; IBB Travel Award, 2018
email: tien.tang@bcm.edu
PhD: Bioengineering, 2018
Current Position:
Assistant Professor, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Quentin (Hanyang) Li
Undergraduate Alumnus
Project: Design of image-based and machine learning methods for multicellular and intracellular analysis
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Awards: Distinction in Research & Creative Works, 2018
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email: hl43@rice.edu
BS: Bioengineering, 2018
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Current Position:
Graduate Student
Carnegie Mellon University
Chenyue Wendy Hu
PhD Alumna
Thesis: Data-Driven Discovery of Proteomic Hallmarks in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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Awards: NHGRI Travel Award for Genomics & Personalized Medicine 2016; HHMI Med-Into-Grad Fellowship; Texas Life Science Forum Presenter; DREAM 8 SubChallenge Winner; Texata Big Data Semi-Finalist; IGNITE Entrepreneurship Conference, Invited Participant; OwlSpark Summer Accelerator; IBB Travel Award (2014, 2016); Bioengineering Department Travel Award, 2015; Gold Medal, iGEM; 1st Prize, China’s National Undergraduate Mathematical Contest in Modeling; Bioinformatics Peer Prize Award, 2017; Best Thesis in Bioinformatics, 2018
email: wendyhu001@gmail.com
PhD: Bioengineering, 2018
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Current Position:
Data Scientist, Uber Technologies
Founder, DiBS
Andrew Ligeralde
Undergraduate Alumnus
Project: Tools to interpret protein signatures in cancer and model neural stem cell development
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Awards: National Science Foundation summer fellowship, National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 2019
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email: ligeralde@berkeley.edu
BS: Chemistry, 2018
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Current Position:
Graduate Student
University of California, Berkeley
André Schultz
PhD Alumnus
Thesis: Improved Methods for Constraint Based Modeling of Mammalian Systems
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Awards: BMC Systems Biology Top 5 paper, 2015; NSF Travel Award, Pan American Advanced Studies Institute; Outstanding Bioengineering Graduate Teaching Assistant; Duke TIP Teaching Summer Internship; Jeffrey Michel Innovations in Systems Biology Dissertation Award, 2016
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Website: https://qutublab.org/andre-schultz/
email: ASchultz@mdanderson.org
PhD: Bioengineering, 2017
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Current Position:
Bioinformaticist
Stanford University, School of Medicine
Jennifer Dawkins
Undergraduate Alumna
Project: Design and experimental testing of methods to predict leukemia patient outcomes
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Awards: Computational Cancer Biology Summer Research Fellowship, 2017; National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 2017
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email: jendawk@mit.edu
BS: Bioengineering, 2017
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Current Position:
Graduate Student
Harvard / MIT HST Program
Sanjana Ranganathan
Undergraduate Alumna
Project: Crosstalk between insulin and hypoxic response pathways in glioma progression
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Awards: Computational Cancer Biology Summer Research Fellowship, 2016
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email: sr38@rice.edu
BS: Bioengineering, 2017
Global Medical Innovation, 2018
Current Position:
Research Fellow,
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Qutub Lab Alumni
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Aishwarya Sathish, B.S.
Undergraduate Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
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Keith Kern
Undergraduate Student, Trinity University
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Kelsey Phelan, B.S.
Graduate Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
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Arun Mahadevan, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania
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Tien Tang, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Texas Children's Hospital
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Sanket Mehta
Undergraduate Student, Rice University
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Natalie Dickman
Undergraduate Student, Rice University
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Andrew Ligeralde, B.S.
Graduate Student, University of California, Berkeley
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Quentin (Hanyang) Li, B.S.
Graduate Student, Carnegie Mellon
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Chenyue Wendy Hu, PhD
Data Scientist, Uber
Founder, DiBS
Andre Schultz, PhD
Bioinformaticist, Stanford University, School of Medicine
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Sanjana Ranganathan, M.B.E., B.S.
Clinical Consultant, GE Healthcare
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Kylie Balotin, B.S.
Graduate Student, Vanderbilt University
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Nicholas (Cole) E. Grandel, B.S.
Graduate Student, Rice University (SSPB)
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Jennifer Dawkins, B.S.
Graduate Student, MIT & Harvard University (HST)
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David Noren, PhD
Scientist, Phillips Research
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Amada Abrego, M.B.E.
Graduate Student, Rice University (ECE, Neuro)
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Alex Bisberg, B.S.
Graduate Student, University of Utah
Founder, DiBS
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Ka Wai Lin, PhD
Data Scientist, Allstate
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Angela Liao, B.S.
Graduate Student, University of California, San Diego
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Jiwon Jung, B.S.
Graduate Student, University of Texas, Austin
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Nikhil Gupte
Medical Student, UT-Health San Antonio
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David Gabriel Mora-Boellstorff
Graduate Student, UT-Health Sciences, Houston
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David Ryan, M.B.E.
Product Development Engineer, EKOS Corporation
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Becky Zaunbrecher, PhD
Allen Institute for Cell Science
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Rahul Rekhi, M.S.
Financial and Healthcare Advisor, Lazard
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Holley Love, PhD
Engineer, JBL Technologies
Instructional Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston
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Taylor Birk, B.S.
Software Engineer, Hewlett Packard
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Rocio Nava
Head of Biomedical Engineering, San Jorge Hospital
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Shun-Ming Ting, M.B.E.
Research Associate, Baylor
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Heather York Brisendine, B.S.
Engineering Consultant, Alliantgroup Houston
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Tyler Young, B.S.
Medical Student, Baylor College of Medicine
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Grace Ching, B.S.
Medical Student, Texas A&M
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Norman Truong, PhD
Clinical Data Consultant, Ritual
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Ashley Kelsey
NAVWAR Test Manager, United States Air Force
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Joanna Nathan, B.S., M.B.E.
Venture Fellow, Mercury Fund
Founder, Enventure
Duncan Eddy, M.S.
Capella Space Corporation​
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Abir Khan, M.D.
Clinician, Baylor College of Medicine
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Alex Arevalos, PhD
Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder, Alleviant Medical
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