Principal Investigator
Igor Efimov, PhD, FNAI, FAASL, FAIMBE, FAHA, FHRS
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Professor of Medicine (Division of Cardiology)
Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
-
Professor Efimov is the Director of the Cardiovascular Engineering Laboratory, an NIH-funded research and engineering laboratory that focuses on the physiological mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and on developing novel therapies for heart diseases, with an emphasis on heart rhythm disorders.
Dr. Efimov earned BSc/MSc/PhD from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 1992 and completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Pittsburgh (1992-1994). He served on the faculty of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (1994-2000) and Case Western Reserve University (2000-2004) in Cleveland, OH, Washington University in St. Louis, MO (2004-2015), and George Washington University (2015-2022), where he served as the founding chairman of the BME Department. In 2022, Dr. Efimov joined the faculty at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL.
Dr. Efimov is a Member of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters and a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering, the Heart Rhythm Society, the American Heart Association, etc. He has received numerous awards, including the 2025 Heart Rhythm Society Ralph Lazzara Lectureship Award, the 2022 International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences Naranjan Dhalla Award, 2021 Heart Rhythm Society Distinguished Scientist Award, RASA George Gamow Prize, Astor Visiting Fellowship at the University of Oxford, Washington University Chancellor’s Hartwell Prize for Innovative Research, The Doris J.W. Escher Lectureship at Montefiore Medical Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Walter Lillehei Lectureship at the University of Minnesota, Richard B. and Lynne V. Cheney Lectureship at the George Washington University, etc.
Dr. Efimov founded Cardialen to develop low-energy implantable electrotherapy for cardiac arrhythmias; the company was acquired in 2022. Dr. Efimov co-founded NuSera Biosystems to develop novel implantable and interventional devices.
Dr. Efimov served as editor-in-chief of Cardiovascular Engineering & Technology from 2021 to 2025, a journal of the Biomedical Engineering Society. He served as Associate Editor of the American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology and IEEE Transactions in Biomedical Engineering. He has served on editorial boards of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Clinical Electrophysiology, Circulation Research, Heart Rhythm Journal, Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology, Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, Scientific Reports, and other journals. He was a chartered member of the NIH Electrical Signaling, Transporters, and Arrhythmia (ESTA) Study Section.
He served on numerous international expert panels of the World Bank, Canadian Academies, British Heart Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the Royal Society of New Zealand, Swiss National Science Foundation, National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and many other international organizations.
Staff
Paloma amaral
Research Associate
-
Paloma is an experienced animal scientist with over a decade of expertise in animal research compliance, laboratory operations, and staff training. As a key member of the lab, she manages both the administrative and operational functions essential to its success. Paloma oversees animal research protocols and lab safety procedures, ensuring strict adherence to institutional policies and federal regulations.
Serving as the primary liaison during IACUC reviews and lab safety inspections, Paloma is instrumental in maintaining the lab’s commitment to regulatory excellence and institutional standards.
Beyond her compliance and training role, Paloma actively engages in cutting-edge research in the areas of cardiac physiology, bioelectronic implants, and animal models of cardiovascular disease. She works closely with veterinarians, regulatory teams, and environmental health and safety professionals to ensure the highest standards of research integrity and regulatory compliance are consistently upheld.
Education:
Ph.D., Animal Science, Viçosa Federal University, Viçosa, Brazil (2012 – 2016)Visiting scholar, University of Nevada, Reno (2014 – 2015)
M.Sc., Animal Science, Viçosa Federal University, Viçosa, Brazil (2010 – 2012)
B.S., Animal Science, Viçosa Federal University, Viçosa, Brazil (2005 – 2010)
Eric Rytkin
Research Associate
-
Eric Rytkin, MD, PhD, is a Research Associate at Efimov Lab and an interventional cardiologist who translates minimally invasive cardiac devices from lab to clinic. His work featured in Nature for a bioresorbable millimeter-scale pacemaker and a TAVR valve with integrated pacing-targets faster, safer, simpler care.
The bioresorbable “milli-pacemaker” is MRI-compatible, leadless, and designed to dissolve after use, reducing hardware-related complications. Its resorption profile is programmable, and its compact form factor enables rapid, ultrasound-guided placement—especially valuable in pediatric and time-critical settings.
The Milli-pacemaker has been included in the list of best inventions of 2025 by the Times journal:
In parallel, Eric is advancing a TAVR valve capable of pacing to address post-implant conduction disturbances and help move TAVR toward outpatient care. He is Chief Medical Officer of NuSera Biosystems, which is steering these platforms toward clinical evaluation as investigational devices.
See his interviews here or here
Eric earned his MD, trained in interventional cardiology and interventional radiology, and completed a PhD on antithrombotic therapy in atrial fibrillation with acute coronary syndrome. He joined the Efimov Lab in 2021 as a postdoctoral scientist and now serves as a Research Associate at Northwestern, integrating rigorous engineering with high-impact clinical solutions.
He was included in the list 40 under 40 by Cardiovascular Business.
Education: MD-Sechenov University, Moscow, Russian Federation, (2009-2016)PhD-Sechenov University, Moscow, Russian Federation, 2021
Faculty
Tatiana Efimova, Phd
Research Associate Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Associate Editor, Molecular Carcinogenesis
-
Dr. Efimova is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Her research focuses on stress signaling and adaptation mechanisms in cancer, skin inflammatory diseases, wound healing, and cardiac diseases related to cancer chemotherapy and aging.
Dr. Efimova earned her M.Sc. from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and completed her doctoral and postdoctoral training at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, OH. She has served on the faculty of CWRU, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, and George Washington University in Washington, DC, before joining the faculty of Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, in November 2022. Dr. Efimova has been the PI on projects supported by NIH R01 funding and grants from the Dermatology Foundation, the American Cancer Society, the American Skin Association, and university-funded grants. Her research has been published in leading dermatologic, physiology, and cancer biology journals. Dr. Efimova has presented her work at academic institutions and at national and international conferences, including the Society of Investigative Dermatology (SID) and International Societies for Investigative Dermatology (ISID) annual meetings, the Gordon Research Conferences, the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the American Heart Association annual meetings.
Dr. Efimova is an active member of the SID and has served as an abstract reviewer and sessions co-chair at several SID and ISID conferences. She served as an Associate Editor and Section Editor of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology and was a topic editor for the Special Topic Issue, "New Tools and Molecular Advances into Hyperproliferative Skin Disorders," in Frontiers in Medicine Dermatology. Currently, she serves as an Associate Editor of Molecular Carcinogenesis. Dr. Efimova has served as an ad hoc grant reviewer for the NIH Arthritis, Connective Tissue, and Skin Study Section and the NIH Special Emphasis Panel/Scientific Review Group ZRG1 IMM-G, as well as for numerous other national and international funding agencies, including the Association for International Cancer Research, the Medical Research Council, UK, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant Program.
Graduate Students
Katy Trampel
-
Katy Trampel is a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University in the Efimov Lab. Her research focuses on stress signaling and inflammation in doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and cardiac aging, with an emphasis on p38 MAPK isoforms as regulators of cardiac stress responses. She integrates electrophysiology, genomics, and advanced imaging in both animal models and human cardiac slices to define disease mechanisms and identify therapeutic strategies. Katy is a trainee in the NIH Physical Genomics T32 program (2023–2025).
Education:
BS–Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, (2018-2022)
Lichao James Tang
-
Lichao (James) is a joint PhD candidate in Dr. Igor Efimov and Dr. John Rogers' labs, majoring in Biomedical Engineering since 2022. His research centers on the development and validation of novel bioelectronic devices for cardiovascular applications, including cardiac sensors for continuous monitoring and millimeter-scale pacemakers designed for on-demand electrotherapy. Driven by a passion for bridging engineering and medicine, he is dedicated to exploring bioelectronic technologies that advance the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.
Education
BS-Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA(2016-2020)
MS–Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University (2021–2022)
Binjie Li
-
Binjie Li is a PhD candidate in the Efimov Lab since 2022. Before coming here, he was studying cardiac maturation and genetic cardiomyopathy based on engineered heart tissues. He is currently investigating mechanotransduction mediated by the LINC complex and its role in pathological hypertrophy.
Education:
BS - Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University (2015-2019)
MS - Biomedical Engineering, Duke University (2019-2021)
PAVAN BHAT
-
Pavan Bhat is a JD/PhD candidate in Efimov Lab starting from Fall 2023. Before coming here, he was working on machine learning and molecular dynamics simulations of lipids. Now he is investigating the use of novel bioelectronic devices for cardiac mapping in large animal models, as well as various neuromodulation technologies to treat atrial fibrillation such as spinal cord stimulation.
Education
B.S. Bioengineering, University of Maryland 2023
Charles Stark
-
Charlie Stark is a first-year graduate student in Northwestern's Medical Scientist Training Program, pursuing a combined Medical Doctorate and Doctor of Philosophy in biomedical engineering. Charlie received his Bachelor and Master of Science in biomedical engineering from Northwestern in 2021 before working for two years as a researcher in Dr. Joseph Woo's laboratory at Stanford School of Medicine. Charlie's research and clinical interests are in cardiovascular medical devices and cardiac electrophysiology.
Education
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, 2021
M.S. Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, 2021
Matthew Chang
-
Matthew Chang is a member of Northwestern’s Medical Scientist Training Program, pursing an MD and a PhD in biomedical engineering. He joined the Efimov lab in 2026. He is interested in clinical applications of engineering, electrophysiology, and medical devices. He is now investigating novel devices for atrial fibrillation.Education
B.S.E Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2023
Masters Students
Peter saba
-
Peter Saba is a Master’s student in The Efimov Lab at Northwestern University (since 2024). His work focuses on the development of novel bioelectronic devices for cardiac therapies including: Vagas Nerve Stimulation and Pacemaker devices. Peter collaborates with Dr. John Rogers’ lab on the fabrication and design of these devices while also conducting preclinical animal studies for validation in The Efimov Lab.
Education:
BS-Biomedical Engineering, Loyola University of Chicago, (2019-2023)MS Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, (2024-2026)
Noor SaleEm
-
Noor is a second year master’s student pursuing a thesis in biomedical engineering. She received her Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she worked as an undergraduate research assistant under Dr. Rohit Bhargava at the UIUC Cancer Center. Noor’s research and clinical interests include cardiac electrophysiology and medical devices for both the cardiovascular system and the skin.
Education:
BS- Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2020-2024)
Kai Thanasitsomboon
-
Kai Thanasitsomboon is a Master’s student in Biomedical Engineering. His research focuses on the design and development of a pulsatile flow perfusion system that recreates physiologically realistic blood flow conditions for evaluating medical devices in vessels. Kai also participates in other preclinical studies by assisting with surgical procedures. Beyond his research, he is interested in medical robotics and minimally invasive surgery.
Education:
BS – Biomedical Engineering, University of Utah, 2021
Undergraduate Students
Batool Salman
-
McCormick Summer Research Awardee 2024
Summer Undergraduate Research Grant (SURG) Recipient 2025
sophie green
-
Summer Undergraduate Research Grant Recipient 2025
christina sher
-
Description text goes here
Luke sadalla
-
TBD
Altynai Melisova
Alumni
Ph.D. students (name, degree start date, completion date)
1. Micah K. Madrid, 2019-2024. Current position: clinical scientist, Abbott Laboratories. Santa Clara, CA.
2. Zexu Lin, 2018-2023. Current position: clinical scientist, Abbott Laboratories. Santa Clara, CA.
3. Anna Gams, 2017-2022. Current position: data scientist, Coremap. Boston, MA.
4. Rose Yin, 2017-2021. Current position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, MIT, Cambridge MA.
5. Jaclyn Brennan, 2015-2020. Current Position: Senior Monitoring & Evaluation Advisor USAID.
6. John Qiao, Ph.D. 2013-2018. Current position: senior scientist, St. Jude Medical/Abbot. Los Angeles, CA.
7. Christopher Gloschat, Ph.D., 2012-2017. Current position: Senior scientist, St. Jude Medical/Abbot. Los Angeles, CA.
8. Chaoyi Kang, Ph.D. 2012-2016. Current position: senior scientist, St. Jude Medical/Abbot. Los Angeles, CA.
9. Sarah Gutbrod, Ph.D., 2010-2015. Current position: Senior Scientist, Boston Scientific. Minneapolis, MN.
10. Matthew Sulkin, Ph.D., 2010-2015, Current position: Boston Scientific. Minneapolis, MN.
11. Katherine Holzem, M.D., Ph.D., 2009-2015. Current position: vascular surgery fellowship, Washington University School of Medicine. St. Louis, MO.
12. Di Lang, Ph.D., 2008-2013, Current position: postdoctoral research scientist, University of Wisconsin. Madison, WI.
13. Jacob Laughner, Ph.D., 2009-2013, Current position: Senior scientist, Boston Scientific. Minneapolis, MN.
14. Christina Ambrosi, Ph.D., 2006 – 2011, Current position: postdoctoral research associate, Stony Brook University, NY.
15. Wenwen Li, Ph.D., 2007 – 2011. Current position: Senior Scientist, Abbot/St. Jude Medical.
16. Qing Lou, Ph.D., 2007 – 2011. Current Position: postdoctoral research associate, Ohio State University. Columbus, OH.
17. William Hucker, M.D., Ph.D., 2004 - 2007. Current position: Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), Harvard Medical School.
18. Crystal M. Ripplinger, Ph.D., 2004 - 2008. Current position: Associate Professor of Pharmacology, University of California, Davis, CA.
19. Fujian Qu, D.Sc., 2001 - 2006. Current position: Principle Scientist, St. Jude Medical/Abbot. Sa Jose, CA.
20. Li Li, Ph.D., 2000 - 2005. Current position: Instructor, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, UT.
21. Alexandre T. Sambelashvili, Ph.D., 2000 – 2004. Current position: Director, Medtronic. Minneapolis, MN.
Postdoctoral trainees and advisees
1. Jaclyn Brennan, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow 2020-2021. Current Position: Senior Monitoring & Evaluation Advisor USAID.
2. Sharon George, PhD, 2017-2024, Postdoctoral Fellow. Current Position: Assistant Professor Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at the University of Pittsburgh
3. Kedar Aras PhD, 2016-2022. Research Associate, Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology & Biophysics and in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at State University of New York at Buffalo (UB), Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
4. Rokhaya Faye, PhD, 2017-2020, Research Scientist. Current Position: Senior Scientist, University of Bordeaux.
5. Timothy Holleran, 2020-2021. Surgery fellow.
6. Michael Napolitano, 2019-2021. Surgery fellow.
7. Ethan Rosenfeld, 2019-2020. Surgery fellow.
8. Sheena Chen, MD. 2018-2020. Surgery fellow.
9. Jeffrey Panting, MD. 2018-2019. Surgery fellow.
10. Alexandro Murillo, MD. 2017-2018. Surgery fellow.
11. Ben Lee, MD. 2017-2019. Surgery fellow.
12. Matt Skancke, MD. 2016-17. Surgery fellow.
13. Kendal Endicott, MD. 2015-16. Surgery fellow.
14. Bastian Boukens, Research Associate. Current Position: Assistant Professor, AMC, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
15. Fu Siong NH, MD, Research Associate. Current position: Senior Lecturer in Cardiology (Associate Professor), Imperial College London, UK.
16. HeyJin Hwang, MD, Visiting Professor.
17. Deborah Janks, PhD, Research Associate. Current Position: Research Associate, Washington University in Saint Louis, MO.
18. Ajit Janadrhan, MD, PhD, Cardiology Fellow. Current: Clinical cardiac electrophysiologist, Fort Walton Beach Medical Center and Cape Canaveral Hospital, Fort Walton Beach FL
19. Alexey Glukhov, PhD., Research Associate. Current Position: Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison WI.
20. Vadim Fedorov, PhD, Research Assistant Professor. Current Position: Professor of Physiology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
21. Vladimir Nikolski, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor. Current Position: Principle Scientist, Medtronic.
22. Alena Nikolskaya, PhD, Research Associate. Current Position: Senior Scientist, Medtronic.
23. Noriko Niwa, MD, Research Associate. Current Position: Research Associate, Washington University School of Medicine.
24. Yuanna Cheng, M.D., Ph.D., Research Associate. Current Position: Scientific Review Administrator, NIH.
25. Gil Bub, Ph.D., Research Associate. Current Position: Assistant Professor, McGill University, Montreal Canada.
26. Florence Rothenberg, M.D., Research Associate. Current Position: Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), University of Cincinnati, OH.
27. Ayman S. Al-Khadra, M.D. Clinical Fellow. Current Position: President, Saudi Heart Rhythm Society. Staff Cardiologist, King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
28. Stephane Garrigue, MD, Clinical Fellow. Current Position, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiologist, Associate Professor University of Bordeaux, France.
