Ryan Ogi

I am an engineer with approximately 4 years of microfluidics/organ-on-a-chip (OOC) research experience. In my current role I assist in the development of vascularized OOC models of both the endometrium and the liver. Previous experiences include aiding in the development of a kidney-on-a-chip OOC model, irritable bowel disease research using murine intestine-derived organoids, and study of the effects of micro- and nano-plastics on the kidneys. 

Technical Associate II, Griffith Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Endometrium (Endo) Team Project: Vascularized PEG model
Liver Team Project: Novel “button” scaffold for use in PhysioMimix OOC platform

• Conducted independent organ-on-a-chip experiments using PEG and fibrin-based hydrogels.
• Assisted endo and liver team post-docs with large-scale experiments involving setup of peristaltic pumps, creation of PEG-based hydrogels, imaging, experimental maintenance, immunofluorescent staining, and endpoint assays.
• Manufactured thousands of PDMS microfluidic devices for use in experiments.
• Optimized experimental design of peristaltic pumped microfluidic experiments, including the creation of a novel 3D printed imaging base for imaging on a Keyence microscope. Improvements over previous peristaltic pump setup include decrease of required culture media, increased sterility, improved experiment throughput, and faster imaging.
• Acted as primary supervisor for one undergraduate student researcher, while also occasionally training/overseeing other undergraduates in the lab.
• Responsible for training new lab members on lab techniques such as fabrication of PDMS devices, set up of peristaltic pumped experiments, and ELISAs. Also helped train new lab members on use of the lab’s novel PEG-based hydrogel.
• Expanded and banked primary cells for use in vascularized liver scaffold experiments.
• Helped validate concentration of pendant peptides before use in PEG gel-based experiments.
• Presented on work bi-annually in meetings designed for experimental lab members.
• Directed monthly alumni seminar series for the lab.
• Co-author on 4 in-development papers (with more to come).

Technical skills: aseptic technique, cell culture/maintenance, cell passaging, freezing cells, immunofluorescence, confocal microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, PDMS, microfluidic device fabrication, Autodesk Fusion, PEG-based & fibrin-based hydrogels, ELISAs, pendant peptide validation, peristaltic pump setup & maintenance, ethylene oxide sterilization, qPCR, PhysioMimix OOC platform.

Inflammation and Immunology Intern, Kallyope, Manhattan, NY

Paneth and Tuft Cell Program

• Conducted preclinical research primarily focused on the advancement of the Paneth cell program.

Technical skills: Cryosectioning, Nikon Eclipse, Organoid Harvesting, Organoid Splitting, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR), TEER, Mouse Takedown, ELISA, GraphPad Prism, Confocal Microscopy, Immunofluorescence.

Kidney-on-a-Chip Research, Mahler Lab Binghamton University

Undergraduate Research Focus: Glomerulus Co-culture Model 

• Conducted an independent research project aiming to characterize a glomerulus co-culture model on a porous membrane by assessing viability of glomerular cells in the presence of extracellular matrices.
• Assisted doctorate student in studies utilizing the kidney-on-a-chip micro-physiological system.

Graduate Research Focus: Characterizing Kidney Response to Nanoplastic Exposure 

• Led a research project aiming to characterize kidney response to nanoplastic exposure by assessing nanoplastic uptake, cell viability, cell protein, cell morphology, and oxidative stress.
• Developed 2 novel protocols within the Mahler lab group that will be utilized in future nanoplastic-associated research conducted in the lab.
• Supervised one undergraduate researcher, while also working in collaboration with a post-doc in the Guo lab.
• Presented work at the Binghamton University research exposition.

Technical skills: aseptic technique, cell culture/maintenance, cell passaging, freezing cells, immunofluorescence, confocal microscopy, Synergy Neo2 plate reader, live/dead assay, CellRox reactive oxygen species assay, Raman spectroscopy, Bradford cell protein assay.