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  2. Meet Our Graduate Students

Meet Our Graduate Students

photo of BME graduate studen, Emelina Vienneau Kazi Tasneem

Ph.D. Candidate, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering


"I am a Vanderbilt Engineer because Vanderbilt provides me an outstanding multidisciplinary setting where I work at the interface of chemical engineering and material sciences and engineer the next-generation drug discovery tools for the human health application.”

photo of BEAM lab

I am a PhD Candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and dedicated to toxicology research for the improvement of environment and human health. Currently, I am working in the lab of Professor Shane Huston (Physics and Biological Sciences). My research involves predictive toxicology in preclinical study of drug/toxicant exposure and use of modeling tools that combine pharmacokinetics and computational fluid dynamics. By investigating transport and bioavailability of chemicals in in vitro organ-on-chip microdevices we will enable a platform to accelerate the world’s transition from animal testing methods to a human-centric approach to chemical risk assessment and drug development.

I always attempt to demonstrate high aptitude and passion for scientific learning at any academic and professional setting. I have been awarded numerous accolades for my efforts, including two Best Paper Awards, two Academic Leadership Fellowship by NSF, Dean’s Fellowship by Carnegie Institute of Technology, and the honor of being a Young Researcher Fellow at the 59th meeting of the Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry in Germany.

Life at Vandy

I also strive to bring my advocacy to greater student body through the involvement outside the classroom. I have been involved with many leadership roles and community activities, including, but not limited to, my service to two professional societies – Society of Women Engineers (for 5+ years) and Society of Toxicology (for 2+ years). I am currently working with the Advanced Material Pandemic Taskforce to develop a regulatory requirement matrix for urgent toxicology testing of nanomaterials solutions.

For fun

Outside of my research and active outreach service, I enjoy watching Netflix, cooking, and strength training.

Emelina Vienneau during poster sessionSelected Publications 

1.      Journal: Auner, A.W.*, Tasneem, K.M.*, Markov, D.A., McCawley, L.J., and Hutson, M.S., “Chemical-PDMS binding kinetics and implications for bioavailability in microfluidic devices,” Lab on a Chip, 2019, *equally contributed first authors, Best Research Paper Awarded by Chemical and Biomolecular Engg., Vanderbilt University, 2019

2.      Conference: Tasneem, K.M., Auner, A.W., Markov, D.A., McCawley, L.J., and Hutson, M.S., “Toxicokinetic Model Predicts Cellular Exposure in Organ-on-Chip Microdevice,” Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting, Best Trainee Abstract Award from Biological Modeling Specialty Section of SOT, 2020

Learn more about our  Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Ph.D. programs.