Members
Our Team
The TCE-MPS brings together an exceptional group of faculty from across Tulane's School of Science & Engineering and School of Medicine. Our members span biomedical engineering, physiology, cell biology, neuroscience, oncology, materials science, and clinical research — united by a shared commitment to advancing microphysiological systems science.
Dr. Michael J. Moore, PhD — Co-Director
Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Science & Engineering; Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, 28bio, Inc. (formerly AxoSim).
Dr. Moore's laboratory specializes in advanced human microphysiological models of neural tissue, including peripheral nerve, spinal cord, and brain systems. He co-founded AxoSim Technologies in 2014, a neurotechnology startup offering industry-leading Nerve-on-a-Chip platforms for pharmaceutical screening. With extensive experience in academic research, technology transfer, and commercialization, Dr. Moore is ideally positioned to lead the TCE-MPS and champion its bench-to-business mission.
Dr. Heddwen Brooks, PhD — Co-Director
Professor and Chair, Department of Physiology, School of Medicine; Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Physiology – Renal Physiology
Dr. Brooks leads a research program focused on sex differences in hypertension, postmenopausal cardiovascular disease, and renal dysfunction. She has a distinguished record of mentoring trainees at the national level and has chaired graduate programs at both Tulane and the University of Arizona. As Co-Director of the TCE-MPS, she brings deep expertise in renal physiology, institutional leadership, and grant-funded research to guide the center's scientific and training missions.
Dr. Jennifer S. Fang, PhD — Co-Assistant Director
Assistant Professor, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, School of Science & Engineering
Dr. Fang investigates the molecular regulation of blood vessel development, remodeling, and malformation, with a focus on gap junction signaling in vascular biology. She developed the first microphysiological organ-on-a-chip model of Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) — a rare vascular malformation disease — and is developing new MPS models of retinal vascular pathology. She leads TCE-MPS Research Project 1 on HHT-on-a-chip vascular malformation. Dr. Fang serves as TCE-MPS Assistant Director, providing hands-on leadership for day-to-day center operations and scientific programs.
Dr. Mark J. Mondrinos, PhD — Co-Assistant Director
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Science & Engineering
Dr. Mondrinos develops organ chip technologies and microphysiological systems for modeling human pathophysiology, with a focus on microvascular and cancer biology. His lab is advancing sex-specific in vitro culture systems and has developed models of muscle wasting in cancer cachexia, tumor neovascularization, and perfusable vascularized tissue. Dr. Mondrinos serves as TCE-MPS Assistant Director, providing hands-on leadership for day-to-day center operations and scientific programs.
Dr. Gregory Bix, MD/PhD
Director, Clinical Neuroscience Research Center; Full Professor (tenured), School of Medicine
Dr. Bix investigates the role and therapeutic potential of the extracellular matrix in cerebrovascular injury, neuroinflammation, and neurodegenerative disease. His lab identified integrin pathways as key therapeutic targets in stroke, vascular dementia, and SARS-CoV-2 infection, and he has led multiple NIH R01-funded studies. He brings expertise in brain organoids and neurovascular tissue chip models to the TCE-MPS community.
Dr. J. Quincy Brown, PhD
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, School of Science & Engineering
Dr. Brown is a biomedical engineer specializing in light-based sensing and imaging technologies for cancer diagnostics and diabetes management. He has developed ex vivo microscopy systems, optical spectroscopy tools for tumor margin assessment, and luminescent glucose biosensors. His work in technology translation — including two university startups — strengthens the TCE-MPS mission to commercialize novel biomedical platforms.
Dr. Matthew E. Burow, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Dr. Burow's research focuses on cell signaling pathways that drive breast cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. Over two decades, his lab has identified kinase-mediated mechanisms of metastasis and developed patient-derived tumor models — including microphysiological systems — to investigate cancer biology. He contributes expertise in tumor microenvironment modeling and endocrine resistance to TCE-MPS cancer research projects.
