Natasha Claxton, Ph.D. | Postdoctoral Fellow
Ph.D., University of Virginia, Biomedical Engineering, 2025
Email: nclaxton@tulane.edu
Research Interests: My research integrates biomaterials engineering, focused ultrasound, and physiologically relevant disease models to investigate vascular dysfunction and develop regenerative therapies. I began this work during my doctoral training, where I developed vascularized in vitro systems to treat ischemic tissue, and I now extend it at Tulane into animal models of sickle cell disease and menopause. My postdoctoral research focuses on understanding vascular and inflammatory mechanisms of disease and evaluating stem cell–based and biomaterial-enabled therapeutic strategies.
In my future independent laboratory, I aim to build a translational research program in regenerative women’s health that combines mechanistic investigation with technology development. My lab will engineer injectable and modular biomaterial systems, integrate focused ultrasound for noninvasive modulation and drug delivery, and develop physiologically relevant in vitro and in vivo models of reproductive aging and diseases such as PCOS and menopause. By partnering closely with clinicians and leveraging human samples, my program will bridge fundamental biology and therapeutic innovation to restore ovarian, hormonal, and vascular function across the lifespan.
Gideon Wills Kpeli, Ph.D. | Postdoctoral Fellow
Ph.D., Tulane University, Biomedical Engineering, 2026
Email: gkpeli@tulane.edu
Research Interests: During my doctoral studies, I developed vascularized microphysiological systems (MPS) to investigate sex-specific cancer pathophysiology, with a particular focus on lung and breast cancers. These platforms included a lung cancer–induced angiogenesis model and a multi-organ lung cancer model designed to study systemic cancer effects.
I currently collaborate on the development of patient-derived lung cancer organoids from resected tumor tissues. My current research focuses on leveraging these models to investigate the effects of sex hormones, including estrogen and testosterone, on lung cancer survival, progression, and response to chemotherapy. Using multi-organ microphysiological systems, I also aim to investigate how these sex hormones influence lung cancer–induced effects on distant organs and contribute to systemic cancer progression.