Leyla Esfandiari

Leyla Esfandiari is a distinguished Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati and a faculty member of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM) program. Her research focuses on developing micro- and nano-scale devices for biomedical applications in liquid biopsy and regenerative medicine.

Her educational background includes:

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering from California State University of Long Beach (2006)
• M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from University of California Irvine (2008)
• Ph.D. in Bioengineering from University of California Los Angeles (2014)

Dr. Esfandiari's research is centered on micro- and nanotechnologies to promote a fundamental understanding of cellular communication in regenerative medicine and disease progression. The Esfandiari Lab fabricates and characterizes biosensors and smart biomimetic scaffolds that enable highly accurate sensing and stimulation of cellular activities in situ. This work has significant applications in disease diagnosis, therapy development, and tissue regeneration.

Her scientific achievements have been recognized with several prestigious awards:

• NIH Maximizing Investigator Research Award (MIRA)
• NSF CAREER Award
• Engineering and Applied Sciences Distinguished Research Award
• Restemeyer Teaching Excellent Award

Dr. Esfandiari has secured substantial research funding as Principal Investigator and collaborator across 11 major grants from NIH, NSF, DoD, and state agencies since 2015. Her leadership includes the NSF CAREER award for exosome purification technology and an NIH MIRA grant for neuroregeneration research. She actively mentors graduate and undergraduate students, leveraging 3 years of prior industrial experience in Southern California tech companies.

The Esfandiari Lab develops cutting-edge micro/nanotechnologies to investigate cellular biophysics and extracellular vesicles, with strong institutional ties to both the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, driving innovations in diagnostic and therapeutic applications.