Loza Tadesse

Loza Tadesse is an Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Mechanical Engineering and an associate member of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard. She holds a PhD and MSc in Bioengineering from Stanford University (2021, 2018) and a BA in Mechanical Engineering from Minnesota State University Moorhead (2016). Her research focuses on integrating optical spectroscopy, nanophotonics, and machine learning to develop point-of-care diagnostic tools for resource-limited settings, including extraterrestrial and military environments.

She leads the Tadesse Lab, which operates in MIT's state-of-the-art Papallardo II lab facilities (chemical synthesis, optics, and biology rooms), Hatsopoulos Microfluidics Laboratory, and Ragon Institute's BSL3 spaces. The lab collaborates with institutions like the Laser Biomedical Research Center and MIT.nano for advanced instrumentation. Her work has been supported by grants from Google, Draper Laboratory, and MIT Research Support Council, with additional funding through the Open Philanthropy project targeting pediatric pneumonia in underserved regions.

Her recent publications highlight innovations in

• electrostatic-driven SERS for bacterial analysis
• deep generative models for cross-modal spectral synthesis
• machine learning-enhanced single-cell diagnostics
• universal Raman data repositories like MicrobioRaman

These studies emphasize label-free detection, high-accuracy classification of pathogens, and democratizing microbiological data through open-access platforms.

She has received accolades including the Forbes 30 Under 30 Healthcare recognition and BMES Career Development Award. Her lab team includes PhD students (Marissa Morales, Lauren Futami), Masters students (Catalina Romero), and undergraduates (Jarett Dewbury, Shruthi Ravichandran), with alumni transitioning to institutions like USC and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.