Hieu Nguyen, PhD
Post Doctoral Associate
Hieu is a postdoctoral researcher in the Pratx lab and a fellow in the Stanford Molecular Imaging Scholars program. She obtained her Bachelor of Engineering in Materials Engineering from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) and Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Her Ph.D. at UT Austin was on optical-based interventions for early-stage cancer detection and therapy, including work with a fiber-based spectroscopy device for tumor resection guidance and application of ns high-energy laser pulse to induce immunogenic cell death in breast cancer cells. She is currently developing methods for tracking single cells in vivo with PET.
Rohollah Nasiri, PhD
Post Doctoral Associate
Rohollah is a postdoctoral researcher in the Pratx Lab at Stanford University. Here, he is working on an advanced tumor organoid-on-a-chip model and its integration with radiotherapy. He received his PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Bioengineering from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, in 2021. His Ph.D. thesis was about the design and fabrication of microfluidic devices for separating circulating tumor cells from blood. During his Ph.D. program, he joined Prof. Khademhossini's Lab at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation for two years as a visiting researcher. At Khademhosseini's lab, his research was focused on cardiac tissue engineering (Heart-on-a-chip). Following his PhD, he joined Prof. Herland’s lab at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden as a postdoctoral researcher from September 2021 for two years. In Herland’s lab, his research focused on the investigation of brain energy metabolism using a Brain-on-a-chip model integrated with metabolic biosensors. His research interests include microfluidics, organ-on-a-chip, cancer research, tissue engineering, and biosensors.
Verónica Ibáñez Gaspar, PhD
Post Doctoral Associate
Verónica obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the Julius-Maximilians University in Würzburg (Germany) and completed a Master of Science and PhD in Biological and Biomolecular Science at University College Dublin (Ireland). They have been working on cancer research since their undergrad and are currently working on developing a high-throughput method for RAI uptake screening using 3D cancer cell models.
Xiaoxu Zhong, PhD
Post Doctoral Associate
Xiaoxu is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Pratx Lab. He has expertise in predictive modeling, algorithm development, and data science. He earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Ocean Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He then received a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, where he focused on developing mathematical models and applying machine learning. His work uncovered the mechanisms behind autoinjectors, drug delivery, and cavitation bubbles, with applications in tumor treatment and the design of medical devices. Currently, he combines computational modeling and experimental approaches to positron emission tomography imaging, aiming to improve tumor diagnosis and treatment. He is also investigating how ionizing radiation nucleates nano-sized bubbles.
Tracy Xue
Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator
Tracy is an Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator in the Pratx lab. She received her B.S./M.S. in Bioengineering from UCLA in 2025. She has previously conducted research on hereditary neurodegenerative disease at Washington University in St. Louis, developed nephrotoxicity assessment platforms at Genentech, and contributed to the development of contractility-based drug screening technologies at Forcyte Biotechnologies. Her research interests include cancer immunology, clinical translation, and data-driven approaches to personalized medicine.
