In the Microelectrical Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and Microfluidics Lab in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, our people are our strongest asset. Meet the members of our team.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Melinda Lake-Speers
Professor Lake-Speers started her faculty position at Case Western Reserve University in January 2023 after finishing a postdoctoral research position at Purdue University. She started graduate school at the University of Notre Dame and transferred to The Ohio State University to follow her research advisor and completed her PhD from there in 2019. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Her lab’s research focuses on developing lab-on-a-chip solutions to solve critical health problems in cancer, global health and biological modeling. The development and manufacturing of such technology can be costly and she wants to ensure the technology is accessible to people who need it. So, in addition to developing novel microfluidic devices and MEMS for point-of-care diagnostics and organ-on-a-chip, she is also focusing on how to cost-effectively manufacture these systems in bulk. Outside of work, she enjoys running, hiking, and doing outdoor activities with her dogs.
Connect with Lake-Speers on LinkedIn.
Graduate Students
Haowei “Victor” Ma
Victor is a third-year graduate student at Case Western Reserve University in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. His fields of study include the development of point-of-care devices for clinical applications, and he is dedicated to contributing to the advancement of cancer detection devices through his work. He also works on implantable drug delivery devices. Outside of the lab, Victor enjoys art, music, and film. He also owns a lizard.
Undergraduate Students
Olivia Butini Ibañez
Olivia Butini Ibanez is a sophomore undergraduate student at Case Western Reserve University majoring in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. She is currently involved in a project focused on the design and fabrication of PDMS microfluidic devices using 3D printing and plasma bonding techniques. In her free time, Olivia enjoys traveling, crafting, playing tennis, and spending time with friends.
Masha Gorodetski
Masha is a sophomore at Case Western majoring in Physics. She is working on designing and manufacturing blister packs for reagent storage and release into microfluidic devices. Outside of the lab, Masha enjoys reading, hiking, and baking.
Saif Khan
Saif is a sophomore at Case Western Reserve University majoring in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He is currently involved in a project focused on developing a liquid biopsy tool for cancer diagnostics. Outside the lab, he enjoys playing tennis and cricket, as well as reading poetry.
Madeleine Lukang
Madeleine is a junior at Case Western majoring in Mechanical Engineering. She works on microfluidic device design and fabrication for modular organ-on-a-chip systems. Her hobbies include photography, baking, traveling, and playing soccer.
Vanshika Prasad
Vanshika Prasad is a freshman at Case Western Reserve University majoring in psychology and pursuing the pre-med track. She is working on an implantable drug delivery device. Outside the lab, she enjoys going on walks, spending time with friends, and drinking coffee.
Alex Rak
Alex is a sophomore at Case Western majoring in Biochemistry on the pre-Health track. His work focuses on quantifying flowrates in nanocomposite materials for use in mechanically adaptive neural probes. Outside of the lab, Alex enjoys hiking, photography, growing plants, and astronomy.
- William Crowell
- Roman Fechner
- Milan Krishnappa
Lab Alumni
Ian Brackenbury, MS Mechanical Engineering, December 2024
Colin Corday, BS Mechanical Engineering, December 2025