about me

I am a design engineer working at the intersection of biotechnology, manufacturing, innovation, and entrepreneurship with a specialization in microfluidics. I have extensive experience in organ-on-chip research, building and operating makerspaces, and mentorship in design and rapid prototyping. I have a hands-on approach to problem solving and thrive in diverse and inclusive work environments. My design approach strives to be sustainable, practical, and when possible, fun, compassionate, and interactive. My educational background is in Chemical Engineering, with supplementary coursework in material sciences (and comparative literature), and soon a graduate degree in international business economics and management.

I'm currently seeking volunteer opportunities working with underserved communities or youth where my skills in design, music, education, and the arts can be leveraged, motivated, and further developed.

download cv (apr 2025)

the rest

Jack of all trades, master of none; my interests are broad. Physical activities include boxing, yoga, pilates, hiking. Musically, I am a classically trained pianist and clarinetist, a self-taught guitarist, and have some years of experience playing jazz tenor sax and piano. I have a passion for teaching. I studied with Dr. Daniel Geeting for clarinet, and Ornela Ervin for piano, and have re-started my piano studies with Antoinie Preat. I was a private music teacher to students of various ages and skills levels, and I can adapt a curriculum that matches their interests and motivations; consistency, technique, authentic expression, and building self-esteem are important to my teaching approach. Creatively, I like judgement-free spaces for making art and also taking in art of all forms; I’ve played with painting, drawing, pottery, graphic design, sculpture, printmaking. Living through the ups and downs of life as a third culture kid and also a two-time immigrant/expat, I'm interested in culture and its interplay with our identities, outlooks, and life experiences, and I find fulfillment in learning about new life perspectives from others. Food and travel (solo and with friends) is another way I look to experience worlds outside of my own.

I also enjoy bumming on my secondhand hay mags with Dali and Pablo.

 

professional experience

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  • R&D Engineer - imec Solutions (2023 - present)

  • development engineer - life science technologies (2018-2022)

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  • microdevice design engineer (2015-2018)

  • manufacturing engineer (2014-2015)

education

MSc International business (2021-2025 expected)

Research Thesis 2025: Begging and Homelessness in Brussels: sociological and economic perspectives in a two-decade review
Lit Review 2021: The Makeup of Interdisciplinary Teams: a case study in microfluidics (15/20)

Marketing Projects: (1) Ooho: bringing innovation in sustainable sauce packaging to the fast food industry (17/20); (2) JUSTEgg: introducing plant based eggs to the Belgian Market (16/20)
Qualitative Research Project: the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on networking opportunities for international students of mibem
Quantitative Research Project: the 2020 US Presidential Election, female representation in Congress and the gender wage gap (17/20)
Toulouse School of Management (2021): Innovation and Entrepreneurship: VR Homebodies - democratizing VR tech to the home audience (17/20)
International Business Strategy: HBO Max Expansion in Singapore as a SEA Hub (16/20)

preparatory programme: international business (2020)

Intro to Management, Macro-Economics and Economic Policy, Business Research Methods - Quantitative Methods (17/20), Qualitative Methods, Personnel and Organization, Marketing, Introduction to Financial Reporting (17/20), Principles of Managerial Economics
Programme GPA: Cum Laude, 75%

B.S. Chemical engineering (2009-2014)

Technical Breadth in Material Science Engineering; Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society

volunteer


Serve the City Brussels (Jan 2022 - Present) - Lunch 4 All

 

publications and patents

publications

1. Wiederkehr R, Marchal E, Fauvart M, Foreville T, Taher A, Steylaerts T, Choe Y, Dusar H, Lenci S, Siouti E, Potsika V, Andreakos E, Stakenborg T. A capillary-driven microfluidic device for performing special multiplex PCR, Biomedical Microdevices, 2025

2. Chou D, Frismantas V, Milton Y, avid R, Pop-Damkov P, Ferguson D, MacDonald A, Bolukbasi O, Joyce C, Teixeira L, Rech A, Jiang A, Calamari E, Firoozinezhad S, Furlong B, O’Sullivan L, Ng C, Choe Y, Marquez S, Myers K, Weinberg O, Hasserjian R, Novak R, Levy O, Prantil-Baun R, Novina C, Shimamura A, Ewart L. Human bone marrow chip recapitulates clinical toxicities and hematopoietic dysfunction in a rare genetic disorder. Nature Biomedical Engineering (Manuscript Accepted for Publication), 2020.

3. Novak R, Ingram M, Marquez, S, Das D, Delahanty A, Herland A, Maoz B, Jeanty S, Somayaji M, Burt M, Calamari E, Chalkiadaki A, Cho A, Choe Y, Chou D, Cronce M, Dauth S, Divic T, Fernandez-Alcon F, Ferrante T, Ferrier J, FitzGerald E, Fleming R, Firoozinezhad S, Grevesse T, Goss J, Hamkins-Indik T, Henry O, Hinojosa C, Huffstater T, Jang K, Kujala V, Leng L, Mannix R, Milton Y, Nawroth J, Nestor B, Ng C, O’Connor B, Park T, Sanchez H, Sliz J, Sontheimer-Phelps A, Swenor B, Thompson G, Touloumes G, Tranchemontagne Z, Wen N, Yadid M, Levy O, Bahinski A, Hamilton G, Levner D, Przekwas A, Prantil-Baun R, Parker K. Robotic fluidic coupling and interrogation of multiple vascularized organ chips. Nature Biomedical Engineering (2020) DOI: 10.1038/s41551-019-0497

4. Benam K, Novak R, Ferrante T, Choe Y, Ingber D. Biomimetic Smoking Robot for In Vitro Inhalation Exposure Compatible with Microfluidic Organ Chips. Nature Protocols, 2020. DOI: 10.1038/s41596-019-0230-y

5. Novak R, Didier M, Calamari E, Ng C, Choe Y, Clauson S, Nestor B, Puerta J, Fleming R, Firoozinezhad S, Ingber D. Scalable fabrication of stretchable, dual channel, microfluidic organ chips. JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments), 2018. e58151 DOI:10.3791/58151

6. Benam K, Mazur M, Choe Y, Ferrante T, Novak R, Ingber D. Human Lung Small Airway-on-a-Chip Protocol. Methods in molecular biology, 2017. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7021-6_25

7. Benam K, Novak R, Villenave R, Lucchesi C, Hubeau C, Nawroth J, Hirano-Kobayashi M, Ferrante T, Choe Y, Prantil-Baun R, Weaver J, Hamilton G, Bahinski A, Ingber D. Human small airway-on-a-chip: A novel microphysiological system to model lung inflammation, accelerate drug development, and enable inhalational toxico-analysis. European Respiratory Journal, 2016. DOI: 10.1183/13993003.congress-2016.OA4542

8. Benam K, Novak R, J Nawroth, Hirano-Kobayashi M, Ferrante T, Choe Y, Prantil-Baun R, Weaver, J, Bahinski A, Parker K, Ingber D. Matched-Comparative Modeling of Normal Diseased Human Airway Responses Using a Microengineered Breathing Lung Chip. Cell Systems, 2016. DOI: 10.1016/jcels.2016.10.003

patents

  1. Jones B, Choe Y. “Microfluidic Device Unit.” PA2020/153 EP2. Filed December 21, 2021. Published June 29, 2022.

  2. Novak R, Choe Y, Nestor B. “Microfluidic platform for time-resolved tissue and organism analysis.” PCT/US2018/056790. Filed October 19, 2018. Published September 20, 2019.

  3. Novak R, Puerta J, Henry O, Choe Y, Sabate J, Ingber D. “Microfluidic sample devices and uses thereof.” PCT/US2017/013316. Filed January 13, 2017. Published July 20, 2017.

  4. Varone A, Wen N, Levner D, Novak R, McPartlin L, Ingber D, Choe Y, Leng L, Nguyen J. “Open-top microfluidic devices and methods for stimulation a function of a tissue.” PCT/US2016/064798. Filed December 12, 2016. Published June 6, 2017.

  5. Benam K, Novak R, Sliz J, Ferrante T, Ingber D, Choe Y. “Respiration device for analysis of a foreign response to shear stress and foreign agents on cells.” PCT/US2016/025228. Filed March 3, 2016. Published October 16, 2016.