News

New Publication in Langmuir

Our recent work “From Single Ligand–Receptor Bond Strength to Collective Avidity: Mechanics-Guided Superselective Nanoparticle Adhesion to Biological Membranes“, led by Morteza and Saba, has been published in Langmuir.

SMIL Group in AICHE 2025 Annual Meeting

SMIL Research group attended the AICHE2025 annual meeting in Boston, MA.

Saba presented “Role of mechanical Stiffness on multivalent adhesion of flexible nanofilaments on biological cell membrane” in ”Materials Engineering & Sciences (08B – Biomaterials)” Session

Morteza presented “Controlling cooperativity of multivalent receptor-ligand interactions for optimal cell binding of distinct nanocarriers” in ”Modeling of Lipid Membranes and Membrane Proteins” Session

Saba Passed the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam

Congratulations to Saba for successfully passing her PhD qualifying exam.

New Publication in Journal of Applied Mechanics Reviews

“Entropy-Driven Mechanics of Crystalline and Biological Membranes“, Led by Sojib Kaisar, PhD Candidate in Dr. Ahmadpoor’s Lab

New Publication in Journal of Mechanics and Physics of Solids

“Entropic pressure on a confined biological vesicle with surface tension“, Led by Rubayet Hassan, PhD Candidate in Dr. Ahmadpoor’s Lab

DOE’s Director’s Discretionary Award 

Our research group has received the DOE’s Director’s Discretionary (DD) Allocation Award at Argonne National Laboratory to perform hybrid Monte Carlo–Brownian Dynamics simulations of flexible nanostructures interacting with biological cells. DD projects allow users to enhance application performance and maximize scientific efficiency and productivity on the ALCF’s leadership computing platforms.

New Publication in Journal of Applied Mechanics

“Entropic Pressure Between Fluctuating Membranes with Surface Tension“, Led by Rubayet Hassan, PhD Candidate in Dr. Ahmadpoor’s Lab

2025 Dana Knox Student Research Showcase

Saba and Morteza presented their research at the NJIT Dana Knox Student Research Showcase.

Morteza Passed the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam

Congratulations to Morteza for successfully passing his PhD qualifying exam.

New Publication in Physics of Fluids

Our recent work on “ConvNet-based prediction of droplet collision dynamics in microchannels“, led by postdoc Abdullah, has been published in Physics of Fluids.

SMIL Group in AICHE 2024 Annual Meeting

SMIL Research group with two PhD students and one PI attended the AICHE2024 annual meeting in San Diego, CA.

Saba presented “Adhesive Interactions of Flexible Nanofilaments Versus Nanogels with Biological Cell Membranes” in ”Biomaterials and Biological Systems” Session

Morteza presented “Enhancing Nanocarrier Targeting: Role of Cell Morphology, Mechanics, and Receptor-Ligand Interactions” in ”Modeling of Lipid Membranes and Membrane Proteins” Session

Open Call for Papers: Special Issue on Multiscale Modeling and Analysis in Computational Biology and Biophysics 

Molecular biology, biochemistry, and biophysics are revealing intricate details of living systems. Leveraging computational methods and data-driven approaches, scientists can annotate and integrate these insights, leading to multiscale systems biology that reconstructs networks of molecular interactions driving the biophysical functions of various cell types. Addressing the challenge of integrating data across physical scales, from molecules to whole organisms, is central to computational biology and biophysics. The importance of multiscale modeling and analysis is particularly evident in biomedicine, where symptoms appear at the tissue, organ, and body levels. Despite this, medical treatments often focus on specific molecules or single organs without considering critical interactions between cells, tissues, and organs. This Special Issue, Guest Edited by Dr. Samaneh Farokhirad, aims to better understand these multiscale interactions to inform medical science and improve therapeutic interventions. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Multiscale modeling of cell and molecular biophysics;
• Multiscale modeling of tissue and organ systems;
• Multiscale systems biology and systems biomedicine;
• Multiscale theoretical and computational analysis;
• Data-driven approaches.

The open call closes on 10th April 2025.

Ready to submit already? You can send your work to us through our submissions portal link. If you would like any more information about this exciting special issue visit the open calls page –> Mathematics journals: Special Issues page.

Abdullah Successfully Defended his PhD Thesis

July: We are excited to announce the first PhD defense from the SMIL group. Abdullah’s PhD work was focused on “Collision dynamics of compound droplets in microchannels: a combined numerical and data-driven study”. Congratulations Dr. Al Mamun!

2024 Dana Knox Student Research Showcase

Saba showcased her recent research on interaction of nanogels and nanofilaments with cell membrane at the NJIT Dana Knox Student Research Showcase.

New Publication in Physics of Fluids

Our work on “Hydrodynamic collision and deformation of compound droplet pairs in confined shear flow” has been accepted for publication in Physics of Fluids. Congratulation to Abdullah for his dedicated effort.

Morteza joined our group as doctoral student. Welcome Morteza!

Abdullah presented at APS-Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD)

November 2023

Abdullah presented his research in “Drops: Coalescence II” Session at the APS-DFD meeting in Washington DC.

New Funding from National Science Foundation 
(Award# CBET-2327899)

August 2023

Our research group has received an award from NSF for the project titled “Adhesion and Self-Assembly of Flexible Nanofilaments on Biological Membranes“. This project seeks to gain fundamental knowledge on the interactions between flexible nanofilaments (including filoviruses, cytoskeletal microtubules, actin filaments, as well as natural and synthetic nanofilaments) and biological cells using a combination of theory and simulations (in collaboration with Dr. Fatemeh Ahmadpoor).

Oracle for Research Project Award

July 2023

Our research group has received the Oracle for Research Project Award. This award aims to empower impactful research being conducted in academia and non-profits by providing Oracle Cloud credits, access to cutting-edge computational resources, and personalized technology consultations. Additionally, it offers promotional support to highlight the significant work of research scientists.

K-12 Outreach

July 2023

Dr. Farokhirad conducted two engaging lecture sessions and computer labs for 8th-grade local students, focusing on the formation, structure, and significance of Bacterial Biofilm, as well as the complex process of Drug Delivery. To enhance the learning experience, the students had the opportunity to utilize Paraview software, a powerful tool for visualizing and analyzing computational data.

These workshops, held in collaboration with the Women in Engineering & Technology Initiatives FEMME Program and Biomedical Engineering Program (BIO-MED), organized by the NJIT Pre-College Program.

Dr. Farokhirad Inspired Young Minds at the 11th Annual Science Research Symposium

June 2023

Dr. Farokhirad gave a keynote lecture at the 11th Annual Montville Township Science Research Symposium, which catered to high school students and the community. This platform allowed her to showcase the remarkable potential of computational science and engineering in tackling real-world engineering problems, as well as the vast array of opportunities available within STEM fields.

New Publication in Langmuir

February 2023

In our collaboration with Harvard University, our recent work entitled “Spreading, Breakup, and Rebound Behaviors of Compound Droplets Impacting on Microstructured Substrates” has been published in Langmuir. This work marks the first crucial step in the role of structured surfaces on the spreading and dynamic behavior of compound droplets and opens doors for future advancements in this field. 

Abdullah successfully defended his Ph.D. proposal

January 2023

Congratulations to Abdullah for passing his Ph.D. proposal defense. He is now officially a Ph.D. candidate and a step closer to graduation!