Academic Affiliations:

Assistant Professor

• Department of Medical Engineering, College of Engineering

• Department of Oncologic Sciences, Morsani College of Medicine,

University of South Florida (USF)

Office: Moffitt Discovery and Innovation Center (MDI) R 3124

Phone: +1 813 7454673 Ext: 7455447 

Email: duy.nguyen@moffitt.org

Post-Doctoral Fellow 

2024 Moffitt Junior Scientist Research Partnership JSPR Award Recipient.

Dr. Karanam is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Moffitt Cancer Center. Prior to joining Moffitt, she completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She earned her PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, following a Master’s degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research. Her research interests focus on cancer biology and nano-drug delivery systems targeting the tumor microenvironment. She is excited to work in Dr. Nguyen’s lab, exploring patient avatar models and hydrogel delivery systems for translational and clinical applications

Research Associate I & Research Safety Liaison 

Harrison holds a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of South Florida, where his graduate research centered on 3D bioprinting, collagen fiber alignment, and a tumor microenviromental platform. Through his work characterizing cell-matrix dynamics and tissue microenvironments, he developed advanced biofabrication methods to create physiologically relevant 3D tissue models. His long-term goal is to drive innovation and make a meaningful impact at the intersection of biomedical engineering, biomaterials, and translational medicine.

Research Assistant - Masters Student

Program: Graduate Level Oncology Warriors (GLOW)

Shima graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemical Engineering and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Biochemical Engineering at the University of South Florida, with a concentration in Molecular Medicine and Drug Delivery. She is currently conducting research in Dr. Nguyen’s lab at Moffitt Cancer Center. Her research interests include developing hydrogel-based drug and vaccine delivery systems for cancer treatment.

Program: Summer Program for the Advancement of Research Knowledge (SPARK) 2026.

Cosette Kim is a third-year Biomedical Engineering student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, minoring in Public Policy. In the summer of 2025, she worked in Dr. Nguyen’s lab, contributing to the development and optimization of a tunable 3D-bioprinted hybrid microgel–collagen platform (THMCP) to engineer ex vivo models of the tumor extracellular matrix. Her research focused on recapitulating tumor microenvironment heterogeneity and quantifying immune and cancer cell migration using machine learning and confocal microscopy. She was subsequently selected to participate in the SPARK program in the summer of 2026.

At Georgia Tech, Cosette is a member of the Laboratory for Synthetic Immunity, where she contributes to research focused on engineering immune-based medicines to intercept and treat human disease. She is interested in the intersection of biomedical engineering, immunology, and public policy to advance human health and is excited to see how these fields evolve in the future.

Outside the lab, Cosette enjoys playing tennis, reading, watching soccer, and spending time with family and friends.