Our Team

The Orchestrating Multifaceted Engineering for Growing Artificial Joints (OMEGA) project at Case Western Reserve University is dedicated to advancing healthcare by developing an innovative treatment for individuals suffering from osteoarthritis. 

Our team consists of experts from a variety of fields including mechanical and aerospace engineering, chemical and biomolecular engineering, biology, orthopedics and social sciences. This interdisciplinary approach allows the team to address challenges from various angles and perspectives to develop a well-rounded treatment.

Meet our research team.

OMEGA Leadership Team

OMEGA Co-Investigators 

• Tracey Bonfield, Associate Professor of Genetics and Genome Sciences
• Robert Gao, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Clare Rimnac, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Orthopedics
• Jean Welter, Associate Professor of Biology
• Rodrigo Somoza Palacios, Associate Professor of Biology
• James Voos, Professor of Orthopedics
• Jacob Calcei, Professor of Orthopedics
• Sandra Hnat, PhD Louis Stokes VA Medical Center
• Jane Reese Koc, from the National Center of Regenerative Medicine at the School of Medicine
• Ronald Triolo, Professor of Biomedical Engineering

OMEGA In Vitro Team Members 

• Seniye Sertel
• David Rodriguez
• Miguel Fuentes 
• Marlin Linger 
• Mahshid Monavari 
• Eric Stuehr 
• Bo Zhang 
• Majid Rashidi, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

OMEGA Biofabrication Team Members 

• Yusuf Dikici 
• Kamal Gautam 
• Maximilian Zernic 

OMEGA Biomechanical and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Team Members 

• Manish Sri Sai Surya Routhu
• Sina Malakpour Estalaki
• Alan Shepardson
• Jay Bensusan 

OMEGA Administration/Engagement and Accessibililty

• Sydney Campbell (Department Assistant) 
• Jeff Kucharski (Director of Finance)
• Erica Leondarides (Clinical Research) 
• Stephanie Roy (Engagement Research Associate)