The Dennis Lab

Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Bioengineering

a.dennis@northeastern.edu

Prof. Dennis earned a BS in Bioengineering and BA in German from Rice University before spending 15 months with the Pharmaceutical Technology Group at the University of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany, as a Fulbright Scholar. She earned her PhD in Bioengineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and conducted postdoctoral research in nanomaterials chemistry at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at Los Alamos National Laboratory before starting her independent career at Boston University in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Division of Materials Science and Engineering. In 2022 the Dennis Lab moved to Northeastern University.

Graduate Student

Thomas joined in 2024 as a Chemical Engineering PhD student at Northeastern University. He received his M.Sc. in Materials Science from the University of Rochester and his B.Sc. in Applied Physics from the University for Development Studies in 2018. His research focuses on synthesizing and characterizing shortwave infrared (SWIR) emitting PbS/CdS/ZnS semiconductor nanocrystals for fluorescence bioimaging applications in preclinical imaging systems. When not in the lab, Thomas enjoys swimming, travel, table tennis, and billiards.

Email: bewaale.t@northeastern.edu

Graduate Student

Maximo received his BS in Chemical Engineering with minors in chemistry and economics from Tufts University in 2023. At his undergraduate institution, he conducted research in polymer science focused on membrane fabrication with the aim of reducing the manufacturing cost of antibody-drug conjugates by increasing membrane efficiency during purification. He joined the Dennis Lab in the spring of 2025, interested in the intersection of polymer science, biology, and colloidal chemistry. He is interested in leveraging all three to further improve preclinical imaging tools in the NIR-II window. Outside of the lab, he enjoys exploring new coffee and cooking.

Email: mateo.m@northeastern.edu

Graduate Student

Mallory received her BS degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Mississippi in 2022. She joined the lab in January of 2023.  Her current research interests include leveraging NIR-II preclinical imaging techniques and bioconjugation schemes to improve peritoneal micrometastases identification in vivo. Outside of the lab, Mallory teaches yoga, enjoys upcycling clothes, and crafting.

Email: moffett.m@northeastern.edu

Graduate Student

Warisha graduated from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan in 2022 with a Bachelors in Chemical Engineering. She joined the Dennis Lab in 2023 and is working on the development of multiplexed fluorescent sensors for small molecule analytes. Outside the lab, Warisha is involved in graduate school mentorship outreach, photography, and travelling.

Email: tahir.w@northeastern.edu

Graduate Student

Ayushmaan joined the lab in 2024 as a PhD student in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University. He graduated from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. His research focuses on developing depth-resolved SWIR imaging methods, including ratiometric analysis and spectral demixing approaches for biological applications. Outside of the lab, Ayushmaan enjoys fitness, playing chess and cricket, and following technology and finance.

Email: tripathi.ay@northeastern.edu

Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering,
Boston University, 2019

Materials Engineering of Semiconductor Quantum Dots for Biosensing Applications

Outstanding Dissertation of the Year in Materials Science and Engineering, May 2019

Claire Booth Luce Graduate Fellow (2017-2019)

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering,
Boston University, 2022

Towards the clinical translation of quantum dots: current preclinical barriers and future strategies

Outstanding Dissertation of the Year in Biomedical Engineering, May 2022

Teaching Assistant of the Year (BU BME 2019)
NSF Graduate Research Fellow (2018-2021)
T32 Training Fellow (2016-2018)

M.S. in Biomedical Engineering,
Boston University, 2019

Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) as an Optical Readout for Transcription Factor-DNA Binding in Biosensing Applications

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering,
Boston University, 2025

Synthesis and Imaging of Near-infrared I and II Quantum Dot Heterostructures

M.S. in Chemical Engineering,
Northeastern University, 2025

Development, Optimization, and Evaluation of SWIR Emitting QD Imaging Tools

Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering,
Boston University, 2021

Development of Near Infrared Semiconductor Quantum Dots for In Vivo Imaging

BUnano Graduate Fellowship (2017-2018)

Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering,
Boston University, 2020

Synthesis and Characterization of Indium Phosphide-Based Quantum Dot Heterostructures

Outstanding Dissertation of the Year in Materials Science and Engineering, May 2021

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering,
Boston University, 2025

Developing NIR-II Active Nanocrystals for Biomedical Applications