We are the Center for MedTech Innovation (formerly known as the Center for Advancing System Science and Bioengineering Innovation). Though we have a newly chartered name, we have that same mission: to build and advance medical technologies into the real world through human-centered and community-engaged methodologies. Follow our journey as we listen to the lived experiences of real people and co-create solutions.
The CMI Summer Retreat, held on May 20, 2026, brought together nearly 50 faculty, trainees, staff, and advisory board members for a day of interdisciplinary exchange and community-centered science. A panel on the patient-scientist model featured a patient advocate Anna-Lena Thomas alongside a postdoctoral researcher Susannah Engdahl presenting her NIH-funded F32 prosthetics project, as well as with Jenny Phan, Assistant Director of Community Engagement at CMI, and a session on participatory and community-engaged research explored opportunities for high-impact science aligned with community priorities.
The retreat’s poster session showcased the breadth of trainee scholarship across CMI’s research themes, with the CMI Advisory Board lending their expertise as judges — recognizing Madinah Azizi and John Hummel with both the Best Student Poster Award and the People’s Choice Award for their work on nanoconstructs for targeted photothermal therapy in breast cancer, and Surbhi Singla with the Best Student Poster Award for her research on carbon nanotube channeling for proton minibeam dose modulation in cancer treatment. Congratulations to all awardees, and thank you to everyone who made this year’s retreat a success.
Summer Team Impact Projects tackle global questions and challenges within all three focus areas of Mason impact. Faculty present a question to a team of undergraduate students who work throughout the summer to create a solution and then present their findings, their action plan, or their prototype to the George Mason community.
AVATAR (Adaptive Virtual Assistant for Therapeutic Auto-Regulation) helps with relapse prevention for behavioral and mental health conditions, including substance-use disorders, depression, and PTSD. It remains a persistent public-health challenge. Existing interventions are often reactive rather than adaptive, offering limited support during moments of emotional vulnerability. Building on U.S. Patent Application 20190320964: Systems and Methods for Biobehavioral-Regulation Treatments, this project develops a prototype digital-therapeutic system that integrates mobile and virtual-reality (VR) platforms with mathematical modeling to deliver real-time, personalized interventions.
“As virtual reality becomes increasingly popular in the gaming and entertainment worlds, kinesiologists too are looking for ways that it might be helpful in helping people to move in safer and healthier ways. A recent example comes from a cross-disciplinary team at George Mason University that is in the early stages of figuring how to deploy virtual reality as an intervention to help older adults be less prone to falling in the real world.”
…to our newest PhD graduates: Bryce Dunn, Matin Jahani, and Aseem Pradhan!
…to Dr. Parag Chitnis for promotion to Full Professor. Parag serves as the Associate Chair, Graduate Programs for the Bioengineering Department. In addition, he received the Presidential Medal for Excellence in Research this spring which honors George Mason faculty members for their work on behalf of the university, students, and the broader community.
…to Dr. Gilbert Gimm, a faculty member in the College of Public Health, was promoted to Full Professor on April 30, 2026. He also serves as Director of the Health Services PhD program. His research areas include disability and aging, substance use, program evaluations, and health care financing.
…to Dr. Samuel Acuña, who began this summer as the new Term Assistant Professor with Mechanical Engineering. His research explores new technologies to address movement disorders that develop after injury.
Tim Fuchs, Deputy Executive Director of ENDependence Center of Northern VA and CMI board member, submitted a proposal to Amazon’s Community Fund to secure additional funding that would make an impact for their clients they serve every day. Amazon Loudoun County Community Fund, a partnership between Amazon and the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties, awards grants that support impactful projects across five key focus areas: Health and Wellness, Food Security, Community Infrastructure for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention, Sustainability and Environment, and Social Cohesion. ECNV was awarded a $5000 grant which will support the delivery of accessible medical equipment and assistive devices for Loudoun residents who need essential equipment.
A recent paper from the group titled “Multidimensional analysis of the clinical spectrum and symptom burden of unexplained myofascial pain,” has been accepted for publication in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The Archives is the most cited journal (lifetime) in the field of rehabilitation research. This paper was an international effort with co-authors based in four different countries: US, Canada, Spain and Italy.
Team members Danah Aljadan, Zee Niladree, Jenna Osman, Rania Seyam, Selma Tun (mentored by Dr. Rémi Veneziano) presented their capstone project “Light-Responsive Microneedle Patch” at Bioengineering’s Senior Design Day this past May. The goal of the project was to design an ultraviolet light-responsive microneedle patch (that would be part of a wound dressing) for targeted and on-demand drug delivery. Congratulations team!
Matin Jahani, a recent PhD graduate, presented podium talks on the group’s research at the International Society for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM) in Vancouver, BC and American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) annual meeting in Philadelphia in May 2026. The group also had three posters at the ISPRM.
We’re excited to welcome Sarah Crespo to the team as our new Clinical Research Coordinator, starting June 8th! With over 20 years of experience at Pi-Coor, she brings a wealth of expertise and insight that will be invaluable to our work.
And we’re thrilled to welcome a dynamic group of interns this summer who will dive into diverse aspects of our ongoing NIH-funded research on chronic knee pain!
