Jenny completed her Ph.D. at Georgia Tech in Bioengineering followed by postdoctoral research at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland. She's a Fulbright and Whitaker Alumna and started at the University of Virginia in 2014, moving to Virginia Tech in 2017. Though she loves science and engineering, she also loves dancing with her daughter, travel, photography, and cooking.
Research Associates
Who we are
Principal Investigator
Monet Roberts, PhD
Krishnashis Chatterjee, Ph.D.
Monét Roberts is from Newnan, Georgia and received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2014 where her interest in pursuing a Ph.D. stemmed from working as an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Manu Platt’s lab studying HIV-mediated CVD. Monét received her Ph.D. from the Nancy E. & Peter C. Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University, with Dr. Matthew Paszek’s lab on the role of the cancer glycocalyx in microvesicle shedding in the Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. During her Ph.D., she received the Ford Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship as well as the NSF GRFP. As a postdoctoral research associate, Outside of lab, Monét enjoys cooking, video chatting with her younger sister (who is 16 years younger than her) to and help her with her homework, playing with her Yorkie, BJ, playing video games, hanging out with friends, and all things fashion and natural hair.
Krishnashis is from West Bengal, India, where he received his BS degree from West Bengal University of Technology. After that he came to U.S. and completed his MS in Mechanical Engineering from Northern Illinois University and PhD in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech. His research interests are theoretical and experimental microfluidics. Presently, as a postdoctoral research associate in the Munson Lab, he is working on engineering a 3D model of tumor microenvironment to study the effects of interstitial fluid flow and biophysical forces on cancer invasion and metastasis. Outside the lab, he loves to spend quality time with his wife and enjoys watching or playing cricket matches.
Graduate Students
Naciye Atay
Savieay Esparza
A Turkish-American who lived most of her life in North Carolina, Naciye is a proud Tar Heel who earned a BS in Biomedical and Health Sciences Engineering from the Joint Department of BME at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. Afterwards she ventured to Blacksburg to pursue her PhD in the Munson Lab. Her research focuses on understanding the role of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in flow-mediated glioma invasion. Outside of the lab she is a complete adrenaline junkie, although she also enjoys more normal activities such as photography and watching Turkish soap operas.
New Mexican from birth, Savieay attended New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, where he earned a BS in Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Biochemical Engineering in 2018.
He has joined the Munson and Verbridge labs to study lymphatic and endothelial interaction in a 3D model. When not in the lab, Savieay loves to spend time wife his wife, cook "Xmas" style with (Hatch Red and Green Chile), play soccer, racquetball, board/video games, and hike.
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Kinsley Tate, M.S.
Caleb Stine
Kinsley was born and raised in Wilmington, NC. She attended East Carolina University, where she completed her BS in Engineering and her MS in Biomedical Engineering. Kinsley is now pursuing her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where she is studying the glioblastoma tumor microenvironment. Apart from lab, Kinsley enjoys spending time with her husband, hiking, painting and playing with her two dogs.
Caleb was born and raised in Ohio and attended Ohio University where he received a BS in Mechanical Engineering. Following school, he worked as an engineer in the automotive and construction fields, but his desire to improve lives brought him to the biomedical field. He is excited to bring his background and experiences to the Munson lab to study the cancer cell microenvironment. In his free time, Caleb enjoys being outside, spending time with his wife and two cats, woodworking, and playing basketball.
Cora received her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in May of 2018. Since then, she has married and moved from her hometown of Rio Rancho, NM to Blacksburg, VA to pursue her PhD in Biomedical Engineering. During her time in the Munson lab, she will study vasculature in in vivo and in vitro models. Outside of research, Cora and her husband have a vast list of entertainment activities, some of which include: board games, water sports, racquetball, gardening, and cooking. Cora is an NSFGRFP Awardee!
Undergraduate Students
Alexis Petrosky
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Biological Systems Engineering
Class of 2020
Conner Brocke
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Biological Systems Engineering
Class of 2021
Saloni Bhargava
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Computer Science
Class of 2021
Zehra Demir
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Class of 2021
Lauren Pitz
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Class of 2022
Lauren Pitz
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Class of 2022
Sruthi Kancherla
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Class of 2022
Kate Herrema
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Class of 2022
Come Research with us!!
Interested in joining as an undergraduate?
Fill out this form and send to oncoenglab@vt.edu