OUR LAB

Jessica C. Hsu, PhD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Hsu is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the School of Health Sciences (Medical Physics) at Purdue University. She received her BS in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2013. She then worked in the energy sector for two years before earning her PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2021, where her doctoral research focused on developing silver sulfide nanoparticles for multimodal X-ray and optical imaging. Dr. Hsu completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2025, where she expanded her research into polymeric nanoparticles for cancer phototherapy and naturally derived nanomaterials for the treatment of organ injury.

Faculty Profile (CV)

Ayushi Chaudhary, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. Ayushi Chaudhary is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the school of Health Sciences at Purdue University. She obtained her B.Sc. degree in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics from HNBGU University in 2019, followed by an M.Sc. degree in Chemistry from National Institute of Technology Jalandhar in 2021. She then joined Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur for her doctoral studies. Her doctoral research centered on the design and development of metallodrugs for cancer treatment, with a focus on photodynamic therapy and immune modulation. Following the completion of her Ph.D. in April 2026, she joined Dr. Hsu’s laboratory for postdoctoral training in May 2026.

Chandler Zaugg, MS

PhD Student

Chandler Zaugg is a Ph.D. student in the School of Health Sciences at Purdue University. He earned his B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Utah, followed by an M.S. degree in Medical Physics from Purdue University. His research focuses on radiation biology, radiopharmaceuticals, immunomodulation, and the development of nanomaterials for cancer treatment.

Mariaceleste Florian Rodriguez

MS Student

Mariaceleste Florian Rodriguez is a Medical Physics M.S. student at Purdue University. She earned her B.S. degree in Physics from Southern Connecticut State University. Her research experience includes work in optics and therapeutic medical physics. 

Alex Koron

Undergraduate Student

Alexander is a fourth-year physics major with a minor in mathematics at UCLA. He is participating in Purdue’s 2026 Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP), where his work focuses on developing novel nanotheranostics to treat acute kidney injury.

Risha Gupta

Undergraduate Student

Risha is a third year Purdue student majoring in Nuclear Engineering. In the NEAT Lab, she is currently working on creating mathematical models to determine the therapeutic ratio at different locations of the body. She also is involved in researching imaging nanomaterials for ARDS.

Rebecca Posso

Undergraduate Student

Rebecca is a second‑year Biomedical Health Sciences major on the pre‑medicine track at Purdue University. She is currently a member of the NEAT Lab, where she contributes to projects involving the design and development of metallodrugs for cancer treatment, with a focus on photodynamic therapy and immune modulation. She is also involved in research on novel nanotheranostic strategies for the early detection and treatment of acute kidney injury.