My research focuses on engineering controllable and predictive human disease models for muscle and cardiac systems. I develop bioengineered platforms that integrate optogenetics, tissue engineering, and patient-derived cellular models to better understand and regulate disease-associated signaling pathways. My previous work spans skeletal muscle aging, exercise biology, mitochondrial dysfunction, and regenerative medicine using both in vitro and in vivo systems. At Emory University, I currently focus on optogenetic control of cardiac and muscle signaling, inter-organ communication through secretome networks, and patient-specific modeling of inherited cardiac diseases. My long-term goal is to develop translational bioengineering platforms that improve mechanistic understanding, therapeutic screening, and precision medicine strategies for cardiovascular and muscle diseases.