
January 12th, 2026
The iCARE laboratory moved from Sidney L. Olson Research Center to the fifth floor of the Auburn Science and Engineering Center.

June 10th, 2025
Emma was awarded the 2025 Stephanie Lopina Undergraduate Scholarship. The scholarship typically is awarded to graduating seniors who have presented abstracts at national conferences and/or authored or co-authored one or more peer-reviewed journal articles.

May 12th, 2025
The College of Engineering and Polymer Science awarded Dr. Zhang with the 2025 CEPS Achievement Awards, more specifically, the Louis A. Hill Award.
“Dr. Zhang is recognized for her outstanding contributions across teaching, research and service. A driving force behind the development of the Biomedical Engineering curriculum, she is also a dedicated mentor to both undergraduate and graduate students.” – The University of Akron News

May 7th, 2025
Ashley graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Congratulations, Ashley!

March 28th, 2025
Ashley placed second among the undergraduates at the 4th annual BME Research Day Poster Competition. Her poster, “Monitoring of Chemical Reagent Residuals in Cardiac Tissue Decellularization”, provided many insights into the timeline of the protocol of the synthesis of the cECM hydrogel and it was awesome to see her hard work be recognized!

December 16th, 2024
Dr. Zhang gave her perspective as a biomedical engineer and medical doctor on the effects artificial intelligence could have on the health care system.
Predictions 2025: UA faculty look ahead | The University Akron News | Ohio

October 4th, 2024
Emma presented on her experiences and research within the lab as an undergraduate student. She presented so that other students could learn about not only the undergraduate research opportunities within this lab, but to display that research is another valuable option that they can pursue while determining their future career and academia paths.

April 1st, 2024
Rubia and Emma both received the Karen M. Mudry Achievement Award for winning best graduate poster and best undergraduate poster respectively. Well done, Rubia and Emma!