Lauren Chappell

Lauren Chappell is pursuing her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering after earning her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from USC in May 2025, graduating with Leadership Distinction in Research.

Lauren is currently working on the thermal imaging project to create a contactless blood pressure measurement device that aims to non-invasively characterize deception. Her first project involves developing a controlled blood flow procedure to validate the thermal camera’s accuracy and performance, in collaboration with Ph.D. student Chris Kibler.

In addition to her work in the Acute Stress Center, Lauren will soon be contributing to cardiovascular research with Dr. Shazly Tarek and Dr. Frank Spinale, focused on therapeutic strategies targeting left ventricular microstructure. Their current work explores the use of a protein-based hydrogel to deliver a slow-release drug designed to inhibit dysfunctional cardiac fibroblasts - cells believed to play a cancer-like role in heart failure.

Lauren is also continuing her undergraduate research with Dr. Mark Uline, Director of Biomedical Engineering, using computational modeling to study thermodynamic behavior in molecular systems, specifically lipid–protein interactions.