As a professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Roger Narayan has built a career based on medical applications research while guiding his students to advance the field of engineering.

Narayan serves as a Park Faculty Mentor and an academic advisor for Pooja Sarin ‘13, a biomedical engineering major from Greensboro. Narayan advises Sarin on career planning, course selection, and undergraduate research opportunities. Sarin recently participated in the Brody-Park Cardiovascular Internship at the East Carolina Heart Institute at East Carolina University this summer.

Roger Narayan with his research students (including Sarin) in his laboratory.

“I think it is important for undergraduate engineering students to engage in research,” says Narayan. “I am glad Pooja is participating in research activities since these activities promote critical thinking and communication skills.”

The focus of Narayan’s research includes laser-based processes to create materials with microscale and nanoscale features for medical applications.

“We would like to develop wearable microneedle arrays that perform continuous monitoring and treatment for individuals with chronic medical conditions,” says Narayan.

Narayan received his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from NC State and his M.D. from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He has received several honors over the course of his career, including the NC State Alcoa Foundation Engineering Research Achievement Award, the University of North Carolina Jefferson-Pilot Fellowship in Academic Medicine, and the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award.

Narayan is the author of over 100 publications, and has edited several books and academic journals relating to the materials, processes, and modeling for medical devices; nanoscale and microscale processing; and biological and biomedical applications.