Dr. Himanshi Jangir

She is a bioengineer cum nature-inspired bio-designer with extensive hands-on experience in the design and manufacturing of multi-organ human-on-a-chip platforms for animal-free drug discovery, micro-physiological systems, 3-D organ printing, bio-hybrid devices, green electrode development for bioenergy devices, and nano agriculture. She did her undergraduate training in biological sciences and bioengineering at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (2013-2017). Her undergraduate research was on carbon and cerium-based bio-electrodes. Then, she completed her master’s research (2017-2018) in the same department while working on an ISRO-funded project on novel bioinspired lithium-sulfide cathode material for next-generation lithium-ion batteries. She finished her BTech and MTech degrees with the Academic Excellence Award (2017). She joined the Department of Design at IIT Kanpur for her Doctoral research (2018-2020) and worked on nano agriculture and green electrode materials. She received the Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award in the 53rd Convocation of IIT Kanpur. She moved to the University of Central Florida in 2020 to work on ‘Human on a Chip’ systems with 'Preeminent Postdoctoral Program (P3) Fellowship’ (2020-2024). She worked on tendon mimetic extracellular matrix, sarcopenia modelling, neuromuscular modelling of familial and sporadic ALS mutations, and development of multi-organ model to study disease comorbidities in ageing population during her tenure. In April 2024, she joined UPES as an assistant professor. 

• Post-Doctoral Fellow in Academia-Industry (September 2020- March 2024): Worked on human-on-a-chip systems at the Nanoscience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, and Hesperos Inc. Orlando, USA.                                               
• Senior Research Engineer (July 2020- January 2021): Worked on protein bio-battery at the Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, IIT Kanpur, India. 
• COVID Project (April 2020- June 2020): Worked on a positive pressure respirator system at the Department of Design, IIT Kanpur, India.

• Frugal technologies for cell-based biochips to screen drugs, pesticides, and cosmetics  
• Protein biobattery and bioelectrodes for medical applications   
• Sustainable food production for better health 

As an educator in sustainable bio-design, her lifelong pursuit is learning by doing experiments. She will offer courses that aim to lay the foundation for appreciating the biological designs that already exist in nature. The core idea will be to understand the age-old natural machines and to embark on emulating these biological machines through various manufacturing approaches. The key to such manufacturing will be sustainability.

Teaching assistant (2018-2024) at the National Program on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), India, she worked on the following courses:  

• Bioenergy  
• Animal Physiology  
• Bioelectrochemistry 
• Cell Culture Technologies   
• Nanotechnology in Agriculture 
• Bio-energetics of Life Processes 

• 2022:  ‘Travel Award’ for 1st Micro-Physiological Systems World Summit; May 30- June 3, 2022, in New Orleans, USA 
• 2020: 'Preeminent Postdoctoral Program (P3) Fellowship' of University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA  
• 2020: 'Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis Award’, IIT Kanpur, India 
• 2018:  'Academic Excellence Award' for 2013 batch dual degree student, IIT Kanpur, India

PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS

14. Inhibition of metalloproteinases extends longevity and function of in vitro human iPSC-skeletal muscle

https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines12040856 

13. Nano-pyrite as a plant hormone regulator: Emulating seed hormopriming  

https://doi.org/10.1002/moda.23 

12. Sustainable nano-interventions to enhance crop yield, anthocyanin content, and marketability of onion (Allium cepa)

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnano.2023.1256439 

11. Mimicking tendon microenvironment to enhance skeletal muscle adhesion and longevity in a functional microcantilever platform

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.3c00235 

10. Designing water vapour fuelled brine-silk cocoon protein bio-battery for a self-lighting kettle and water-vapor panels

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-18211-x 

9. Fertilizer-free cultivation of wheat in nutrient-deficient soil by treating the seeds with nano pyrite

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41204-020-00072-2 

8. Larger root nodules, increased Fe, Mo, Mg, P, Ca, Mn, K in the roots and higher yield in chickpea grown from nano FeS2 pre-treated seeds: Emulating nitrogenase

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-019-01238-4 

7. ’Induced electron transfer’ in silk cocoon derived N-doped reduced graphene oxide-Mo-Li-S electrode  

https://doi.org/10.3389/fmats.2019.00217 

6. Nano pyrite driven root foraging increases production of the heavy feeders, viz., cauliflower, cabbage and tomato in nutrient deficient soil with no fertiliser application

https://doi.org/10.1088/2043-6254/ab38b4 

5. Nano pyrite (FeS2) root priming enhances chilli and marigold production in nutrients-deficient soil: A nano strategy for fertiliser tuning  

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-018-00943-w 

4. Nano pyrite seed dressing: A sustainable design for NPK-equivalent rice production

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41204-018-0043-1 

3. Biocharring of natural fibers of insect and plant origin: A green route for production of 'carbon based charge storage nanomaterials’  

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40243-018-0127-7 

2. Sequential entrapping of Li, S in a conductivity cage of N-doped reduced graphene oxide supercapacitor derived from silk cocoon: A hybrid Li-S-silk supercapacitor

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-018-0641-z 

1. An eco-friendly, low power charge storage device from bio-tolerable nano cerium oxide electrodes for bioelectrical and biomedical applications

https://doi.org/10.1088/2057-1976/aaa282 

CONFERENCE PAPERS

3. A multi-organ human-on-a-chip system modeling chronic opioid overdose rescue efficacy and off-target toxicity

https://virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/#/event/5059/submission/289 

2. Development of a functional sarcopenia model on a micro-cantilever platform for drug development efficacy evaluation  

https://mpsworldsummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/altex_MPS1.pdf 

1. Maximizing skeletal muscle adhesion to enhance human neuromuscular junction integrity and function  

https://mpsworldsummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/altex_MPS1.pdf 

BOOK CHAPTERS

2. Nano cerium oxide in medicine, agriculture, and the industry

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20581-1_1 

1. Journey of nano iron pyrite from chemosynthetic world of hydrothermal vents to the photosynthetic world of agricultural field: A new class of seed and root bio-stimulant  

https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429352003 

himanshi.jangir@ddn.upes.ac.in