Labannya Samanta

Labannya Samanta's work experience begins in 2017 as a science and math tutor at Brain Groomer's. From 2018 to 2021, Labannya was a Scholar in the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenge program, focusing on engineering better medicine. Labannya also worked as an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Hong Wang's Biophysics lab at North Carolina State University, where they studied protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions. As a teaching assistant for the E102 class, Labannya helped first-year engineering students navigate the various engineering grand challenges. At the same time, Labannya was a President and later a Vice President of NCSU DanceLife, managing the entire club and coordinating shows and events. From 2019 to 2021, Labannya worked as a medical scribe at Personalized Hematology-Oncology of Wake Forest, learning about different cancers and genetic conditions and developing personalized treatment plans. Labannya then became a clinical pharmacology and pharmacometrics intern at Bristol Myers Squibb, working on a project related to neutrophil counts and a multiple myeloma drug. In 2021, Labannya joined Dr. Fan Yuan's Research Laboratory at Duke University Pratt School of Engineering as a graduate researcher. In 2022, Labannya became a graduate student researcher in Dr. Samira Musah's lab at Duke University, focusing on bioactive molecules for preventing podocyte injury in kidney disease. Most recently, Labannya joined IMMORNA as an Associate Researcher, working on cell-based and immunology-based assays for a novel mRNA-based vaccine delivery system in oncology.

Labannya Samanta completed their Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical/Medical Engineering from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where they studied from 2017 to 2021. They obtained additional certifications in CPR & AED from the American Heart Association in June 2021 and became a First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor in August 2021. Labannya is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Biomedical/Medical Engineering at Duke University, starting in 2021.