Postdoctoral Fellow
Tufts University
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BS Mechanical Engineering
Purdue University 2021
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PhD Biomedical Engineering
University of Cincinnati 2025
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Maulee Sheth, PhD
I’m an engineer, researcher, and educator passionate about uncovering how physical forces shape biology. My work brings together mechanobiology, microfluidics, and extracellular vesicle biology. With training in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, I specialize in 3D cell culture, tissue engineering, advanced imaging, and EV analysis to investigate disease progression and therapeutic strategies.
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I received my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in 2021, where I worked with Prof. Cagri Savran. I received my Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering with Prof. Leyla Esfandiari at the University of Cincinnati in 2025. Currently, I am a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Shelly Peyton at Tufts University.
Research Interests
I specialize in engineering cellular systems to investigate how cells respond to matrix biomechanics, radiation therapy, and phenotypic variability at the single-cell level. A key area of my work examines rigidity-driven genetic selection of cancer cells.
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My broader interests lie at the intersection of cell mechanics, mechanotransduction, and microfluidics, driven by a commitment to applying engineering solutions to biomedical challenges.
Publications
Sheth M, Sharma M*, Supasek K*, Lehn M, Takebe T, Takiar V, Wise-Draper T, Chutipongtanate S, Esfandiari L. "Matrix stiffness modulated release of spheroid-derived extracellular vesicles and discovery of Piezo1 cargo", bioRxiv (2025). 10.1101/2025.01.13.632826
*equal contribution
Sheth M, Sharma M, Lehn M, Reza H, Takebe T, Takiar V, Wise-Draper T, Esfandiari L. "Three-Dimensional Matrix Stiffness Modulates Mechanosensitive and Phenotypic Alterations in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Spheroids", APL Bioengineering (2024). 10.1063/5.0210134
Sharma M*, Sheth M*, Poling H, Kuhnell D, Langevin S, Esfandiari L. "Rapid purification and multiparametric characterization of circulating small extracellular vesicles utilizing a label-free lab-on-a-chip device", Scientific Reports (2023). 13:18293 10.1038/s41598-023-45409-4
*equal contribution
Sheth M, Esfandiari L. "Bioelectric dysregulation in cancer initiation, promotion and progression", Frontiers in Oncology (2022). https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2022.846917.