John Hall is a principal engineer and project manager at the applied Medical Device Institute (aMDI) within the Padnos College of Engineering and Computing at Grand Valley State University.  John has developed creative solutions in a wide variety of clinical areas throughout his career.  His efforts have resulted in 18 issued US patents and more pending patents.  With his previous R&D experience in medical devices companies and at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, he has developed a strong talent to translate clinical needs into technical design requirements and innovative design solutions.  Developing simple solutions to complex problems is an underlying theme for his innovative process.  John’s career has included successful medical device development and product launches within startup companies to large multinational corporations.

John is a voting member of the ASTM Committee F42 on Additive Manufacturing Technologies. He is also active in his church, plays hockey several times a week and enjoys hiking, camping, and fishing.

“I’m excited to join Grand Valley State University and mentor students in medical device innovation, design and product development.  aMDI provides a great opportunity for companies and inventors push their technology forward with the talent and resources available at GVSU.”

Allyson is an alum of Grand Valley, having graduated in 2020 with a bachelor's in Theatre and Classics. During her undergraduate experience, she worked in the costume shop and assisted in over 13 productions with GVSU’s Music, Theatre, and Dance department. She is excited to return to Grand Valley and experience another side of the college through the Padnos College of Computing and Engineering.

Allyson likes to sew, crochet and spend time with her two cats. She loves walking around Grand Rapids and enjoying the city’s restaurants, festivals, and markets to the fullest.

Dr. Wael Mokhtar is the Director of the School of Engineering at GVSU. His educational background consists of a B.S. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Alexandria University, 1994;  a M.S. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Alexandria University, 2001 and a Ph.D. Department of Aerospace Engineering, Old Dominion University, 2006

Dr. Mokhtar’s research is in the areas of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). He worked in several experimental and numerical projects in cardiovascular system. He worked in developing biomedical training tools such as blood flow phantoms. His research in the area of Bio-Fluid Mechanics focuses on using CFD tools to simulation blood flow. He studied several cardiovascular diseases such as carotid artery stenosis.

Dr. Samhita Rhodes is the Assistant Director for the School of Engineering as well as the Chair for the Biomedical Program. Her educational background consists of a  B.E., Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, University of Pune, 1994;  a M.S., Biomedical Engineering, Marquette University, 1997;  and a Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Marquette University, 2003 and a Postdoctoral Anesthesiology Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, 2007

Dr. Rhodes is the Chair of the Biomedical Engineering Committee at Grand Valley State University. In 2007, Dr. Rhodes received an NSF grant ($700,000) to establish the Master’s program in Biomedical Engineering at GVSU. Her current research interests are in the area of Biomedical Image Processing and Signal Processing.  She collaborates with Dr. Anthony Chang at the Van Andel Institute to improved automated image processing techniques for the detection of tumors in small animal models.  She is also working with neurosurgeons at Spectrum Health in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit to accurately model the behavior of localization-related epilepsy, and extract information regarding network relationships between recording sites during ictal, pre-ictal, inter-ictal, and post-ictal periods. Dr. Rhodes maintains an active interest in using advanced signal processing techniques to study mechanisms affecting the initiation of cardiac dysthymias for which she was the recipient of an American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant from the National Center. Dr. Rhodes also holds a joint appointment as an Adjunct Research Faculty member at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she collaborates in research with Dr. David Stowe.

Dr. John Farris education background consists of a B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Lehigh University, 1987;  a M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Lehigh University, 1993 and a Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Rhode Island, 1998

Dr. Farris focuses on medical device design. He works in an ongoing collaboration with the Lincoln Developmental Center, a Grand Rapids public school serving approximately 120 severely impaired students, and Mobility Opportunities Via Education/Experience (MOVE). Through this collaboration, they have developed the prototype for a lean-activated wheelchair that responds to the user’s upper-body deflection as it improves trunk strength. Full-time graduate students in GVSU’s Biomedical Engineering program are playing a key part in getting this wheelchair to production as they work with Dr. Farris to improve its design as they participate in translational research.

Dr. Reffeor is Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering in the School of Engineering at Grand Valley State University.  After starting her career in the aerospace industry, she has focused her teaching on industry-led, project-based learning.  She has supervised over twenty-five Master’s projects/theses, over twenty-five industry sponsored senior design projects, and over twenty sponsor-driven projects in her machine design course.  She is an expert in engineering mechanics, machine design, finite element analysis, and mechanical testing; performing research and teaching in these areas.

Dr. Kamaraj joined the school of engineering at Grand Valley State University as an assistant professor in 2022. His research interests include Additive manufacturing (3D-Printing), Industry 4.0, electrochemical manufacturing, process modeling and simulation, micro-manufacturing, biomedical micro-devices, and engineering education. 

Dr. Lisa K. Kenyon is a professor, pediatric physical therapist, and researcher in the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training. Her educational background consists of a B.S. in Physical Therapy from the University of Vermont, 1987; a M.H.S. in Pediatric Neurological Physical Therapy from the University of Indianapolis in 1998; a Ph.D. in Physical Therapy from Nova Southeastern University in 2010; and a Clinical DPT from Nova Southeastern University in 2014.

Dr. Kenyon heads the Grand Valley Wheeled Mobility Project; an inter-professional research and service project providing power mobility and manual wheelchair skills training for children and adolescents. She presents internationally on topics related to pediatric seating and wheeled mobility practice and has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters pertaining to topics in pediatrics.  She currently serves on the Editorial Committee for the Wheelchair Skills Program and on the Pediatric Specialty Council of the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. She has received research funding from institutions such as the NIH, American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, and the Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy.

 Larbi is an undergraduate student at Grand Valley, pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering with and electrical emphasis. He will be graduating in August of 2025 and is currently a junior.  He is new to aMDI but has worked at a biomedical manufacturing company in the past. A significant project he worked on was streamlining the value stream process of a manufacturing unit using automation and delegation. Larbi joined aMDI to learn how to communicate and collaborate with the clients in order to offer a medical tech solution to meet their needs, and because he is interested in research and design in the medical field.

In his free time Larbi enjoys hiking, biking, yoga, practicing mindfulness, and working on his entrepreneurial initiatives.

Prithwiraj is a graduate student at Grand Valley, pursuing his master’s degree in biomedical engineering. Raj hopes to broaden his knowledge of Biomedical engineering and learn more about how the industry operates in the United States while working at aMDI. He completed his B.S.E in Biomedical Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. Some significant undergraduate studies he has worked on include designing and developing a low-cost smartphone attachable microscope device. He has also worked on designing cardiovascular stent and analyzing it for a better material. During the final year of his undergraduate he found medical image processing very interesting and worked on automated detection and segmentation of COVID-19 infected regions from lung CT-Scan images. Post graduation Raj hopes to work in R&D of large medical device companies on research projects for creating new technologies that will focus on decreasing complications and expenses for people.

In his free time Raj enjoys traveling to new places, and learning about new cultures. He also likes to spend time with his friends and family.

Cara is an undergraduate student at Grand Valley, pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering. She also hopes to receive her master's in engineering from Grand Valley. At aMDI Cara has been a part of 3D printing projects, she learned how to do 3D additive manufacturing during her first co-op at aMDI. Through her project work at aMDI Cara has become a more well – rounded engineer. She is interested in researching bioprinting and would love starting a bioprinting program here at GVSU.

In her free time Cara enjoys cooking, waterskiing, and working out.

Matthew is a combined B.S.E/M.S.E student at Grand Valley. He is a graduate assistant at aMDI. After he graduates next year Matthew would like to go into industry at a biomedical engineering firm, it is his dream to research and design at a company like Stryker. At aMDI Matthew has worked on a few significant projects from validation, testing, and documentation of existing products. He has also worked on dealt with rapid designing and prototyping for a new pap smear device. Matthew feels that aMDI offers work experience that allows him to broaden his understanding of medical device projects.

In his free time Matthew spends his time hanging out with friends, listening to podcasts, or playing guitar.

Co is an undergraduate student at Grand Valley, pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. She also hopes to get her master’s in engineering with the combined program. After graduating she would like to take some time to visit her family in Vietnam, and then pursue a career in product design and development and or anything with 3D additive manufacturing. Here at aMDI, Co has worked with a lot of small companies to do rapid prototyping using the 3D printer to test their ideas. She has also been working on a confidential project with a company since she began at aMDI, doing design and development of a medical device.

In her free time Co likes to travel with her friends, try new foods, and play video games.

Hailey is an undergraduate student at Grand Valley, pursuing a degree in computer and biomedical engineering. She plans to utilize the 5-year master’s program. After graduation, Hailey hopes to find a position in programming and innovating for medical devices. Hailey has just joined the team as of W23, but in the past she has worked on projects including a slot machine on a BASYS-3 board, a vending machine on a STM32 board, and a super tic-tac-toe game with AI in Java.

In her free time Hailey enjoys staying active, and spending time with her friends and family.