Publications

Featured Publications

iScience · 2024

Enhanced and Sustained T Cell Activation in Response to Fluid Shear Stress

First-author study showing controlled fluid shear stress enhances and sustains T cell activation, proliferation, and cytotoxicity via Piezo1.

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IEEE Rev. Biomed. Eng. · 2025

Immunomechanobiology: Engineering Immune Cell Function with Fluid Shear Stress

First-author review defining the emerging field of immunomechanobiology and its promise for engineering immune cell therapies.

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ACS Omega · 2026 · Co-First

Fluoxetine Acts as a Calcium-Dependent Sensitizer of TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis in Glioblastoma

Co-first-author study identifying the repurposed drug fluoxetine as a calcium-dependent sensitizer of glioblastoma to apoptosis.

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J. Immunol. · 2026 · First Author

Fluid Shear Stress Enhances T Cell Priming and Restores Activation in Cancer Patient T Cells

First-author study showing fluid shear stress acts as a co-stimulatory cue to restore activation in T cells from metastatic prostate cancer patients.

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Peer-Reviewed Publications

* Co-first author  |  First Author Co-Author

• First Author "Fluid Shear Stress as a Co-Stimulatory Cue to Enhance T Cell Priming and Restore Activation in Cancer Patient T Cells"
  Sarna, N.S., Antunovic, M., Hurley, P.J., Schaffer, K.R., King, M.R.
  The Journal of Immunology, vol. 215, no. 8, vkag166, 2026.  View Here
• First Author "Fluoxetine Acts as a Calcium-Dependent Sensitizer of TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis in Glioblastoma Multiforme"
  Desai, S.H.*, Sarna, N.S.*, Luo, A.C., King, M.R.
  ACS Omega, 2026.  View Here
• First Author "Immunomechanobiology: Engineering the Activation and Function of Immune Cells with the Mechanical Signal of Fluid Shear Stress"
  Sarna, N.S., Curry, N.M., Aalaei, E., Kaufman, B.G., King, M.R.
  IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering, 2025.  View Here
• First Author "Retention of E-Selectin Functionalized Liposome Fanny Packs on Jurkat Cells Following Invasion Through Collagen"
  King, S.M.*, Sarna, N.S.*, Ortiz, I.*, Wang, W., Lopez-Cavestany, M., Zhang, Z.
  Journal of Immunological Methods, 2024.  View Here
• First Author "Enhanced and Sustained T Cell Activation in Response to Fluid Shear Stress"
  Sarna, N.S., Desai, S.H., Kaufman, B.G., Hanna, A.M., King, M.R.
  iScience, 2024.  View Here
• Co-Author "Chemical and Mechanical Activation of Piezo1 Enhance TRAIL-Mediated Apoptosis in Glioblastoma Cells"
  Knoblauch, S.V., Desai, S.H., Dombroski, J.A., Sarna, N.S., Hope, J.M., King, M.R.
  ACS Omega, 2023.  View Here
• First Author "An Anatomically Correct 3D Printed Mouse Phantom for Magnetic Particle Imaging Studies"
  Sarna, N.S.*, Marrero-Morales, L.*, DeGroff, R.*, Rivera-Rodriguez, A., Lui, S., Chiu-Lam, A., Good, H.J., Rinaldi-Ramos, C.M.
  Bioengineering & Translational Medicine, 2022.  View Here
• Co-Author "Channeling the Force: Piezo1 Mechanotransduction in Cancer Metastasis"
  Dombroski, J.A.*, Hope, J.M.*, Sarna, N.S., King, M.R.
  Cells, vol. 10, no. 11, pp. 2815, 2021.  View Here
• Co-Author "Tracking Adoptive T Cell Immunotherapy Using Magnetic Particle Imaging"
  Rivera-Rodriguez, A., Hoang-Minh, L., Chiu-Lam, A., Sarna, N.S., Marrero-Morales, L., Mitchell, D., Rinaldi-Ramos, C.M.
  Nanotheranostics, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 431–444, 2021.  View Here
• Co-Author "Long Circulating Tracer Tailored for Magnetic Particle Imaging"
  Lui, S.*, Rivera-Rodriguez, A.*, Chiu-Lam, A.*, DeGroff, R., Savliwala, S., Sarna, N.S., Rinaldi-Ramos, C.M.
  Nanotheranostics, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 348–361, 2021.  View Here

Conferences & Presentations

Presented at national and international meetings including BMES, the World Molecular Imaging Congress, and the NIH NCI Tissue Engineering Collaborative — with multiple award-winning presentations (1st and 2nd Place Posters; Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award).