Who We Are

Director In this role, he oversees the development and growth of the program while leading the administration of a curriculum that trains students in the core competencies required to bring new medical technology to market. In addition, Dr. Garanich served as Program Chair for the 2018 Biomedical Engineering Society Coulter College, an international training program focused on the translation of biomedical innovations. Prior to joining CCNY, Dr. Garanich worked in the medical technology and private equity industries.  Of note, he spent six years with Boston Scientific Corporation, where he drove the completion of cross-disciplinary research and development projects critical to the commercialization of new medical technologies. Contact: jgaranich@ccny.cuny.edu

Assistant Director Muaad Alody was born and raised in Yemen. He came to the United States to pursue the best and highest possible education. Muaad Alody is a lifelong City College, receiving his Bachelor of Arts in political science and international relations and his Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from CCNY. Muaad served in Student Government and held a series of Administrative offices at City College. While enrolled at CCNY for both his BA and MPA, he served his peers as the Executive Vice President of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and the Graduate Student Council (GSC) Chairperson. During his tenure in student government, he was heavily engaged in the decision-making process for CCNY by serving on various college committees, such as the Student Services Corporation (SSC) and the Auxiliary Enterprise Corporation (AEC). At City College, Mr. Alody worked in the Office of Student Life & Leadership Development as an orientation leader, a college assistant, and an office manager. He then joined the Student Engagement Initiatives at CCNY as the Administrative Coordinator, where he managed all administrative aspects of 5 different programs. Most recently, Muaad worked as the Administrative Coordinator of the Nanoscience Initiative in the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) at the CUNY Graduate Center. Contact malody@ccny.cuny.edu

Distinguished Lecturer and Acting Associate Director In this role, he oversees and teaches five courses of the program, including Cost Analysis (I6200), Translational Challenges (I6400), and the year-long Biodesign Capstone sequence (I6500, I6600, and I6700) that anchors the MTM curriculum. In two of his previous roles, Dr. Fritton developed orthopedic technology at Stony Brook University and as a senior R&D engineer at Hospital for Special Surgery. He completed his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University and then spent 15 years in research and orthopedic instruction at Mount Sinai and Rutgers before joining the faculty at CCNY in 2019. In addition to teaching, Dr. Fritton maintains an active research program in skeletal biomechanics and mentors undergraduate, graduate, and medical students in research and biodesign. Contact: jfritton@ccny.cuny.edu

Communications & Marketing Intern Hana Kassem is a DACAmented recent Biomedical Engineering graduate from The City College of New York and is currently an R&D Intern at Fesarius Therapeutics. She was the 2022-2023 President of the Biomedical Engineering Society- CCNY Student Chapter and a Peer Mentor through the Black Male Initiative Urban Mentoring and Achievement Network. Previously, Hana was a College Assistant for the CCNY Registrar for three years, worked as Social Media Manager and Product Design Intern for Fulament, a 3D printing accessories start-up, for one year, and participated in the New York Immigration Coalition DREAM Fellowship in 2020. She has also conducted research through three different labs at CCNY and The University of Michigan since 2020. She was also a student-athlete and manager for the CCNY Women’s Basketball Team for the 2019 season and Social Media Coach for the CCNY Women’s Soccer Team for the 2021 season.

As an MTM Fellow, Oscar hopes to support the current MTM cohort by providing a mechanical engineer’s perspective on design and manufacturing.  After graduating from the MTM program in the summer of 2022, Oscar received funding to develop new technologies to support the priority health needs of our local communities. Prior to MTM, Oscar worked as a project manager for a large NYC construction firm where he worked on specialized projects dealing with in-home patient mobility. Oscar is a retired US Army officer having served in various roles including Drill Sergeant, Operations Officer and as a Standardization Instructor Pilot in the UH-60 Blackhawk.

Miriam Minkowitz is an MTM Research Fellow with City Innovations Collaborative (CInC) at The City College of New York. She contributes to the early development and commercialization of university-generated intellectual property, mentors current students, and conducts industry research in the Life Science sector. Ms. Minkowitz is also a WHIN Life Science Research Fellow at Spring Mountain Capital, where she assists the Life Sciences team on a wide range of projects. Miriam graduated from Touro College with honors earning a Bachelor of Science. She then completed her Master’s of Translational Medicine at the Grove School of Engineering, affiliated with the City College of New York. Miriam’s background is in biological sciences, with a concentration in human physiology. Her experiences in MTM have allowed her to gain working knowledge in both the development and marketing of medical devices. In addition, her interest in science and community outreach has motivated her to learn more about new technologies and has inspired her to work to advance their agendas.

Lucy Cai serves as a Research Fellow in the inaugural cohort of the City Innovations Collaborative (CInC) at The City College of New York. At CInC, she aids in the early development and commercialization of university-generated intellectual property, assists in the operational programming of the Masters in Translational Medicine, mentors current students, and conducts industry research in the Life Sciences sector. She also serves as a WHIN Life Science Research Fellow at Spring Mountain Capital, assisting the Life Sciences team on vast synergistic projects. After graduating from The City College of New York with a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering and an interest in product development and entrepreneurship, she pursued and obtained a Master of Sciences in Translational Medicine.