faculty

Dr. Rinaldi-Ramos’s research advances the fundamental science and biomedical application of magnetic nanoparticles, with a current emphasis on magnetic particle imaging (MPI) as a quantitative, noninvasive imaging platform for nanomedicine and cell therapy. His laboratory integrates nanoparticle synthesis and formulation, magnetic and physicochemical characterization, imaging physics, data analysis, and biological evaluation to develop MPI methods for quantitative tracking of nanoparticles and cell-based therapies.

Current work in the Rinaldi-Ramos Research Laboratory focuses on developing high-performance superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle tracers for MPI. These efforts include MPI tracers for immune cell labeling, systemic administration as quantitative imaging agents, and theranostic nanoparticle carriers for image-guided delivery and therapy. The laboratory also develops robust approaches for MPI data acquisition, image analysis, and quantitative biodistribution assessment, including the use of 3D-printed, anatomically accurate phantoms to validate imaging methods and support translation.

Applications of this work span clinically important disease settings that include cancer immunotherapy, traumatic brain injury, arthritis and other inflammatory diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and disorders involving lymphatic transport and immune cell trafficking. This current focus builds on a long-standing research program in magnetic nanoparticle science, including ferrohydrodynamics, magnetic relaxation, nanoparticle heating, magnetic hyperthermia, colloidal stability, and nanoparticle transport in biological fluids and tissues.

Additionally, Dr. Rinaldi is co-leading the UF Health Cancer Institute Cancer Engineering Working Group

Education

Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002
M.S.C.E.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001
M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001
B.Sc., University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, 1998

Awards & Distinctions

• University of Florida Research Foundation Professorship, 2026-2029.
• Shell Thomas Baron Award in Fluid Particle Systems, Particle Technology Forum of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), 2024
• Standing Member of the Image Guided Interventions and Surgery (IGIS) Study Section at the National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review, 2024-2028
• Lifetime Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2023
• Fellow, American Institute of Chemical Engineering, 2024
• Fellow, Society of Rheology, 2022
• Doctoral Dissertation Advisor Award, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, 2022
• Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, 2020
• James Y. Oldshue Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers and Interamerican Confederation of Chemical Engineers, 2019
• University of Florida Term Professorship, 2017-2020
• Charles A. Stokes Term Professorship, 2015-2018
• Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), 2006
• National Science Foundation Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (CAREER Award), 2006

Selected Publications

• Velazquez-Albino AC, Elsea B, Melnyk A, Eswaran N, Imhoff ED, Williams AG, Graham W, Johnson JA, Johnson C, Butala M, Rinaldi-Ramos C. Esterification synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticle tracers for magnetic particle imaging (MPI). Nanoscale 2026. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5nr03157e.
• Hayden J. Good, Toby Sanders, Andrii Melnyk, A. Rahman Mohtasebzadeh, Eric Daniel Imhoff, Patrick W. Goodwill, and Carlos M. Rinaldi-Ramos, “On the partial volume effect in magnetic particle imaging.” Physics in Medicine and Biology, 70:045006, 2025. [https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6560/ada417]
• Ambar C. Velazquez-Albino, Aniela Nozka, Andrii Melnyk, Hayden J. Good, and Carlos M. Rinaldi-Ramos, “Post-synthesis Oxidation of Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles to Enhance Magnetic Particle Imaging Performance.” ACS Applied Nano Materials, 7(1), 279-291, 2024. [https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.3c04442]
• Nicole Sarna, Leyda M. Marrero, Ryan DeGroff, Hayden Good, Angelie Rivera-Rodriguez, Sitong Liu, Andreina Chiu-Lam, Hayden J. Good, and Carlos M. Rinaldi-Ramos, “An anatomically correct 3D printed mouse phantom for magnetic particle imaging studies.” Bioengineering and Translational Medicine, e10299, 2022. [https://doi.org/10.1002/btm2.10299]
• Zhi Wei Tay, Shehaab Savliwala, Daniel W. Hensley, K.L. Barry Fung, Caylin Colson, Benjamin Fellows, Xinyi Zhou, Quincy Huynh, Yao Lu, Bo Zheng, Prashant Chandrasekharan, Sindia M. Rivera-Jimenez, Carlos M. Rinaldi-Ramos, and Steven M. Conolly, “Superferromagnetic nanoparticles enable order-of-magnitude resolution & sensitivity gain in magnetic particle imaging.” Small Methods, 2100796, 2021. [https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202100796]
• Mythreyi Unni, Lorena Maldonado, Shehaab Savliwala, Brittany Partain, Pawel Grybos, Anna Koziol, Piotr Maj, Robert Szczygiel, Qingteng Zhang, Eric M. Dufresne, Alec Sandy, Suresh Narayanan, Kyle Allen, and Carlos M. Rinaldi-Ramos, “Fast nanoparticle rotational and translational diffusion in synovial fluid and hyaluronic acid solutions.” Science Advances, 7, eabf8467, 2021. [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf8467]
• Angelie Rivera-Rodriguez, Lan B. Hoang-Minh, Andreina Chiu-Lam, Leyda Marrero-Morales, Duane A. Mitchell, and Carlos M. Rinaldi-Ramos, “Tracking adoptive T cell immunotherapy using magnetic particle imaging.” Nanotheranostics, 5(4):431-444, 2021. [https://doi.org/10.7150/ntno.55165]
• Andreina Chiu Lam, Edward Staples, Carl Pepine, and Carlos Rinaldi, “Perfusion, cryopreservation, and nanowarming of whole hearts using colloidally stable cryopreservation agent solutions.” Science Advances, 7(2):eabe3005, 2021. [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe3005]
• Zhi Wei Tay, Prashant Chandrasekharan, Andreina Chiu-Lam, Daniel Hensley, Rohan Dhavalikar, Xinyi Zhou, Elaine Yu, Patrick Goodwill, Bo Zheng, Carlos Rinaldi, Steven M. Conolly, “Magnetic Particle Imaging Guided Heating In Vivo using Gradient Fields For Arbitrary Localization of Thermal Therapy.” ACS Nano, 12(4):3699-3713, 2018. [http://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.8b00893]
• Mythreyi Unni, Amanda Uhl, Shehaab Savliwala, Benjamin Savitzky, Roham Dhavalikar, Nicolas Garraud, David Arnold, Lena Kourkoutis, Jennifer Andrew, and Carlos Rinaldi, “Thermal decomposition synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles with diminished magnetic dead layer by controlled addition of oxygen.” ACS Nano, 11(2):2284-2303, 2017. [doi: 10.1021/acsnano.7b00609]
• Maribella Domenech, Ileana Marrero-Berrios, Madeline Torres-Lugo, and Carlos Rinaldi, “Lysosomal Membrane Permeabilization by Targeted Magnetic Nanoparticles in Alternating Magnetic Fields.” ACS Nano, 7(6):5091-5101, 2013. [doi: 10.1021/nn4007048]
• Mar Creixell, Ana C. Bohorquez, Madeline Torres-Lugo, and Carlos Rinaldi, “EGFR-targeted magnetic nanoparticle heaters can kill cancer cells without a perceptible temperature rise.” ACS Nano, 5(9), 7124-7129, 2011. [doi: 10.1021/nn201822b]