About Projects CV

Image taken in Spring 2016 for 21M.734: Lighting Design



John M. Drago

I am a graduate student in the EECS Department at MIT. I am primarily interested in the fields of medical image acquisition and analysis, hardware design, and image registration. My current work is with Prof. Larry Wald at the MGH Martinos Center in Charlestown. Previously, I have studied 2D to 3D image registration algorithms and the in vivo kinematics of various knee replacement designs utilizing dual-plane fluoroscopy at MGH's Bioengineering Laboratory. I have additionally studied tendon biomechanics and the cellular processes of chondrocytes under Prof. Al Grodzinsky at the MIT Continuum Laboratory. I am currently a student in the Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program.

Email:







Outside of engineering and medicine, I'm an avid sports fan. I am a lifelong follower of the New York Football Giants, and I like to spend my freetime reading nonfiction, watching stand-up comedy at Nick's Comedy Stop in Boston, playing pick-up basketball, and listening to Rush.

Thank you for visiting my webpage! Go Giants!








Past Projects:



Magnetic Resonance Physics & Instrumentation Group




Functional Neuroimaging with Magnetic Particle Imaging

I currently work on the magnetic particle imaging (MPI) team at the MGH Martinos Center. My work involves the development of hardware and software that will enable functional neuroimaging with MPI. Current projects include development of transmit filter topologies to prevent harmonic distortion and statistical evaluation of image time-series measurements.

[ Conference Proceedings 1 ] [ Conference Proceedings 2 ]
[ Conference Proceedings 3 ]







Bioengineering Laboratory




3D to 2D Image Registration

I previously worked on a project to automate the manual process of 3D-2D image registration, which entails mapping three-dimensional meshes to their dual-plane fluoroscopic projections. Utilizing the TensorFlow deep learning framework, I was able to approximate in vivo three-dimensional joint orientation.

[ Github ]







Determing In Vivo Kinematics of Novel Knee Replacement Designs

With the use of dual-plane fluoroscopy and 3D meshes generated from CT scans of native knees, we determined the precise in vivo 3D joint orientation, allowing us to assess how these novel knee replacement designs compared to native knee kinematics.

[ Abstract 1 ] [ Abstract 2 ] [ Abstract 3 ] [ Abstract 4 ]
[ Abstract 5 ] [ Abstract 6 ] [ Abstract 7 ] [ Abstract 8 ]
[ Manuscript 1 ] [ Manuscript 2 ]







Continuum Biomechanics Lab




Applying Strain to Tendon-Bone Constructs

Due to the need for tendons to be under strain for homeostatic regulation, I prototyped and designed a polysulfone apparatus to apply either static of dynamic strain to incubated tendons. Previously, I worked on identifying optimal culture medium for growth of explanted tendons.

[ Abstract 1 ] [ Abstract 2 ]










Cell-Signaling of Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis

Through the use of tandem mass spectrometry, we were able to identify key mediators in the cell-signaling pathway. Using this information, we were able to perform selective inhibition of specific mitogen-activated protein kinases to recover cell biosynthesis and curtail extracellular degradation.

[ Abstract 1 ]