Bio


Jasmin earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Controls, Instrumentation, and Robotics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. Jasmin is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University and conducting research with faculty supervisor Professor Allison Okamura in the Collaborative Haptics in Robotics in Medicine (CHARM) Lab. Jasmin’s Ph.D. research centers around human-computer interaction and haptics, the science of and relating to the sense of touch. Developing technology that provides beneficial haptic feedback to human operators requires a multi-pronged and interdisciplinary approach. Her work leverages concepts from psychology and neuroscience to understand human perception, experimental design, and statistical analysis, and also applies her engineering background in dynamic modeling of physical systems and mechatronic system development in order to develop novel designs for wearable devices. The goal of her thesis is to develop an adaptable simulation framework that provides realistic haptic feedback for humans to perform various dexterous manipulation tasks in dynamic virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) environments using wrist-worn tactile devices. Jasmin wants to become an inspiration for other women of color to pursue careers in STEM fields. Jasmin also enjoys composing music, playing the flute, and studying foreign languages.

Honors & Awards


  • Black in Robotics Legacy Fellow, Black in Robotics (2024)
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, National Science Foundation (2020)
  • Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE) Doctoral Fellow, Stanford Vice Provost of Graduate Education (2019)
  • PhD Engineering Fellow, GEM National Consortium (2019)

Education & Certifications


  • Master of Science, Stanford University, Mechanical Engineering (2021)
  • Bachelor of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering (2019)

All Publications


  • Haptic Feedback Relocation from the Fingertips to the Wrist for Two-Finger Manipulation in Virtual Reality Palmer, J. E., Sarac, M., Garza, A. A., Okamura, A. M., IEEE IEEE. 2022: 628-633
  • In vivo photoacoustic imaging of major blood vessels in the pancreas and liver during surgery. Journal of biomedical optics Kempski, K. M., Wiacek, A., Graham, M., González, E., Goodson, B., Allman, D., Palmer, J., Hou, H., Beck, S., He, J., Bell, M. A. 2019; 24 (12): 1-12

    Abstract

    Abdominal surgeries carry considerable risk of gastrointestinal and intra-abdominal hemorrhage, which could possibly cause patient death. Photoacoustic imaging is one solution to overcome this challenge by providing visualization of major blood vessels during surgery. We investigate the feasibility of in vivo blood vessel visualization for photoacoustic-guided liver and pancreas surgeries. In vivo photoacoustic imaging of major blood vessels in these two abdominal organs was successfully achieved after a laparotomy was performed on two swine. Three-dimensional photoacoustic imaging with a robot-controlled ultrasound (US) probe and color Doppler imaging were used to confirm vessel locations. Blood vessels in the in vivo liver were visualized with energies of 20 to 40 mJ, resulting in 10 to 15 dB vessel contrast. Similarly, an energy of 36 mJ was sufficient to visualize vessels in the pancreas with up to 17.3 dB contrast. We observed that photoacoustic signals were more focused when the light source encountered a major vessel in the liver. This observation can be used to distinguish major blood vessels in the image plane from the more diffuse signals associated with smaller blood vessels in the surrounding tissue. A postsurgery histopathological analysis was performed on resected pancreatic and liver tissues to explore possible laser-related damage. Results are generally promising for photoacoustic-guided abdominal surgery when the US probe is fixed and the light source is used to interrogate the surgical workspace. These findings are additionally applicable to other procedures that may benefit from photoacoustic-guided interventional imaging of the liver and pancreas (e.g., biopsy and guidance of radiofrequency ablation lesions in the liver).

    View details for DOI 10.1117/1.JBO.24.12.121905

    View details for PubMedID 31411010

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7006046

  • In Vivo Demonstration of Photoacoustic-Guided Liver Surgery Kempski, K. M., Wiacek, A., Palmer, J., Graham, M., Gonzalez, E., Goodson, B., Allman, D., Hou, H., Beck, S., He, J., Bell, M., Oraevsky, A. A., Wang, L. V. SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING. 2019

    View details for DOI 10.1117/12.2510500

    View details for Web of Science ID 000484589800034