MirelaAlistar

  • Assistant Professor
  • Living Matter Lab
  • BIOCHIPS, PERSONAL MEDICINE, DIY BIO
  • COMPUTER SCIENCE
  • ATLAS INSTITUTE
Address

ATLS 201C

Mirela (assistant professor, ATLAS Institute, Computer Science) investigates how biological matter can become a medium for human-centered computing. Her research establishes BioHCI as an area that studies how people design, make, and live with computational systems made from biological materials. Her work spans microfluidic biochips, bacteriophage-based systems, DNA origami tools, living media interfaces, and biomaterial wearables.
A central thread in Mirela’s research is the design of personal and wearable bio-technologies that bring biological processes closer to everyday human use. She develops systems in which biomaterials, bodily materials, microorganisms, and bio-derived substrates become interactive media rather than passive materials. Her recent work focuses on biodegradable wearable computing, including biomaterials that respond to sweat, strain, touch, care, repair, dissolution, and end-of-life.
Mirela is an active contributor to Biodesign and the DIYBio movements, having led and co-founded community wetlabs. Through interactive performances, art installations, public workshops, and museum-based learning, she engages the broader public in direct encounters with living and bio-derived materials, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae, and biodegradable polymers.
Mirela received her PhD from the Technical University of Denmark in 2014. Before joining 91ý, she was a postdoctoral researcher in Patrick Baudisch’s lab at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Germany. Her work has been published and presented across HCI, engineering, bioengineering, and design venues, including ACM CHI, DIS, TEI, UbiComp/ISWC, IEEE TCAD, IEEE ESWeek, and Molecular Communications.

Mirela Alistar is the director of the Living Matter Lab at the ATLAS Institute.

Outreach:Engaging Underrepresented Students (funded by Google exploreCSR)

Projects

Publications

Viola Arduini,Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez,Srujana Golla, andMirela Alistar. 2026. “”. In:Proceedings of the Twentieth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction. (Chicago, IL, March 8-11, 2026).

Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez,Viola Arduini,Etta W Sandry,Katerina Houser,Srujana Golla, andMirela Alistar. 2026. “”. In:Proceedings of the Twentieth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction. (Chicago, IL, March 8-11, 2026).

Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez,Viola Arduini,Etta W Sandry,Srujana Golla,Laura Devendorf, andMirela Alistar. 2025. “”. In:Companion of the 2025 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp Companion ’25). (Espoo, Finland, October 12–16, 2025).

Fiona Bell,Mirela Alistar and Leah Buechley. 2025.. In:Biotechnology Design, 2025;4:e3. (August 27, 2025).

Gabrielle Benabdallah,Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez,Laura Devendorf, andMirela Alistar. 2025. "”. In:Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS '25). (July 5–9, 2025, Funchal, Portugal).

Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez, Sepideh Mohammadi, Latifa Al Naimi, Shira David, Mirela Alistar. 2025. “”. In: TEI '25: Proceedings of the Nineteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction. (Bordeaux/Talence, France, March 4 - 7, 2025).

Mirela Alistar, Shira David, Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez. 2025. “”. In: TEI '25: Proceedings of the Nineteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction. (Bordeaux/Talence, France, March 4 - 7, 2025).

Jingwen Zhu, Fiona Bell, Katherine W Song, Katia Vega, Aditya Shekhar Nittala, Mirela Alistar, Leah Buechley, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao. 2025. “”. In: CHI EA '25: Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (Yokohama, Japan; April 26 - May 1, 2025).

Aditi Maheshwari, Fiona Bell, Eric Gallo, Mihai Ibanescu, Emily Robertson, Charlotte Fairless, Francis Logan, Mary Jane Schmuhl, Henry Cheung, Michael Rein, Andreea Danielescu, Mirela Alistar. 2025. "". In: ACS Omega. (January 23, 2025).

Fiona Bell, Nadia Campo Woytuk, Marie Louise Juul Søndergaard and Mirela Alistar. 2024."". In:ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (Volume 31, Issue 6), (December 2024).

Nadia Campo Woytuk, Fiona Bell, Joo Young Park, Mirela Alistar and Madeline Balaam. 2024."". In: Proceedings of the Halfway to the Future Symposium (HttF '24), (Santa Cruz, CA, October 21-23, 2024).

Mirela Alistar, Latifa Al-Naimi, Sepideh Mohammadi, Shira David, Julia Tung and Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez. 2024."". In: Companion of the 2024 on ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp '24), (Melbourne, Australia, October 5-9, 2024).

Dreycey Albin, Michelle Ramsahoye, Eitan Kochavi and Mirela Alistar. 2024."". In: FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY, (September 16, 2024).

Netta Ofer and Mirela Alistar. 2024."". In:Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS '24), (Copenhagen, Denmark, July 1-5, 2024).

Latifa Al-Naimi and Mirela Alistar. 2024."". In:Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '24), (Honolulu, HI, May 11–16, 2024).

Katherine W Song, Fiona Bell, Himani Deshpande, Ilan Mandel, Tiffany Wun, Mirela Alistar, Leah Buechley, Wendy Ju, Jeeeun Kim, Eric Paulos, Samar Sabie and Ron Wakkary. 2024."". In:Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '24), (Honolulu, HI, May 11–16, 2024).

Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez,Mirela Alistar,Laura Devendorf, andMichael L. Rivera. 2024.. In:Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’24), (Honolulu, HI, May 11–16, 2024).

Fiona Bell, Joshua Coffie and Mirela Alistar. 2024."". In:Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI '24), (Cork, Ireland, February 11-14, 2024).

Fiona Bell, Shanel Wu, Nadia Campo Woytuk, Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez, Mirela Alistar and Leah Buechley. 2024."". In:Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI '24), (Cork, Ireland, February 11-14, 2024).

Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez,Lily M Gabriel,Mikhaila Friske,Shanel Wu,Sasha De Koninck,Laura Devendorf, andMirela Alistar. 2023. "". In:Adjunct Proceedings of the 2023 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing &the 2023 ACM International Symposium on Wearable Computing (UbiComp/ISWC '23 Adjunct).(October 08, 2023).

Dreycey Albin,Lukas Buecherl,Eitan Kochavi,Elise Niehaus,Sasha Novack,Shenali Uragoda, Chris J. Myers, andMirela Alistar. 2023. "". In:IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. (July 14, 2023).

Fiona Bell,Michelle Ramsahoye,Joshua Coffie,Julia Tung, andMirela Alistar. 2023. “”. In:Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’23), (Pittsburgh, PA, July 10–14, 2023).

Netta OferandMirela Alistar. 2023."". In:Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems(Hamburg, Germany, April 23-28, 2023).

Fiona Bell,Derrek Chow,Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez,Laura Devendorf, andMirela Alistar. 2023. "". In:Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction(TEI '23)(Warsaw, Poland, February 26 - March 1, 2023)​. [Best Pictorial Award]

Fiona Bell,Derrek Chow,Hyelin Choi, andMirela Alistar. 2023. "". In:Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction(TEI '23)(Warsaw, Poland, February 26 - March 1, 2023)​.

Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez,Netta Ofer,Shanel Wu,Mary Etta West,Mirela AlistarandLaura Devendorf.2022. "". In:Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’22).(Virtual, June 13-17, 2022).

Fiona Bell,Netta Ofer,Hyelin Choi,Ella McQuaid,Ethan Frier, andMirela Alistar.2022. "". In:Extended Abstracts of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’22).(New Orleans, LA—April 29-May 5, 2022).

Fiona Bell,Netta Ofer, andMirela Alistar. 2022. "". In:Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems(CHI ’22).(New Orleans, LA, April 29-May 5, 2022)[Best Paper Honorable Mention Award].

Fiona Bell,Ella McQuaid, andMirela Alistar.2022. "". In: Diseña 20: Design and Somatic Sensibilities.

Fiona Bell,Latifa Al-Naimi,Ella McQuaid, andMirela Alistar. 2022. "". In:Sixteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction(TEI '22).(Daejeon, Republic of Korea (virtual) Feb. 13-16, 2022).

Fiona BellandMirela Alistar. 2022. ". In:Sixteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction(TEI '22).(Daejeon, Republic of Korea (virtual), February 13-16, 2022).

Purnendu,Sasha M Novack, Eric Acome, Christoph Keplinger,Mirela Alistar,Mark D Gross,Carson Bruns, andDaniel Leithinger. 2021. "". In:Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2021.(June 28-July 2,2021–Virtual Event).

Netta Ofer,Fiona BellandMirela Alistar. 2021. ". In:Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2021(DIS ’21). (Virtual, June 28 - July 2, 2021).

Fiona Bell, Alice Hong, Andreea Danielescu, Aditi Maheshwari, Ben Greenspan, Hiroshi Ishii,Laura Devendorf, andMirela Alistar. 2021. "Self-deStaining Textiles: Designing Interactive Systems with Fabric, Stains and Light".In:Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’21). (Yokohama, Japan (virtual)–May 8-13, 2021).

Fiona BellandMirela Alistar. 2021. Alganyl.Patent No.US 63/184,992, Filed April 26th, 2021.

Mirela Alistarand Margherita Pevere. 2020. ". In:Extended Abstracts of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’20). (Honolulu, Hawaii (virtual)–April 25-30, 2020).

Timothy Merritt, Foad Hamidi,Mirela Alistar& Marta DeMenezes.2020."In:Digital Creativity,31:1.

Mirela Alistar, 2019..Bioengineering Journal.

Mirela Alistar, Urs Gaudenz. 2017.An Integrated Do-It-Yourself Platform for Personal Use of Biochips.Bioengineering Journal.

Mirela Alistar, Paul Pop, Jan Madsen. 2016..IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems(TCAD).

Alexandra Ion, Johannes Frohnhofen,Mirela Alistar, Ludwig Wall, Jack Lindsay, Pedro Lopes, Hsiang-Ting Chen, Patrick Baudisch. 2016..Proc. ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology(UIST’16), 529-539.[Honorable Mention Award].

Paul Pop,MirelaAlistar, Elena Stuart, Jan Madsen.. Springer 2016.