| Graduate Student | Advisor | Project Title | Project Description |
| Elizabeth Aisenbrey | Stephanie Bryant | Engineering the osteochondral interface: Optimizing the differentiation of hMSCs in multi-layered biomimetic hydrogel for chondrogenesis | Millions of people suffer from severe pain and joint immobility due to osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease which causes damage to the cartilage and bone tissue of the osteochondral interface. The regeneration of the ostechondral tissue interface is complex, yet critical to the function of the joint. The focus of my research is to develop a multi-layered biomimetic hydrogel with spatially controlled biochemical moieties and biomechanical cues to optimize the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) for the cartilaginous layers of the osteochondral interface. |
| Aaron Aziz | Stephanie Bryant | Ostechondral Interfacial Tissue Engineering: Optimization of osteogenesis within a Multi-Layered Hydrogel | Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that drastically affects patient mobility and decreases the quality of life for millions of people around the world. Tissue engineering the osteochondral interface, which aims to regenerate cartilage and underlying bone (both of which are affected by OA), offers hope of repairing damaged joints in an OA-afflicted aging population in ways that are not currently possible. By spatially controlling the local mechanical properties and biochemical factors within a bioinert poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel, and determining optimal mechanical loading regimes using novel bioreactors, I hope to optimize osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells for the bony tissue layers of the osteochondral interface. |
| Josep Casamada Ribot | Prashant Nagpal / Anushree Chatterjee | Plasmonic biosensing | In vivo and in vitro sensing of biomolecules using plasmonic devices. |
| Nuria Codina Castillo | Joel Kaar | Bioactive sutures for preventing fibrosis in injured skeletal muscle tissue | The aim of this project is the development of bioactive sutures for preventing fibrosis in injured skeletal muscle tissue. It consists in the immobilization of the enzyme matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), that catalyzes the degradation of extracellular matrix proteins including collagen, on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers. In order to do that we will incorporate non-natural amino acids in MMP-1 that will react with PET fibers |
| Colleen Courtney | Anushree Chatterjee | The Design of Smart Antimicrobials | The design of smart antimicrobials using antisense RNA will be investigated both computationally and experimentally. |
| Keesha Erickson | Anushree Chatterjee / Ryan Gill | Investigating mutational-space of metabolic networks for optimizing pathways for biofuel production | The project entails the creation of mathematical models that facilitate the engineering of metabolic networks by providing a means to connect genetic mutations to final system response, with the ultimate goal of utilizing the model to select mutations that optimize microbial biofuel production. The model will be refined and validated through genome-scale experiments. |
| Kirsten Fitch | Andrew Goodwin | Design of a Mechanically-Sensitive Polymer Network as a Platform for Novel Drug Delivery Systems and High-Performance Materials | This project aims to develop a polymer network that can be degraded by mechanical strain or thermal activation. Following evaluation and optimization of the material properties, the material will be incorporated into drug-carrying microbubbles that can be mechanically activated by ultrasound, leading to drug release. |
| Samuel Goodman | Jennifer Cha / Prashant Nagpal | DNA Conjugated Semiconductor Nanoparticles for Thin Film Devices | This project consists of studying the effects of DNA on the self-assembly of nanoparticle films and characterizing the electronic properties of these materials. |
| Daniel Johnson | Arthi Jayaraman | Molecular Simulations of Polycation-Polyanion binding for drug and gene delivery | This study will begin by focusing on the properties of complexes formed between generic polyelectrolytes in order to facilitate the use of polycations as a carrier for gene and drug delivery. |
| Ke Ma | Jennifer Cha | Nanoscale bio-sensors for protein detection |
Research is focused on amplifying optical responses for protein detection from virus scaffolds and generating enhanced spectroscopic signals from nanoparticle based sensors through protein binding. |
| Matthew McBride | Chris Bowman | Shape memory "click" polymers | I will be employing "click" chemistry, specifically the copper (I) catalyzed reaction between an azide and alkyne, to develop shape memory polymers with tunable properties. |
| Joseph Plaks | Joel Kaar | Protein Engineering for Enhanced Biocastalyst Function | This project entails the chemical and genetic modification of enzymes to allow for catalysis in expanded and unnatural contexts |
| Chen Wang | Chris Bowman | Photoinitiated "Click" reaction | photocatalysis, photopolymerization and photomodificaton via the Cu(I) Catalyzed Azide-Alkyne Reaction. |