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Researcher Highlight: Andrey Shults

Jan. 24, 2024—Andrey Shults, 4th year Chemistry PhD Candidate in the Macdonald Lab. Summary of Research: My research focuses on the synthesis of various metal chalcogenide nanoparticles and the mechanistic understanding of their formation. Just as with graphite and diamond, the polymorphs of carbon, the two different elements of a metal chalcogenide can combine in different ratios...

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Researcher Highlight: Laura Bertolami

Jan. 24, 2024—Laura Bertolami, a senior undergraduate Chemical Engineering student on Senior Tech Crew. I have been working on the tech crew since May 2022, and have been senior tech crew since October 2023. My current project involves developing parameters for multiple aperture patterning with Electron Beam Lithography as well as developing standards for available feature sizes...

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Researcher Highlight: Owen Meilander

Jan. 23, 2024—Owen Meilander, 2nd year Interdisciplinary Material Science PhD student in Dr. Mona Ebrish’s Lab in the Electrical Engineering department.   Summary of Research: My work focuses on the fabrication and characterization of gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor devices. GaN devices offer many benefits for high power and high frequency applications. It will allow for more efficient...

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Researcher Highlight: Boyang Xiao

Jan. 22, 2024—Boyang Xiao, 2nd year PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Xiaoguang Dong in Mechanical Engineering. Gastrointestinal (GI) diseases have become more common and serious among health problems in the US. It is reported that there are over twenty million Americans suffering from chronic GI diseases. How to provide timely diagnosis, long-term monitoring, and effective...

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Researcher Highlight: Emily Fabiano

Jan. 22, 2024—Emily Fabiano, 3rd year Biomedical Engineering PhD student in the Reinhart-King Lab Research Summary: My research focuses on understanding the intersection of cell migration and bioenergetics in breast cancer. Specifically, I investigate the role that cell-matrix adhesions play in regulating bioenergetics, aiding in more efficient cancer cell migration that enables cancer cells to metastasize. Upon...

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Researcher Highlight: Payton Stone

Jan. 22, 2024—Payton Stone, 4th year Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate in the Wilson Lab Summary of Research: Peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids make up many of the recently developed cancer immunotherapies, which function by activating intracellular pathways to elicit downstream signaling cascades, which in turn result in robust anticancer immune responses. However, the clinical success and efficacy...

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REGISTER NOW: Electron Microscopy Short Course

Jan. 19, 2024—Electron microscopy is a critical component for the characterization of material and biological specimens at the nanoscale. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) both use electron beams to reveal structure, but in very different ways. Although these instruments have been made very accessible with the help of software, users must understand the...

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REGISTER NOW: Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)

Jan. 19, 2024—AFM is an advanced multi-parametric imaging technique. It delivers very high-resolution 3D images of the topography of the sample. It also enables the characterization of the nano-mechanical, nano-electrical, and nano-magnetic properties of the surface. Users will learn about the theory of AFM as well as practical applications, operational tips for many of the various AFM...

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REGISTER NOW: Microfluidic Device Fabrication

Jan. 18, 2024—Microfluidics devices are critical for understanding and controlling fluid flow on the micrometer scale. Applications include portable sensors for point-of-care analysis, particle and cell sorting, nanoparticle synthesis, and organ-on-chip systems. This short course will introduce the techniques behind the fabrication and testing of microfluidic devices through a blend of lectures and hands-on experiences in the...

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New VINSE Faculty: Dr. Daniel Gonzales

Jan. 18, 2024—We are excited to welcome Dr. Daniel Gonzales as our newest VINSE faculty member! Dr. Gonzales is joining Vanderbilt’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Vanderbilt Brain Institute in January 2024. He attended university in his hometown of San Angelo, Texas and graduated from Angelo State University in 2013 with a BS in Physics. He then attended Rice University...

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