2021 Graduate Retreat
Monday, August 23rd
9:30 – 10:00
Coffee Hour
Lobby/Outside
10:00 – 11:00
Welcome & Virtual Keynote Presentation
Dr. Jen Heemstra
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83600291141
Auditorium 1.110
11:00 – 11:15
Break
11:15 – 12:15
Graduate Student Poster Session
Room 2.102
12:15 – 1:30
Lunch
Dining Hall/Outside
1:30 – 3:00
Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Session
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89521972880
Auditorium 1.110
3:00 – 3:15
Break
3:15 – 3:30
Awards & Closing Remarks
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89521972880
Auditorium 1.110
3:30 – 4:00
BMEntored Peer Group Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89521972880
Auditorium 1.110
Tuesday, August 24th
1:00 – 1:30
30 Minute Chat with Dr. Heemstra
https://utexas.zoom.us/j/91530232351
Meet our Keynote Speaker Jen Heemstra!
Talk Title: Failure can fuel your success: when you become a student of your struggles
Jen received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine, in 2000. At Irvine, she performed undergraduate research with Prof. James Nowick investigating the folding of synthetic beta-sheet mimics, which instilled in her a love of supramolecular chemistry. Jen then moved to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she completed her Ph.D. with Prof. Jeffrey Moore in 2005 studying the reactivity of pyridine-functionalized phenylene ethynylene cavitands. After a brief stint in industry as a medicinal chemist, she moved to Harvard University to pursue postdoctoral research with Prof. David Liu exploring mechanisms for templated nucleic acid synthesis. In 2010, Jen began her independent career in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Utah, and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2016. In 2017, Jen and her research group moved to the Department of Chemistry at Emory University. Research in the Heemstra lab is focused on harnessing the molecular recognition and self-assembly properties of nucleic acids for applications in biosensing and bioimaging. Outside of work, Jen enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, as well as rock climbing, cycling, and running.
Poster Presentations
A Multifunctional Electrospun Wrap to Treat Infection and Enhance Bone Regeneration
Sarah Jones
Cosgriff-Hernandez Lab
We are working to develop a multifunctional wrap to treat infection and enhance bone regeneration during the Masquelet technique to treat large bone defects.
Rausch Lab Overview
Chien-Yu (Christina) Lin
Rausch LabHigh-Throughput FRAP Analysis of Solute Diffusion in Hydrogels
Nate Richbourg
Peppas LabInfluence of age and sex on biaxial mechanics of mouse skin
Ella Sugerman
Rausch Lab
In this study we are investigating the biaxial mechanics of skin from young and aged male and female mice. We compare stiffness metrics and composition based on histology.Receptors use coated-pit heterogeneity to evade competition
Sadhana Gollapudi
Stachowiak Lab
Membrane receptors have different affinities to adaptor proteins, such as AP2, involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). Receptor affinity determines the degree of internalization by CME. This work shows that receptors with low affinity to AP2 are immune to competition within the clathrin-coated pit.
A Förster Resonance Energy Transfer-Based Sensor of Steric Pressure on Membrane Surfaces
Justin Houser
Stachowiak LabMembrane bending by protein phase separation
Feng Yuan
Stachowiak Lab
In this project we tried to learn the physics of how protein liquid-liquid phase separation bends lipid membranes.Asymmetric interactions between epithelial-like and mesenchymal-like subpopulations in triple-negative breast cancer cells
Andrea (Didi) Gardner
Brock Lab
Investigating interactions between sub-populations of triple-negative breast cancer cells. Keywords: ecology, tumor heterogeneity, scRNA-seq, math modeling
High-Throughput Optimization of NanoCluster Beacons using an NGS Platform
Yu-An Kuo
Yeh Lab
We demonstrated a high-throughput selection and optimization of a fluorescent nanomaterial, NanoCluster Beacons, using an next-generation sequencing platform provided by Illumina. Here we also identified critical positions affecting the fluorescence activation of our material.Development of a High Compliance Vascular Graft with Improved Kink Resistance
Andrew Robinson
Cosgriff-Hernandez Lab
Intimal hyperplasia and kink based failures are prevalent failure mechanisms for small diameter synthetic grafts due to mismatched compliance and occlusion. The development of a high compliant vascular graft with kink resistance would significantly improve CABG outcomes.