Aspiring Scientist in Tissue Engineering, Drug Delivery, and Healthcare Equity
Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University
Aspiring Scientist in Tissue Engineering, Drug Delivery, and Healthcare Equity
Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University
A heart attack occurs every 40 seconds in the US, leading to approximately 800,000 cases per year. During a heart attack, the blood supply to the heart is significantly compromised due to a coronary artery blockage. This results in myocardial ischemia, a condition in which vital oxygen is no longer delivered to the heart muscle. If left untreated, this leads to the death of heart muscle otherwise known as a myocardial infarction.
All current therapy is centered around re- establishing blood flow. There are no therapies that improve cell survival during ischemia. As a part of the Translational Therapeutics Accelerator, I conducted market analysis, strategized a go-to-market plan, and analyzed regulatory strategies to commercialize a small molecule that reduces the incidence of cardiac cell death developed in the Fine Lab.
The projects was selected as a recipient of the Translational Therapeutics Accelerator pilot award and was awarded funding to further study this small molecule.
Skills: Market analysis, business plan research, regulatory strategization, pitch presentations
Coming SoonSystemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a complex and heterogenous autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks healthy organs in the body. Some SLE patients exhibits myocardial injury which is presumed to result from autoreactive lymphocytes and autoantibodies. However, the direct contribution of SLE autoantibodies to myocardial injury is poorly understood. As such, I am using iPSC-engineered cardiac tissues to characterize the contribution of an entire repertoire of SLE patient specific antibody on the human myocardium. Specifically, I conducted assays to evaluate mitochondria impairment, sorted surface proteins overlapping with antigen targets, and analyzed bacteriophage immunoprecipitation sequencing data.
Skills: iPS cell culture, engineered cardiac tissues, immunostaining, high throughput imaging, CellProfiler, LDH assay, microplate reading, Citation imaging, PDMS chip fabrication
Columbia Summer Research Symposium PosterNature CVR PublicationDeveloping 3D models of the human heart has the potential to tackle cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure and cardiac fibrosis. It allows for the understanding of heart physiology as well as drug discovery in in-vitro environments. Thereby, eliminating the ethical challenges associated with animal studies as well as the discrepancy between human and animal physiologies. In the Yoshida Lab at CiRA Kyoto University, I directed the growth of human-induced pluripotent stem cells into heart cells. In the process, protein and genetic markers were quantified to validate the maturation of these cells using assays such as PCR and microscopy. Furthermore, 3D organoids were used to characterize the role of immunosuppresants tacrolimus and sirolimus on cardiac fibrosis. The effect of these drugs on the human heart as well as the accuracy of 2D versus 3D heart models were studied.
Skills: iPS cell culture, organoid culture, RNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction, microscopy, immunostaining, cryosection, flow cytometry
Frontiers in Cell and Development Biology PublicationMicropatterning is the art of creating miniature patterns. It is frequently used to provide spatial and temporal control of cellular microenvironments and is a valuable tool to study cell-cell and cell-surface interactions. On a much larger scale, water transfer printing is a technique used to transfer hydrographic film onto three-dimensional surfaces.
Under the advisement of Professor Flynn at Wellesley College, I combined micropatterning and water transfer printing to transfer micro-sized patterns onto 3-dimensional nonplanar surfaces. Modifying the surface of objects has the potential to replicate 3D microenvironments within the body in in-vitro environments, allowing for applications such as printing vasculature onto synthetic organs or preventing bacterial colonization of medical devices.
Skills: Experimental design, fluorescent microscopy, micropatterning, water transfer printing, hydrogel synthesis, research communication, computer-aided design
Wellesley Thesis RepositoryRuhlman Conference Presentation90% of children breathe toxic air every day, and 50% of acute lower respiratory tract infections are related to pollution. Yet, it is an overlooked health emergency for children around the world. Children, especially those in low-resource communities, are more vulnerable to air pollution due to their physiology and environment.
At Innovating Environmental Health, I designed low-cost air filtration devices and lead a climate action training program to inspire the next generation of leaders in environmental health. Specifically, I worked with experts and students in Nepal to engineer a solution that would be centered on the needs of Nepali classrooms. In addition, I taught 80+ students in China and Nepal about climate change, design thinking, and open source hardware.
Skills: Open source hardware, open source software, web design, grant writing, curriculum design, team management, teaching
Davis Project for Peace ProjectConsortium of Universities for Global Health PosterBostInno's 25 Under 25 HonoreeModeling the glomerulus in in-vitro envirronments provide researchers with the ability to study renal diseases and advanced therapeutics with greater depth and accuracy. In the Zhang lab at Harvard Medical School, I optimized photosensitive bioresin GelMA to create 3-dimensional constructs mimicing renal tubules. The bioresin was used alongside a self-constructed digital light processing printer, which allowed for layer-by-layer despostion and crosslinking of the hydrogel. With the tubule construct, my labmates and I attempted to fabricate a kidney-on-a-chip device. Using PDMS and the 3D printed construct, the chip captured the strucutre of the glomerulus and the bowmna’s capsule. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the study was cut short. However, we compiled our understanding of biomimetic models of the glomerulus to publish a literature review.
Skills: 3D bioprinting, microfluidic device fabrication, microscopy, cell culture, open source hardware, research synthesis, hydrogel optimization
Nature Reviews Nephrology PublicationCell coordination is the ability for cells to respond to stimuli from the external environment as well as neighboring cells. This mechanism is crucial to many physiological responses, including the directed migration of neutrophils to inflamed sites. As such, I engineered human embryonic kidney cells (HEK) in the Weiss lab at MIT to secrete chemokines for the controlled chemotaxis of wild-type neutrophils. Specifically, I transfected HEK cells with Interleukin-8 genes and differentiated HL-60s into neutrophils. The chemotactic index was measured via transwell assays and time-lapse microscopy. We successfully created the makings of a cell swarm, showing the ability to control the migration of endogenous cells with engineered agents.
Furthermore, I organized the Northeastern iGEM conference, a showcase at the MIT Museum, and a workshop at BioBuilder to share our learning of synthetic biology with the greater Boston community.
Skills: Fluorescent plate reading, cell culture, time-lapse microscopy, Type IIs assembly, boyden chamber assay, mammalian cell transfection
MIT Undergraduate Research Journal PublicationiGEM Team Website