Pritika Acharya
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subtype that accounts for approximately 20% of all cases and is difficult to treat due to the lack of targeted therapies. The immune system is highly integrated with the breast cancer microenvironment, and macrophages play a large role in breast cancer progression. I am interested in studying the interplay between breast cancer cells and macrophages using high throughput DNA-directed patterning (htDNA-dp). This platform allows for the selective patterning of single […]
Jumana Abdelgadir
Climate change is a great existential threat, yet vulnerability is higher among people who have historically contributed the least to it. Climate justice, which addresses this disparity, is severely lacking within climate research. Brazil, both a developing nation within the Global South and a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, has historically neglected its vulnerable citizens and continued harmful policies of deforestation and industrialization. However, it also has a uniquely great potential for climate justice initiatives. My research will seek to answer the following question: How is Brazil uniquely responsible […]
Xiaokun Yang
We live in a world of microbes, many of which are pathogenic and contribute to human diseases. Vertebrates evolved an adaptive immune system consisting of B and T cells for efficient and specific clearance of pathogens upon infection. Furthermore, the adaptive immune system exhibits “memory” that can be exploited for vaccination purposes. T cells are essential for the clearance of pathogens via the elimination of pathogen-infected cells, B cell activation, and the production of signaling molecules activating other immune responses. MHC molecules on cellular surfaces present antigens to T cells, […]
Junyi Xu
Protein-based nanoparticles have emerged as a promising field of study for drug delivery. These nanoparticles, known as virus-like particles (VLPs), have great potential due to their versatility in transporting therapeutic agents to specific sites in the body. However, effectively delivering VLPs into mammalian cells has proven to be a challenge. My project aims to optimize the internalization efficiency of MS2 VLPs by reducing their size through a single amino acid mutation known as S37P. This mutation allows us to maintain their ability to be chemically modified and to load therapeutic […]