Currently Funded Trainees

M-CNTC funding is available for up to two years, after which research projects are faculty funded. Trainees continue to have the same access to facilities and resources throughout their PhD program.

 

Cohort 5 | Start Date: Fall 2014

 

 

Claire McGhee

Chemistry

Faculty Advisers:
Yi Lu, Chemistry
Brian Cunningham, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Project Title:
Rapid and sensitive detection of small molecule biomarkers and therapeutic drugs for cancers using SERS Photonic Nanodome Arrays and DNA aptazyme

 

Caitlin Race

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Faculty Advisers:
Brian Cunningham, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Yi Lu, Chemistry

Project Title:
Rapid and sensitive detection of small molecule biomarkers and therapeutic drugs for cancers using SERS Photonic Nanodome Arrays and DNA aptazyme

 

Zainab Rahil

Bioengineering

Faculty Advisers:
Taekjip Ha, Physics
Deborah Leckband, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Project Title:
Probing cadherin mediated adhesion and mechanotransduction cancer metastasis using DNA nanotechnology

 

Brittany Weida

Bioengineering

Faculty Advisers:
Jian Ma, Bioengineering
Taekjip Ha, Physics

Project Title:
Tumorigenic Cells in Pancreatic Cancer

 

Yi Xu

Chemistry

Faculty Advisers:
Ryan Bailey, Chemistry
Dr. Tamas Ordog, Mayo Clinic

Project Title:
Micro- and Nanotechnologies for Ultralow Input Epigenomics

Cohort 4 | Start Date: Fall 2013

 

 

Kaimin Cai

Materials Science and Engineering

Faculty Advisers:
Jianjun Cheng , Materials Science and Engineering
Bill Helferich, Food Science & Human Nutrition

Project Title:
In Vivo Responsive Drug Delivery Using Chain-Shattering Polymeric Therapeutics

 

Jinrong Chen

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Faculty Advisers:
Hyunjoon Kong, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Rashid Bashir, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Bioengineering

Project Title:
Stereolithographic Fabrication of Janus, Micro-rods for Tumor Vasculature Normalization

 

Richard Graybill

Chemistry

Faculty Advisers:
Ryan Bailey, Chemistry
Timothy Fan, Veterinary Medicine

Project Title:
Multiplexed mRNA and miRNA Diagnostics using Silicon Photonic Microring Resonator Arrays for the Personalized Treatment of Canine Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

 

Matthew Leslie

Pathobiology

Faculty Advisers:
Dr. H. Rex Gaskins, Animal Sciences
Paul J. A. Kenis, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Hyunjoon Kong, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Project Title:
Simulating Tumor MicroEnvironmental Hypoxia With a Hydrogel-Based Microfluidic 3D Cell Culture Platform

 

Joanne Li

Bioengineering

Faculty Advisers:
Stephen Boppart, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Bioengineering, and Medicine
John A. Katzenellenbogen, Chemistry

Project Title:
Integration of Quantum Dot Nanoparticles with Multimodal Protein Microspheres for Cerenkov Luminescence Imaging of Cancer

 

Qian (Grace) Li

Food Science & Human Nutrition

Faculty Advisers:
Hong Chen, Food Science and Human Nutrition
Taher A. Saif, Mechanical Science and Engineering

Project Title:
A 2D Model Platform for Colon Cancer Research and BioSpecimen Inspection

 

Kenneth Long

Bioengineering

Faculty Advisers:
Brian Cunningham, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Fei Wang, Cell and Developmental Biology

Project Title:
Quantification and Imaging of Cancer Cell Adhesion using Photonic Crystal Enhanced Microscopy

 

Bobby Reddy

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Faculty Advisers:
Rashid Bashir, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Bioengineering
Susan Clare, Indiana University School of Medicine

Project Title:
Integrated BioChips for Detection of miRNA from Cancer Cells

Cohort 3 | Start Date: Fall 2012

 

Nick Clay  

Nick Clay

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Faculty Advisers:
Catherine Murphy, Chemistry
Hyunjoon Kong, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Project Title:
Three-Dimensional Environments to Control Cancer Cell Phenotype: From Mechanics to Nanochemistry

 

Brent DeVetter

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Faculty Advisers:
Rohit Bhargava, Bioengineering
Catherine Murphy, Chemistry

Project Title:
Engineering Highly Multiplexed SERS Nanotags for In Vivo Cancer Imaging and Diagnostics

 

Donghai Gai

Mechanical Science and Engineering

Faculty Advisers:
K. Jimmy Hisa, Mechanical Science and Engineering
Yi Lu, Chemistry

Project Title:
Understanding the Interactions between Janus Nanoparticles and Cell Membrane Using Coarse-Grained MD Simulations

 

Elissa Grzincic

Chemistry

Faculty Advisers:
Catherine Murphy, Chemistry
Hyunjoon Kong, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Project Title:
Three-Dimensional Environments to Control Cancer Cell Phenotype: From Mechanics to Nanochemistry

 

Philip C. Rabe

Chemistry

Faculty Advisers:
Ryan Bailey, Chemistry
Dr. Mark D. Johnson, M.D., Ph.D.; Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Project Title:
Multiplexed miRNA Diagnostics for Rapid Molecular Subclassification of Glioblastomas

 

Laura Sloofman

Biophysics

Faculty Advisers:
Sheng Zong, Bioengineering
Rashid Bashir, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Bioengineering

Project Title:
Single-cell Whole Genome Amplification on-a-chip

 

Li Huey Tan

Chemistry

Faculty Advisers:
Yi Lu, Chemistry
Logan Liu, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Project Title:
Janus Nanoparticles as Multifunctional Platform for Simultaneous Targeting, Imaging and Photothermal Therapy of Cancers

 

Joseph Whittenberg

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Faculty Advisers:
Paul Kenis, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
David E Reichert, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Project Title:
Microfluidic Technologies for Click Chemistry-Based Synthesis of Cancer Imaging Agents

 

Qian Yin

Materials Science and Engineering

Faculty Advisers:
Jianjun Cheng , Materials Science and Engineering
Timothy Fan, Veterinary Clinical Medicine

Project Title:
In Vivo Targeting of Antigen-Presenting Cells in Lymphoid Organs with Nanoparticles