Maggie is a graduate student in James Carothers’ lab. She is working on the cell-free bioconversion of carbon dioxide to high-value chemical commodities. This research will help enable the bioproduction of metabolically burdensome compounds and establish a new paradigm for the use of sequestered carbon as a biofeedstock. Maggie is a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. She received a B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Arizona State University. Read More
As a graduate student in the Pfaendtner Research Group, Marlo uses molecular dynamics simulations to investigate protein dynamics at interfaces. He works closely with experimentalists to characterize the structure-function relationships that dictate protein roles, and hopes to contribute to protein design methodology. Marlo holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Vermont. Read More
Gabrielle is a graduate student in Dr. Elizabeth Nance’s disease-directed engineering lab. She is interested in the sustainable applications of nanotechnology involving therapeutics and diagnostics for critical diseases. Her research focuses on the characterization and investigation of cellulose drug delivery systems to the brain. Her previous undergraduate work focused on porous silicon materials as an alternative imaging technique for human diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors. She received her B.S. in Chemistry at the University of California San Diego. Read More
As a graduate student in Shaoyi Jiang's lab in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Yanjiao studied the application of zwitterionic polymers in cell culture and regulation of synthetic biology. Since graduating in 2020, she moved to Boston to pursue employment in the private sector. Read More
As a graduate student in Elizabeth Nance's lab in the department of chemical engineering, Mengying studied how quantum dots – fluorescent nanoparticles capable of capturing the movement of cells – behave in the brain. By characterizing the stability and toxicity of quantum dots in a biological setting, Mengying supported the development of quantum dots as brain-imaging tools and drug delivery carriers that they may be used to detect and treat brain diseases. She served in a variety of roles in Engage, a program at the University of Washington designed to help graduate students build their science communication skills. Read More
As a graduate student in the labs of James Carothers and Jesse Zalatan, Jason developed CRISPR-Cas tools that facilitate genetic engineering in bacteria to optimize biosynthesis of valuable products. He also served as a general board member of the Student and Post-Doc Association (SPA) of the Engineering Biology Research Consortium, a public-private partnership that focuses on advancing engineering biology to address national and global needs. After completing his Ph.D. in 2020, Jason stayed on as a postdoc in the Carothers lab, focusing on advancing technologies developed during his graduate work. Read More
As a graduate student in the lab of chemical engineering professor Vince Holmberg, Grant worked on developing new materials for high-capacity lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries that can charge faster and last longer. His research focused on characterizing battery materials made of antimony, which can charge from empty to full in three minutes and store roughly double the energy of current battery materials. While at UW, Grant received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, was named to the Husky 100 and served in the Graduate & Professional Student Senate. Read More
Our group tackles emerging challenges in water, energy, and sustainability using nanomaterials. Through the design of ultrathin nanostructures and coatings, we create membranes that can separate contaminants from water, catalysts that drive difficult chemical reactions, and materials enable the formation of previously unobtainable device architectures. We combine atomically-precise synthesis, advanced characterization approaches, and data science tools to better understand the behavior of molecules in these uniquely small systems and use that understanding to invent scalable processes that can enable the deployment of clean-energy technologies. Read More
Phuong is a Ph.D. student performing her graduate research in the lab of Elizabeth Nance in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Her research focuses on characterizing and investigating the role of brain-derived extracellular vesicles in injury response in neonatal ischemia models. Extracellular vesicles are membrane-bound vesicles that have emerged as a new pathway of cellular communication and a valuable source for injury stage-specific information and as fingerprints of injury progression. They have become an exciting new research thrust in therapeutics due to their intrinsic capability to carry active biomolecules, endogenous bioavailability, and biocompatibility. Read More
Amy is co-advised by Jim De Yoreo, Chief Scientist for Materials Synthesis and Simulation Across Scales at PNNL and an affiliate professor of materials science and engineering and of chemistry at the UW, and David Baker, Director for the Institute for Protein Design and a UW professor of biochemistry. Amy is investigating the self-assembly and nucleation of hybrid organic/inorganic nanostructures. She is specifically studying protein directed mineralization in order to facilitate the rational design of self-assembling hierarchical structures for clean energy applications. Read More