Biomolecular Sciences Student Research Presentations

Maddie Grier, Ph.D. Candidate

Biorecognition Molecule Design for Improved Immunodetection of Low-level Environmental Toxins 

Persistent organic pollutants are a dangerous class of chemicals characterized by their pernicious resistance to degradation in the environment and harmful effect on living systems. Their ability to withstand degradation made them attractive molecules for use in a large variety of industrial applications and consumer goods; however, studies conducted over the last two decades have shown that they may pose deleterious health effects ranging from reproductive defects to cancer. Typical efforts to detect these molecules include the use of chromatographic methods (Gas Chromatography - GC, and Liquid Chromatography – LC) combined with mass spectrometry (MS). These methods require extensive sample purification, highly specialized equipment and personnel, and are very costly. In addition, it is unclear if they possess the sensitivity required to detect these molecules at the proposed levels in complex matrices without additional separation and concentration steps. Consequently, the urgent need for the development of novel detection methods has been heavily documented and garnered national and global interest. To answer this need, I am developing high affinity bio-recognition molecules using phage-display for the detection of environmental pollutants for use on the highly sensitive KinExA immunoassay platform. This will enable the rapid and cost-effective detection of these molecules for better understanding and direction of remediation efforts.

Committee:
Dr. Daniel Fologea, Department of Physics

Dr. Denise Wingett, Department of Biological Sciences

Dr. Julia Oxford, Department of Biological Sciences

Dr. Tom Glass, Sapidyne Instruments

Hailey Burgoyne, Ph.D. Candidate

Structure-Property-Processing Correlations of Two-Dimensional Materials on hMSCs

Committee:

Dr. David Estrada, Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering

Dr. Denise Wingett, Department of Biological Sciences

Dr. Josh Eixenberger, Department of Physics

Dr. Jenée Cyran, Department of Chemistr