Prof. Seongkyu Yoon and Interns Theary Khem and Curtis Chanthaboun
The focus on the project was to reactivate two systems, the Advion Expressions CMS Mass spectrometer and the Bruker NIR system, for use in the Yoon lab. Since these were systems that were rarely used, the aim was to set these systems up once again and find ways they could be of good use in the lab. The students did a lot of research to figure out how to set up the systems, and what makes them not applicable and applicable. They would give presentations based on given research such as HCP analysis and research for the systems.Prof. Alan Wei and Interns Elyjah Delius and Jennifer Nguyen
Every year, many newborns die because of heart defects at birth. One of the most dangerous heart defects at birth is the single ventricle defect. It occurs when one of the two pumping chambers in the heart, called ventricles, does not develop well and work properly. These patients need emergency treatment. Doctors have not agreed on how to treat these patients well. Advanced computer technology was used to study blood flow conditions in patients with single ventricle defects. In this project, the students oversaw gathering important information from medical images of patients.Prof. Juan Artes Vivancos and Intern Jennifer Pham
The researcher working on this project investigated RNA biophysics and biomolecular interactions at the single-molecule level. The results also helped develop biosensors for life sciences; currently the researchers are targeting RNA cancer biomarkers for the early screening of common cancer types.Prof. Yanfen Li and Interns Casey Mitchell and Princess Onyenwe
In this project, the students engaged in a hands-on experience that explores the science behind optimizing athletic performance. They learned how to conduct training sessions using an innovative athletic assessment and rehabilitation device, and how to collect and analyze biomechanics data from a training session.Profs. Chiara Ghezzi and Bryan Black and Intern Tiffany Njugi and Darsh Patel
The students worked with the Ghezzi Lab and the Pain Research Lab in the area of bio-manufacturing and long-term culture systems for in vitro tissue models. Students shadowed senior lab personnel and received hands on training to support specific aspects of research projects. In addition, they participated in group meetings, journal clubs, and they will be able to present their research experience at the end of the summer.
Prof. Dongming Xie and Intern Kimberly Imbacuan
The research in Biomanufacturing Science and Engineering Lab (BioSEL) at UMass Lowell focused on biomanufacturing of value-added fuels, chemicals, materials, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals from renewable feedstocks. The students were able to work together with graduate students for several projects funded by the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy. They learned how to grow yeast and bacterial cells in bioreactors for biomanufacturing of high-value products. The students also gained experimental skills and experience in molecular biology, metabolic engineering, and bioreaction engineering during this period.Prof. Rick Hochberg
Students collected samples of plankton from local freshwater environments. They brought the samples back to the lab in Olsen Hall for analysis. Select species of zooplankton in the phylum Rotifera were isolated for culture so detailed analyses of reproductive behavior and anatomy can be conducted by the student under the direction of graduate students and postdocs. Students that contributed to this work will receive co-authorship on poster/oral presentations and publications.Prof. Hadi Amiri
The project centered on natural language processing (NLP) research and its applications in healthcare or business. Specifically, students learned about working with NLP datasets and coding in Python, implement basic NLP algorithms and run evaluation scripts.Prof. Frederic Chain
Bioinformatic analysis of genomes to determine diversity among populations. This was purely a computational project to analyze and visualize genetic datasets and molecular pathways. A student needed to have an interest in computation, coding, and data analysis to answer questions in biology.