Research Chapters
What does it mean to be a biochemist? The Biochemical Story discusses the toolkit, but the research itself is where we write the chapters. Biochemistry is a story full of many characters and plots that weave into a beautiful narrative. Each project below is a chapter in that story. I invite you to explore a few of my contributions to the story below.
01
This project focuses on developing a foundational tool for targeted drug delivery. Using thiol-ene click chemistry, I developed a simple method to customize the surface of PDMS microspheres with bioactive molecules. This novel technique provides a new first step toward creating smarter drug delivery vectors.
02
We think of climate change as an environmental or economic crisis, but it is also a biological crisis. As heat waves become more frequent and intense, our cells are repeatedly responding to the change in temperature. This project asks a critical question: Could the repeated exposure to elevated ambient temperatures be creating a pro-tumor environment through the epigenetic priming of the heat shock response?
03
Every scientist's journey begins with the development of fundamental skills. In this project, I built foundational expertise in cell culture and experimental design by investigating the classic relationship: how heat stress elevates oxidative stress in fibroblast cell lines. It was the essential, hands-on experience that gave me the confidence and technical skills to pursue more complex research projects.