Cancer Stem Cells in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is a cancer of the mouth epithelium with an annual incidence rate in the US of nearly 48,000 cases annually and a 5-year survival rate of only 65%. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are believed to be responsible for progression of OSCC. The project’s main goal is to observe the effect of Wnt/β-catenin signaling inhibition on oral squamous cell carcinoma.
Powering Wearable Microelectronics
Wearable low power biometric devices and body sensor network systems (BSNs) such as heart, respiration, and activity monitors are popular devices that are predicted to increase tenfold by 2018. This project focused on biomechanical energy harvesting from rib cage expansion using piezoelectric materials and frequency up conversion to power wearable microelectronics.
Lab-On-A-Chip Device for Disease Diagnostics
RNA-based viruses and bacteria have been sources of large-scale epidemics and pandemics, most notably Ebola, SARS, influenza, hepatitis C, HIV, and the Zika Virus. Normal detection of these biological agents requires multiple lab processes. This project aims to develop a fully integrated lab-on-a-chip device to accomplish this.
Translational Genomics of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) does not respond to receptor targeted treatments because they do not possess the ligands to bind to these receptors. Thus, more research needs to be explored in terms of the translational modifications that genes undergo during this disease.
Breast Cancer Metadata Collection
This study is the first to apply deep learning to analyze tumor-associated stroma, discovering novel diagnostic biomarkers for breast cancer.