Research

Current Projects

Molecular Diagnostics for Remote and Resource-Poor Settings
Biopoets Lab, University of California, Berkeley Developing novel devices and assays to enhance healthcare coverage across social, economical, and geographical barriers.

Point of Care Diagnostics Idea Lab
President and Cofounder The POCDx Idea Lab provides an interdisciplinary forum for students to share ideas and launch collaborative efforts relating to diagnostic technologies for remote and resource-poor settings.

Awards

National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG)
Fellow Awarded a three-year graduate fellowship in the biosciences for proposed molecular diagnostics work.

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)
Honorable Mention Awarded honorable mention for proposed research plan.

CIMIT Prize for Primary Healthcare 2009
Finalist, $10,000 Third Place, $50,000 Selected as one of ten finalists in a national competition to improve primary healthcare access. After the initial seed funding, the project was awarded third place in the final competition.

UC Berkeley Bears Breaking Boundaries Competition 2008
First Place, Neglected Diseases Awarded first place for proposed research to develop a rapid, versatile, and robust device for diagnosing disease in a developing world setting.

Past Projects

Viral Identification and Characterization
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, August 2006 - July 2007 Developed assays for massively multiplexed viral detection and characterization.

Global Health Preparedness Network
Booz Allen Hamilton, June-August 2005 Developed the framework for a global health response network.

Aqueous Quantum Dot Synthesis
MIT Biomolecular Materials Lab, September 2003-2005 Developed reaction conditions for aqueous synthesis of quantum dots. Worked on the rational design of polymeric capping agents for QD nucleation.

Multiplexed Liquid Array for Pathogen Detection
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, May - August 2004 Altered the chemistry of the biomolecular capture event in order to increase the efficiency of a liquid array-based assay.

Detecting Recent Instances of Positive Selection
MIT Whitehead Institute, January - May 2003 Used recently developed method of relative extended haplotype homozygosity (REHH) to identify recent instances of positive selection.

Improving Leukemia Patient Prognosis
Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch, National Cancer Institute, June - August 2002, June - August 2003 Developed protocol to reduce the occurrence of graft versus host disease (GVHD) in leukemia patients receiving transplants. Studied anti-inflammatory T cell polarization in vitro and in vivo.

Models for Cellular Stress Associated with Cancer Pathology
Lab of Cell Biology, National Cancer Institute, June - August 2001 Characterized a chaperone regulatory pathway associated with cellular responses to stress.

Future Scientist
Cofounder and Hand Model The Future Scientist initiative aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers to alleviate burdens in resource-poor communities.