Overview
Last summer I worked in Dr. Panitch's lab under Nelda Vasquez. During that short time I work on cartilage scaffolding, and fortunately, I found myself with experience regarding collagen isolation, primary chondrocyte cell culturing, and synthetic aggrecan mimicking peptide synthesis. This included extensive time using the FPLC purifier and cell culture lab. Specifically, Dr. Panitch assigned me a task to determine if it were possible to combine type 1 and 2 collagen effectively at different ratios to passively get collagen type 2 to congeal. This research is still ongoing by Dr. Panitch's team, and if a solution is discovered, more complex cartilage scaffolds can be created.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH - PURDUE UNIVERSITY
Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering
COLLAGEN RESEARCH - DR. ALYSSA PANITCH
Nedla Vasquez - Graduate Researcher and Ph.D Student
Summer 2014
MUSCULOSKELETAL EXTRACELLULAR MATRICES
Dr. Sarah Calve - Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Fall 2015
After experiencing a summary of Dr. Calve's research in BME 204 - Biomechanics of Hard and Soft Tissues, I discovered that my research interests overlaped much of her work. I approached her with my interest and she offered me an Undergraduate Research Assistant position for credit this coming Fall of 2015. During this time I hope to learn more biomedical research techniques and explore Dr. Calve's research.
This fall, I began my experience in Dr. Sarah Calve’s Musculoskeletal Extracellular Matrix Laboratory (MEML). As an undergraduate research assistant, I will assist Dr. Calve and Andrew Witten, a peer, to conduct BONCAT and FUNCAT experiments on mammalian tissues using click chemistry. This experience will help me gain experience with a laboratory setting and fulfill two credits toward my major. By the end of this semester, I will successfully labeled murine ECM using biorthogonal labeling techniques.
Read more about Dr. Panitch and Nelda Vasquezs' works here:
Read more about Dr. Calve's works here:
LABORATORY TECHNIQUES & DEVICES
Proficiency to Developmental Understanding
Techniques:
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Washing
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Filtering
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Pellet Re-Suspension
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Hemocytometer
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Cell Plating
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Percent Yield Weight
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Bovine Cartilage Harvesting
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Bovine Cartilage Digestion
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Bovine Cartilage Mincing
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Collagen Scaffold Synthesis
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Lowry Assay
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BCS Assay
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660 Assay
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Gel Electrophoresis
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Click-iT Chemistry
Devices:
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Biological Safety Cabinet
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Rheometer
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Micro-Balance
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FPLC – Purification DeviceUltra Centrifuge
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Dry Box
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Autoclave
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Lyophilizer
As an intellectual being, I desire a career that opens new worlds of learning about life, not restricting it. I want to be able to do research and conduct experiments that extend my personal intellect and knowledge. I hope to never stop learning. As for specific exposure, I hope to see a wide variety in the types of biomedical engineering, but at the same time, I do have specific fields of interest. I have a passion for learning about and understanding protein function and its usages in the human body.
I had the opportunity to learn about different orthopedic sectors concurrently with gaining experience in the corporate engineering world during a co-op with DePuy Synthes Orthopaedics in the Quality Engineering Department. My other biological interests aside from proteins include cellular and molecular biology which I had a chance to explore more intensively during my time as an Undergraduate Research Assistant. I hope that my continued undergraduate work at Purdue and other experiences will only hone these skills and inspire my passion even more.
Regenerative Medicine
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Novel, Biomolecular-Based Biomaterials
Tissue Engineering
Bioactive and Biomimetic Materials
Engineering Leadership
Spring 2016
This spring, I continued my journey into the world of regenerative medicine/biology research with Dr. Calve. Our success from the previous semester has allowed us to optimize our system and prepare a manuscript for review as a publication. We hope to have it published before I begin applying for graduate school. This semester, due to class schedule restrictions, Dr. Calve let me mentor another undergraduate student, Sawyer Kiefer, to help me complete experiments. It was interesting to be on the other side of mentorship, and I believe I have prepared Sawyer for a productive summer in the Purdue SURF program. The research also enabled me to form a connection with Dr. David Puleo and Dr. Ashley Seifert at the University of Kentucky, leading to an acceptance into the NSF-REU program in Engineering Bioactive Interfaces and Devices for the coming summer. Lots of exciting experiences to come; be on the lookout for the publication, and my blog of this summer’s research.
PUBLICATIONS
Calve, S., Witten, A.J., Ocken, A.R., and Kinzer-Ursem, T.L. (2016) Incorporation of non-canonical amino acids into the developing murine proteome. Scientific Reports doi:10.1038/srep32377. pdf
NSF-REU PROGRAM - UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
Dr. David Puleo - Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies
Dr. Ashley Seifert - Assistant Professor of Biology
Dr. Sarah Calve - Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Summer 2016
This summer I have the opportunity to continue my research experience through the NSF-REU Summer Program at the University of Kentucky. Under this program for Engineered Bioactive Interfaces and Devices and the mentorship of Dr. Ashley Seifert, I will translate the toolset that we developed on the developmental mus musculus model at Purdue University to the regenerative Acomys cahirinus model at the University of Kentucky. Below is a link to my blog for this summer, which will keep track of my experiences down at Kentucky, and links to more information about my professors.