PhD Students

Student Spotlight: Jair Castillo

Anonymous — Mon, 09 May 2022 18:25:08 +0000

Student Spotlight: Jair Castillo Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/09/2022 - 12:25

Rachel Leuthauser

Jair Castillo, PhD student

Jair Castillo is a PhD student studying ultrasound molecular imaging in Professor Mark Borden’s lab. His goal is to help improve preventative healthcare to detect diseases like cancer in the early stages – giving patients better outcomes.

What brought you to the �鶹ӰԺ and attracted you to the Biomedical Engineering Program?

I was attracted by the high quality of research being done at CU �鶹ӰԺ. I also liked how the BME program allows you to tailor the classes you need to take towards your research interests. There is only one requirement and everything else is up to you to decide.

Please briefly explain the research you are doing in Professor Borden’s lab.

My research focuses on the area of imaging. More specifically, ultrasound molecular imaging. Basically, I engineer functionalized microbubbles with a gas core that can target a specific receptor in the endothelium. Once flowing in the bloodstream, part of these bubbles attaches to their receptor and remain static for some time while the rest keep flowing. Due to the physical properties of microbubbles, which oscillate when exposed to an ultrasound field, they generate a backscattered energy which is then picked up by the ultrasound transducer. This generates enhanced images with better resolution and contrast. There are many potential applications, such as early detection of cancer, microinflammation and atherosclerosis, among others.

What inspired you to pursue imaging research?

After graduation from college with a bachelor of science in biomedical engineering, I worked in the medical device industry for several years. However, I always found myself wanting to explore new ideas on my own, which is sometimes limited in industry. So, I decided to pursue a PhD since I believe it fosters creativity and promotes the development of new ideas, projects and knowledge. Also, I like teaching, so my goal is to become a professor.

How would you like your work to help society?

I believe in preventive healthcare, specifically trying to prevent the development of a disease by diagnosing it early. That's the reason I am mainly focusing on diagnostics rather than therapeutics. I would like to improve current techniques and approaches that would help doctors detect diseases, such as cancer, at its very early stages where patients can have higher probabilities of a favorable outcome. The reason I love ultrasound is because it's noninvasive, cost-effective, portable and readily available almost everywhere.

What’s your favorite part about being a Buff?

I love the city of �鶹ӰԺ. The weather is great and is an awesome place to develop personally, with many outdoor activities readily available all year. Also, the Buff community is the best. There are a lot of resources available for students to succeed in their academic career, classes offered here are top-notch and the campus is beautiful. My favorite part of being a Buff is, well, being a Buff!

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PhD student is awarded NSF Integrated Data Science Fellowship

Anonymous — Mon, 31 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

PhD student is awarded NSF Integrated Data Science Fellowship Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/31/2021 - 00:00

Payton Martinez is a PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering Program. The National Science Foundation has given him the Integrated Data Science Fellowship Award.

What does the Integrated Data Science Fellowship recognize?

I was given the Integrated Data Science Fellowship for being a part of the Interdisciplinary Quantitative Biology Program (IQ Biology). It recognizes interdisciplinary research mainly between computational and experimental work, which I learned through lab rotations and weekly idea exchanges.

What does your research focus on?

My main research is using focused ultrasound and microbubbles to disrupt the blood brain barrier. This technique will be used to delivery drugs more effectively in hard to reach places in the brain.

Bio

I am just starting my PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the �鶹ӰԺ and am currently working in Professor Mark Borden's lab. I am also part of the IQ Biology Program, where I'm able to rotate between a few labs my first year. I'll rotate with Professor Nick Bottenus and Dr. Adam Green, who is based at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and is a major collaborator with the blood brain barrier disruption project, before coming back full time to Borden's lab in the summer. I am originally from Englewood, Colorado. I moved out to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to complete my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University.

Payton Martinez, who is pursuing his doctorate in Biomedical Engineering, received the National Science Foundation Integrated Data Science Fellow Award. The award recognizes interdisciplinary research.

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PhD student is awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Anonymous — Wed, 05 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

PhD student is awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/05/2021 - 00:00

Olivia Tonti is a PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering Program. The National Science Foundation has given her the Graduate Research Fellowship.

What does the Graduate Research Fellowship recognize?

The Graduate Research Fellowship is a signal of the innovative and impactful research that students will perform in the years ahead. The fellowship recognizes outstanding graduate students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support including an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost of education allowance of $12,000 to the institution.

What does your research focus on?

My research explores proteomic changes in developing mouse hindlimbs, focusing on how mechanical loading resulting from embryonic motility affects the development of the tendon-bone enthesis. I plan to translate that research to study the spatiotemporal proteome distribution and mechanical properties of the glial and fibrotic scars after traumatic spinal cord injury.

Bio

I am a first-year biomedical engineering PhD student working in Professor Sarah Calve’s Musculoskeletal Extracellular Matrix Laboratory. I received my bachelor's degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Colorado �鶹ӰԺ.

The National Science Foundation has awarded a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship to a �鶹ӰԺ biomedical engineering student, a signal of the innovative and impactful research she will perform in the years ahead.

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