Daniel Grant Email & Phone Number

Rome, Georgia, United States

Columbia, Missouri Area

My duties in the materials characterization lab included characterizing explanted hernia mesh and performing statistical analysis. I am proficient with FT-IR spectroscopy, DSC, TGA, and Instron mechanical testing. I studied the degradation of polypropylene (PP) hernia mesh, which resulted in a poster presentation at the Society of Biomaterials and a co-authored paper. I have investigated the degradation of polyethylene terephthalate mesh, which resulted in an oral presentation at the Institute of Biological Engineering. I investigated gold nanoparticles conjugated to PP mesh to improve biocompatibility, which resulted in a first author paper (being reviewed).

Columbia, Missouri Area

As a research assistant in Dr. Viator's laboratory, I work on two projects. The first project is the separation of positively detected melanoma cells. Our detector utilizes the photoacoustic effect to detect melanoma cells in a blood sample. The blood sample flows through tubing into the detection apparatus. My job is to design and construct a system that will separate cancer positive samples from cancer negative samples. My second project is an investigation into the effect microbubbles have on the photoacoustic signal. The results from this project will show if any air bubbles in the cancer detector tubing affect the detector's accuracy.

Houston, Texas Area

I spent the summer of 2011 at the Baylor College of Medicine's Summer Medical and Research Training (SMART) Program in Houston, Texas. As part of the program, I am worked with Dr. Christina Nance on HIV therapy. My project focuses on the use of EGCG, a compound found in green tea, as a drug to combat HIV latency. I designed a cell model to use for my experiments, and I learned various cell culture techniques, including preparing cell culture media, counting cells, working in a sterile hood, and isolating specific types of cells from donor blood. I also attend daily seminars about various areas in biomedical research as part of the program.

Doctor Of Medicine (Md), Medicine

Activities and Societies: Medical School Ambassadors, Friday Night Lights Sports Clinic

B.S., Biological Engineering

Activities and Societies: Biomedical Engineering Society, Tau Beta Pi, Engineering Student Council, Armory Science Club, Institute.