Nicole Virdone Email & Phone Number

Marina Del Rey, California, United States

• Co-lead the CI Compass Fellowship Program, which includes managing the application process, recruiting/scheduling guest speakers, mentoring students on research projects, and organizing the Summer Program where fellows work at NSF Major Facilities.• Manage one-on-one Engagements with CI practitioners at NSF Major/Mid-scale Facilities (MFs) to facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange.• Organize meetings and oversee the creation of deliverables by Topical Working Groups.• Plan, coordinate, and execute virtual and in-person workshops held my CI Compass for the CI community at NSF MFs• Track and maintain CI Compass artifacts (reports, webinars, panels, etc.)• Prepare monthly reports to NSF detailing progress, and yearly reports and strategic plans for NSF, ensuring alignment with goals and metrics.• Monitor budget to ensure projects remain financially sound and meet required objectives.• Conduct outreach to cultivate partnerships with other initiatives and projects, expanding CI Compass's reach and impact.

Pasadena, California, United States

• Develop scalable high-speed fluidic switches for use as a front-end amplifier. Note: my work is under a non-disclosure agreement, so these descriptions cannot include details to those outside of the agreement; however, I am happy to discuss in general terms about the projects• Engineer improvements on fluidic switches using CAD (Solidworks), and design various implementations • Design and execute mechanical experiments to test the functionality of the fluidic switches• Data analysis on a range of mechanical experiments via MATLAB, Excel, and KaleidaGraph• Trained and mentored a high school intern on her project of improving switch fabrication

Pasadena, Ca

This position was the same as my position at Sigma Design. Our small lab got new management with Sigma Design in April 2020.

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

PI: Jennifer West, PhD; Project: Development of microfluidic hydrogels for examining the effects of flow on engineered microvessels (2013-2018)PI: Gabriel Lopez, PhD; Development of hybrid biomimetic materials for use in biosensing and drug delivery (2010-2013)• Independently identified scientific problems, formulated hypotheses, designed experiments, and analyzed results• Coordinated with principal investigators and external scientists throughout the design of a functional device• Improved and maintained the lab’s internal website by reorganizing, revising protocols, and creating resources for new and existing members of the lab• Organized, revised and maintained the lab’s safety operating procedures and chemical inventory as the Lab Safety and Chemical Hygiene Manager• Communicated scientific findings and technical information with internal and external stakeholders, through oral presentations, journal articles, and grant writing• Mentored interns, undergraduates, and graduate students with their research• Represented my PhD peers during faculty meetings while serving as Grad Committee Affairs Liaison

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

Modern Applications of Chemical Principles (Fall 2016; Profs. Kathy Franz and Dorian Canelas)Fundamentals of Biomaterials and Biomechanics Lab (Spring 2015; Profs. Brent Hoffman and Roger Nightingale)Biomedical Materials and Artificial Organs (Fall 2012; Prof. W. Monty Reichert)• Instructed undergraduate and graduate students in lecture and laboratory classroom settings• Explained complex scientific concepts and techniques• Prepared and utilized lecture-based and flipped-classroom teaching materials• Supervised progress and interpersonal relationships for group projects• Provided formative feedback and summative assessments on laboratory reports and exams

Greater Los Angeles Area

PI: Andrea Kasko, PhD; Project: Development of a novel photoresponsive drug-delivery system (2008-2010)PI: Daniel Levi, MD and Greg Carman, PhD; Project: Design and fabrication of laparoscopic, non-fouling medical devices (2006-2008)• Collaborated with a pediatric cardiologist on new ideas for devices that could improve surgical outcomes by reducing invasiveness and inflammation• Met with doctors and principle investigators to define their needs, coordinate with their funding sources, and research appropriate governmental regulations to deliver a prototype that met the necessary specifications• Synthesized and characterized photoresponsive drug-delivery molecules; documented these protocols• Presented regularly during weekly group and journal club meetings to discuss my research progress and critique research articles

Department Of Bioengineering, Uc Berkeley, Berkeley, Ca

PI: Dr. Kevin Healy; Project: Development of Biomimetic Extracellular Matricies• Assisted in the synthesis and analysis of materials used to mimic extracellular matrices, including poly- (ethylene glycol), hyaluronan, and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)• Presented in weekly lab meetings, wrote a research article on my work, and presented a scientific poster at the conclusion of the summer program

Caltech Ligo, Pasadena, Ca

PI: Dr. Riccardo DeSalvo; Project: Creep Measurement of Maraging Cantilever Blade Springs• Independently designed and constructed a system to measure the creep properties of a maraging cantilever blade spring, used in LIGO interferometers• Wrote and published results in Nuclear Instrumentation and Methods in Physics Research, Section A.• Wrote an article about my experience, which was published in Imagine magazine, which can be found here: http://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/docs/summer-at-ligo.pdf

Master Of Science (M.S.), Biomedical Engineering

Activities and Societies: National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow; Certificate in College Teaching; Center for Biomolecular.

B.S., Bioengineering

Activities and Societies: Biomedical Engineering Society (President of UCLA Chapter, 2008-2009); UCLA Center of Excellence in Engineering.

High School

Activities and Societies: Varsity Softball, JV Volleyball, Summer Internship at Caltech

Education record