Research interests include the role that mechanical forces play in altering cell behavior that leads to the development or prevention of osteoarthritis and the development of computer models to predict cellular damage due to physical interactions with medical devices

♦ Conceptualized and wrote Phase I and Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant proposals for the development and commercialization of new medical devices and healthcare technologies ♦ Conducted market research, competitive landscape analysis and literature reviews for product commercialization♦ Worked directly with internal research and product development teams for grant proposal content. Obtained product feedback by developing and maintaining relationships with clinicians and key opinion leaders♦ Assisted in the administration of multiple phases of the life cycle of grants (drafting, progress reports, etc.)

♦ First to establish the role of a novel oxidative signaling mechanism in the development of osteoarthritis, which has implications for development of pharmacological targets against the development or progression of osteoarthritis♦ Initiated working relationships with four labs at two institutions to bring one new collaborative project, five new techniques, and $100,000 in new collaborative grant money to the lab♦ Developed a new biomechanical assay for examining directional effects of force transduction via integrins♦ Increased lab efficiency by establishing and promoting record-keeping protocols that resulted in an 80% increase in archived data retrieval speed which led to a 20% decrease in unnecessary experimental repetition♦ Actively managed 50% of a lab technician's time, resulting in a 33% increase in operational efficiency and culminating with a publication in the top journal in the field♦ Increased experimental productivity by 10-15% year over year♦ Mentored one graduate and two undergraduate students♦ Taught two postdoctoral colleagues, one lab technician, and three mentored students the following techniques:Confocal microscopy and image analysisCell isolation, culture, and stainingImmunoblottingExperimental designEffective data presentation

♦ Initiated working relationships with another lab at Wake Forest University to bring a new project, two new techniques, and more than $30,000 in new collaborative grant money to the lab♦ Improved a biochemical assay for identification of sulfenylated cysteine residues on proteins that increased sensitivity by 50%♦ Developed automated image analysis protocols that were also used to expand the capabilities of collaborating labs and have resulted in two collaborator publications to date♦ Advanced the scientific field through peer-review of journal articles for Cytometry Part A and Springer Plus♦ Mentored one graduate student♦ Taught one medical resident, one postdoctoral colleague, and one mentored student the following techniques:Confocal microscopyCell isolation, culture, and stainingImmunoblottingExperimental design

♦ Developed, automated, and validated the world’s first structurally representative finite element model (FEM) of nonlinear single cell mechanics, which has applications in medical device design, tissue engineering and drug development♦ Enhanced the national prestige of the lab through authorship of an invited magazine article and subsequent media publicity resulting from presenting an award-winning talk at a national meeting♦ Established and automated a new image analysis algorithm for conversion of fluorescence microscopy images into meshed geometries appropriate for finite element analysis (FEA)♦ Served as laboratory safety officer, vigilantly maintaining lab knowledge of and adherence to proper safety protocols with zero incidents occurring during 4.5 years in the role♦ Mentored four undergraduate and three high school students♦ Taught seven mentored students the following techniques:Confocal microscopyCell isolation, culture, and stainingExperimental designTechnical writingEffective data presentation

♦ Responsible for rapid recovery of human tissue from donors for transplantation for one of the largest tissue banks in the United States♦ Actively engaged hospital nursing staff to ensure rapid, proper recovery protocol which resulted in decreasing average case time from 8 hours to 6 hours♦ Recovered tissues from over 50 donors, which improved the quality of life of as many as 2,500 people

♦ As Quality Control Lab Technician, created efficient protocols for FDA-mandated chemical testing and archival of results while establishing a new chemical quality control lab for one of the largest dairy equipment manufacturers in the United States♦ As Human Resources Temp, entered confidential hiring information of over 300 new employees into HR database♦ Set up and organized a new warehouse for industrial chemicals and dairy barn parts for operational efficiency

Showed that the failure rate of stainless steel dynamic compression plate fixation to repair injuries of the pubic symphysis is partially due to the resulting unnatural stresses that are applied to the pubic symphysis under static load

Increased NASA's fuel cell capabilities by establishing the use of a novel non-invasive pressure monitoring technique at a NASA research lab

Helped establish a new volumetric flow analysis technique using on-chip interferometric backscatter detection with direct implications for newly emerging organ-on-a-chip technologies