Prof. M.G. Finn's LabPhD Thesis: Programmably Degradable Hydrogels for Functional Biomolecular Release• Synthesize thiol-reactive oxanorbornadiene (OND) linkages and OND-modified dextran polymers.• Engineer injectable hydrogel formulations using OND-modified dextran and PEG thiols for programmable release of nanoparticulate vaccines, antibodies, and small functional proteins.• Evaluate and optimize gelation kinetics, injectability, in vitro cargo release, biocompatibility, and mechanical properties of the hydrogel biomaterials.• Initiate and coordinate cross-departmental collaborations to investigate gel network topology, cargo diffusivity, and mathematical modeling.• Study in vivo gelation, materials degradation, and cargo release in mice.• Mentor three undergraduate students in the Finn lab (selected as 2024 Petit Scholar Mentor).• Achieve results including one US patent application and two peer-reviewed articles (including manuscripts in preparation) and deliver oral/poster presentations at multiple local and national/international conferences.Commercialization• Commercialize research products through co-founding OZ-Link Technologies Inc., a biotech startup developing a modular drug delivery platform for programmable release of protein therapeutics.• Participate in science-entrepreneurial programs including Georgia Tech Create-X/VentureLab, Atlanta Nucleate Activator, and Biolocity Launch to support the commercialization process, successfully raising >$300k in non-dilutive funding.

Organic Materials Characterization Lab (OMCL) (Summer 2021 – Fall 2022) • Trained graduate students and postdocs to use GPC, high-temperature GPC, TGA, DSC, LC-MS, and GC-MS.• Maintained, calibrated, and troubleshot instruments.• Recognized with the Hightower Award for Excellence in Macromolecular Characterization.General Chemistry (Spring 2021)• Led two 3-hour long laboratory sessions every week.• Facilitated online lectures for 100+ students.• Held weekly office hours.• Graded pre-lab assignments, lab notebooks, lab reports, and proctored exams.Biochemistry I (Fall 2020)• Facilitated online lectures for 100+ students.• Held weekly office hours and led recitations before exams.• Proctored and graded exams.• Recognized with the Thank-a-Teacher Award.

OZ-Link Technologies, an early-stage biotech startup spun off from Georgia Tech, is developing a modular drug delivery platform designed for the extended and precise controlled release of a wide range of protein therapeutics.Biolocity Commercialization Funding: $200k+ (2023)Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Phase I Commercialization Grant: $50k (2023)Georgia Tech Create-X/VentureLab Commercialization Grant: $10k (2022)

Unit Operations Lab (Summer 2019)• Designed chemical engineering experiments: heat exchangers, ammonia stripping, and mixing system.• Guided and oversaw 35 students in their completion of experiments.• Graded students’ lab reports and presentations.• Troubleshot, repaired, and improved multiple experiment apparatuses.

Prof. Rong Tong’s Drug Delivery and Biomaterial Lab• Developed a nanoparticulate triggerable drug delivery system and evaluated its feasibility.• Coated optical fibers with biodegradable polymers, tracer dyes, and drugs.• Triggered drug delivery by NIR light and analyzed release data by HPLC.• Tested different coating methods to prolong release period.• Completed poster presentations at various research conferences.

Prof. Donald Baird’s Polymer Processing Lab• Studied mechanical properties of the fiber-reinforced polymers.• Prepared fiber pellets and measured their length by ImageJ.• Determined effects of fiber length distribution on fiber orientation during injection molding.

• Evaluated feasibility for propylene production via propane dehydrogenation (PDH).• Modeled the PDH process by Aspen Plus to achieve targeted output and product concentration.• Drew P&ID diagrams to show interconnection and instrumentation of process equipment.• Analyzed process economics and assessed safety, health, and environmental issues.

The student running Chem-E-Car team is a chemical engineering design team at Virginia Tech.• Designed, built, and tested a shoe-box size car that runs and stops by chemical reaction control.• Tested different clock reactions as stopping mechanisms, including iodine clock, cinnamaldehyde clock, and Briggs-Rauscher reactions.• Obtained kinetic data to model reaction time versus temperature.• Placed 1st (2019), 3rd (2018), and 4th (2017) in the AIChE Mid-Atlantic Regional Chem-E-Car Competition.