Previous Undergraduate Research

As an undergraduate at Hofstra University, I was fortunate to work as a Research Assistant in a Biomaterials laboratory, where I attained many skills in sample characterization. The work focused on the extraction of keratin macrofilament bundles from human hair. Keratins are good biomaterials, due to their inherent biocompatibility, abundance of supply, and their tunable mechanochemical properties. However, crude extracts from hair are impure, originally embedded in a matrix of keratin associated proteins (KAPs). The goal was to develop a process to eventually purify keratins without damaging them, by first removing the KAPs.  Specific tasks included treating the hair with solutions containing reducing agents (to break disulfide bonds), alcohol (to retain keratins in insoluble form), and denaturants (to relax protein interactions), and sample characterization. Some of the procedures or equipment used were spectrophotometry, gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), tensile testing, rheology, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging. Keratins would ultimately be purified and used to form hydrogels that can support growth factors and be applied in bone tissue regeneration.

This research was further developed throughout the ASPiRe program (Advanced Summer Program in Research) at Hofstra University. It was also presented in a symposium, available for live streaming. Additionally, findings were presented in a poster during the 2021 BMES Annual Conference.

Hofstra University – Fred DeMatteis ASPiRe 2021 Symposium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEQ4oUrw4v8 (1:26:49)

Current Graduate Research

I am currently involved in a Synthetic Biology laboratory at Stony Brook University, supervised by Dr. Gábor Balázsi. Current Breast Cancer research efforts often rely on 2D and animal models, which fall short in replicating the intricate cellular networks and tissue architecture of the human microenvironment. As a continuation from previous studies performed in our lab using 2D models, my project introduces a novel approach by utilizing 3D Breast cancer (BC) organoids to bridge this gap.
Metastatic MDA-MB-231 primary cell lines engineered for metastasis activator BACH1 expression tuning, serve as the foundation for these 3D organoid models. The primary objective is to uncover the phenotypic landscape and invasiveness dynamics of BC organoids through regulation of BACH1 protein levels.
In the methodology, MDA-MB-231 cells are cultured in 2D and 3D formats. Organoid generation involves embedding cells in a BMM (Matrigel), enabling the formation of 3D structures. These organoids are subjected to controlled experimental conditions, including doxycycline treatment to modulate BACH1 expression, flow cytometry analysis, western blotting for protein quantification, 2D and 3D invasion assays, as well as computational modeling to predict phenotypic changes. Additionally, different synthetic gene circuit designs are integrated in the cells.