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Ruth N

- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at Illinois Institute of Technology

Expertise

Biomedical Engineering, cell-targeted drug delivery, polymeric nanoparticles, creative writing

Bio

Hello, from the windy city of Chicago :~) A little bit about school-me: I've completed my undergraduate and master's degrees in biomedical engineering and chemical engineering, respectively. So it's pretty safe to say that I know, at the very least, a little bit about quite a few different topics! I feel specifically comfortable with things like reaction kinetics, mass transport, physiology, systems of differential equations, thermodynamics, mechanics, electricity and magnetism, polymer science, and therapeutic drug delivery. Currently, I am a doctoral student, and I am researching gene silencing in adipocytes using RNA that is to be delivered in a fully biocompatible nanoparticle, one that I am designing and making. Phew! Fingers crossed on that one! Apart from all that fun, I'm a bookworm (fantasy, realistic fiction, mystery); creative writing, baking/cooking, drawing, painting, and singing/music are also very much up my alley. I'm currently the director for my school's competitive a cappella group (yes, like in Pitch Perfect). I'm trying to learn American Sign Language, and I practice by combining it with my favorite thing: music. I learn to translate some of my favorite songs into ASL, which is really fun. If you have any follow-up questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Go with the (Blood) Flow

MRI imaging of the thoracic cavity is a vital tool for the diagnoses and development of treatment plans regarding cardiovascular disease and lung functional abnormalities. A patient is required to remain very still while undergoing MRI because movement can cause artifacts in the results, where movement causes the images to be unclear. The problem is, the heart is always moving, always beating, and the lungs only stop moving for as long as one is not breathing. For the brains behind the code of a magnetic resonance imaging device to have a decent shot at advancing the code to the point where lung and heart movement are accounted for and no longer cause image blurring, they need a phantom heart, a stand-in, one with periodic flow and movement, to optimize their code around. Do you think you can design a system that replicates blood flow, heart movement, and (here's the catch) contains no metal pieces? I think you can :)

Ready, Set, Write!

Let's create stories and tell them as though they were designed to be told, with color and passion, with a foundation in who you are and in the unique thoughts that you have, thoughts that create worlds and lives that never existed before your pen touched paper. Whether a graphic novel, a short, a full-length novel... truly, whatever floats your boat, take me along for the ride. Give me the privilege of discovering new worlds with you, and let me help you bring your ideas to completion. Cheerleader, editor, grammar nerd, I've got all the right uniforms. Let's do this thing.

Coding skills

MatLab

Languages I know

Romanian

Teaching experience

I have worked as a tutor for math, English, and literature while in high school. In my undergraduate and graduate degrees, I have performed multiple lab trainings for new undergraduate and graduate students regarding cell culture work, polymeric nanoparticle development, and localized drug delivery. I have guided Polygence students who wished to present their projects competitively, with great success.

Credentials

Education

Illinois Institute of Technology
BS Bachelor of Science (2020)
Biomedical Engineering
Illinois Institute of Technology
MS Master of Science (2020)
Chemical Engineering
Illinois Institute of Technology
PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Biomedical Engineering

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