PI
Dr. Chengpeng Chen
Dr. Chen received his B.S. degree from the Ocean University of China in 2011, after which, he joined Michigan State University as a graduate student. He received his Ph.D. under the guidance of Dr. Dana M. Spence in 2015. He then worked at Saint Louis University as a research/teaching postdoc fellow in Dr. R. Scott Martin’s lab. In 2018, he started the position as an assistant professor at UMBC.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Curtis Jones
Curtis is a graduate student at UMBC pursuing a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry with a special focus on biomaterials and microfluidic biosensing platforms. For my undergraduate degree, I attended UMBC where I received a B.S. in chemistry in the fall of 2016. Outside of research, I am on the club lacrosse team and also enjoy powerlifting and woodworking.
G. K. Monia Kabandana
Monia obtained her B.S. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at UMBC in 2018. In the same year, she joined the Ph.D. program in Chemistry. Her current research focuses on using 3D printed microfluidic devices and spectroscopy to study biofilm antibiotic resistance. She is also a fellow of the Meyerhoff Scholar Program and President of the Rwandan International Network association (RINA).
John A. Terrel
John obtained his B.S. degree from Virginia Tech, and joined the lab in 2019. His project focuses on developing novel functional liver models for metabolomics and pharmaceutical studies.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Mark Claycomb
Mark is an undergraduate student studying Chemical Engineering on the Traditional Track. I am currently working on the recycling of used 3D-printer plastics such as PLA and ABS, along with polymers (polyethylene and polypropylene ) from used laboratory centrifuge tubes. While my studies take up most of my time outside of class, I enjoy playing videos games and going to the gym.
Makayla Headly
Studying chemical engineering with intentions of going to graduate school to conduct research in biomedical engineering. She is also a Meyerhoff and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Scholar. Currently, in the lab, she is developing an elastomeric blood vessel mimic with extra cellular matrix for endothelial cell culturing, which can be used to study any vascular disease. In her free time, she does hair and enjoys roller skating.
Adam M. Ratajczak
Adam joined the lab in 2018. His project is to develop protocols to increase the transparency of 3D-printed microfluidic devices for direct optical measurements. He has a co-authored paper in press. He is working on various Arduino projects for sensor applications.
Sahra Sharifi
Sahra has been working on biofilm culture and assessment on microfluidics with Monia. She has a co-authored paper published in 2020.
Rokhaya Kane
Rokhaya is a double major in Biological Sciences and Public Health. She has a special interest in healthcare disparities and improving healthcare access for minorities. Her ultimate goal is to pursue a career in medicine and global health. She joined the lab in the summer of 2022 and she is currently working on the detection of pro-inflammatory molecules using different ELISA kits and other chemical assays.
HIGH SCHOOL RESEARCHER
Arif V is a senior at Centennial High School with an intended major in Chemistry. He is currently working on creating a patentable nylon derivative with lead-chelating and protein-specific properties.