Janell Lees

To share our love of making tiny things for science, VINSE participated in this year’s TN Maker Fest.  VINSE NanoGuides showcase nanoscale using familiar items in three engaging interactive demonstrations. Pencils to Prizes – attendees made their own single-atom-thick materials like a Nobel Prize winner with tape and pencil… Read More

My research focuses on developing next-generation oncology immunotherapeutics. This unique class of drugs aims to modulate the body’s own immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer. With immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy changing the paradigm of cancer treatment, clinicians and scientists are looking for new strategies to improve efficacy and… Read More

Using new Bruker NanoMan software, the VINSE atomic force microscope (AFM) created an image of Cornelius Vanderbilt with nanometer high overall portrait features and a lateral extent that is about 10 times smaller than the width of human hair. The technique that makes this possible is anodic oxidation nanolithography, which… Read More

From bulk to nanoscale – the lift-out process: A) Initial site preparation by the ion beam (inset is a photo of the sample). B) Chunk lift-out by the EZ lift needle. C) Thinned and polished lamella. D) TEM image of the lamella. E) HRTEM image of the lamella showing atomic… Read More

My current research is funded by the Partnerships for Research Education (PREM) at TSU-Fisk-University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and by the U54 Pilot Grant through the Meharry-Vanderbilt-TSU Cancer Partnership to end health disparities. I develop biomaterials for cancer immunotherapy under the guidance of Dr. Richard Mu at TSU, Dr. Read More

Metasurfaces are 2D diffractive optics that can significantly reduce the size of bulky imaging systems and provide complexity where conventional optics may be limited. My research focuses on the design and fabrication of dielectric metasurfaces for infrared (IR) imaging, a spectral range that has gained popularity for its ability… Read More

The VINSE cleanroom can now deposit up to three materials at once in a vacuum environment using electron beam evaporation and resistive thermal evaporation in the Angstrom Multimode and Angstrom Resistive systems. The amount deposited from each material per second can be independently controlled. Each material source has a… Read More

During my initial year at Vanderbilt, I participated in several research rotations, which provided me with exposure to various aspects of materials science and engineering. These rotations were crucial in helping me identify my specific research interests and in developing a multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving. This experience allowed me… Read More

Dr. Stefania Marsili, Senior Basic Scientist, Dr. David Calkins’ Lab Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center The ongoing modifications of the ECM environment in both healthy and diseased states consistently expose cells to diverse stimuli, which can alter their shape and viscoelastic and biochemical properties and the re-establishment… Read More

VINSE has integrated the advanced NanoMan software on the Bruker which significantly enhances the functionality of the Dimension Icon Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). This upgrade introduces cutting-edge capabilities for nanomanipulation and nanolithography, expanding the scope of applications for nanoscale manipulation in both air and liquid environments. With NanoMan, users… Read More