Researcher Highlight

Nathaniel Karom Graduate Student, Physics and Astronomy Weiss Research Group My first experience at Vanderbilt was as an undergraduate student through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Under faculty mentorship, I was tasked with employing Density Function Theory (DFT) to investigate how atomic displacement affects the electrical… Read More

Dr. Bashiyar Almarwani Department of Biology Tennessee State University My research journey has been deeply rooted in addressing some of the most pressing challenges in infectious diseases and neurodegenerative disorders. The alarming rise of drug-resistant bacteria has underscored the urgent need for novel antimicrobial agents, while the… Read More

Guodong Zhu Graduate Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering Ndukaife Research Group Nanophotonics explores how light interacts with matter at the nanoscale. By engineering periodic nanostructures—such as metamaterials, metasurfaces, and photonic crystals — we can precisely control propagation and confinement of light. These capabilities enable highly sensitive biosensing, advanced… Read More

Vivian Nwosu Madueke Graduate Student, Interdisciplinary Materials Science Silvera Batista Research Group Most natural processes occur under conditions that are not in thermodynamic equilibrium but constantly experience flows of energy and matter. For instance, microorganisms survive by responding to dissipative chemical energies such as food in their environment… 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

Andrey Shults, 4th year Chemistry PhD Candidate in the Macdonald Lab. Summary of Research: My research focuses on the synthesis of various metal chalcogenide nanoparticles and the mechanistic understanding of their formation. Just as with graphite and diamond, the polymorphs of carbon, the two different elements of a metal… Read More

Laura Bertolami, a senior undergraduate Chemical Engineering student on Senior Tech Crew. I have been working on the tech crew since May 2022, and have been senior tech crew since October 2023. My current project involves developing parameters for multiple aperture patterning with Electron Beam Lithography as well as… Read More

Owen Meilander, 2nd year Interdisciplinary Material Science PhD student in Dr. Mona Ebrish’s Lab in the Electrical Engineering department.   Summary of Research: My work focuses on the fabrication and characterization of gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor devices. GaN devices offer many benefits for high power and high frequency applications. Read More

Boyang Xiao, 2nd year PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Xiaoguang Dong in Mechanical Engineering. Gastrointestinal (GI) diseases have become more common and serious among health problems in the US. It is reported that there are over twenty million Americans suffering from chronic GI diseases. How to provide… Read More

Emily Fabiano, 3rd year Biomedical Engineering PhD student in the Reinhart-King Lab Research Summary: My research focuses on understanding the intersection of cell migration and bioenergetics in breast cancer. Specifically, I investigate the role that cell-matrix adhesions play in regulating bioenergetics, aiding in more efficient cancer cell migration… Read More