Ruben Kolkman
Ph.D. '22 in Chemistry
University of Twente, Netherlands
kolkman(at)ucsb.edu

My research focuses on the development of electrochemical aptamer-based sensors to detect varying metabolites. My overall research aim is to develop electrochemical aptamer-based sensors which can be applied in both in vitro and in vivo applications.

Chelsea Brown
Ph.D. '22 in Behavioural Neuroscience
University of California Santa Barbara
cnbrown(at)ucsb.edu

I'm interested in using EAB sensors to understand neuropharmacology and individual variability in pharmacokinetics. My research aims to improve biosensors for application in clinical use and animal models.

Marlaina Stocco
Ph.D. '21 in Neuropharmacology
University of Toronto
marlainastocco(at)ucsb.edu

Adapting and implementing biosensors for in vivo, in brain measurement of drugs and neurotransmitters in behavioral models of addiction.

Elsi Verrinder
Ph.D. '21 in Electrical Engineering
Aalto University, Finland
everrinder(at)ucsb.edu

My research focuses on finding different approaches to increase the stability of EAB sensors in the in vivo environment. These approaches include employing different electrochemical interrogation methods, implementing antifouling agents or coatings into the sensor design and studying alternative substrate materials and linking chemistries for the sensor structure.

Shaylee Larson
Ph.D. Student
Biological Engineering
shaylee_larson(at)ucsb.edu

My research focuses on improving the response of EAB sensors to small changes in target concentration by designing complex binding mechanisms. Electrochemical-biomolecular mechanics form the basis of aptamer based sensing and by implementing multi-site, pseudo knotted, or split DNA constructs, I can use kinetics to better tune the sensors for better application in-vivo.

Kayla Wang
Ph.D. Student
Psychological and Brain Sciences
ywang666(at)ucsb.edu

I am primarily interested in exploring the utility of EAB (Electrochemical Aptamer-Based) sensors for neuropharmacology in rodents, in the hopes of getting a better understanding of addiction models and underlying circuitry.

Zeki Duman
Ph.D. Student
Electrical and Computer Engineering
zekiduman(at)ucsb.edu

My research focuses on feedback control for pharmacokinetics models. I am trying to model the drug distribution in the body using the data generated by others in the lab and to apply feedback control algorithms in order to attain certain drug levels in the body for a prolonged period of time.

Matthew McDonough
Ph.D. Candidate
Statistics and Applied Probability
mcdonough(at)pstat.ucsb.edu

My primary research focus is developing new statistical methods to meaningful and interesting problems in the applied sciences, promoting cross-disciplinary research between different fields. More recently, I have been evaluating the adequacy of commonly used pharmacokinetic compartment models on time-dense pharmacology datasets generated by others in the group.

Nicole Emmons
Ph.D. Candidate
Psychology and Brain Sciences
nicoleemmons(at)ucsb.edu

My interests involve adapting EAB sensors for subcutaneous application, in hopes of creating a viable, minimally invasive platform for the detection of both therapeutics and recreational drugs in vivo and to pave the route towards clinical deployment.

Yuyang (Alex) Wu
Ph.D. Candidate
Chemistry
yuyangwu(at)ucsb.edu

I am working on developing new EAB sensors towards targets of our interest, which include Li+, tryptophan and cocaine. I also am working on systematic methods to enhance the EAB sensor performance. Specifically, I do this by correlating measurements of circular dichroism with EAB sensor electrochemical signals. The final goal of my research is to apply EAB sensor to living animal research and in the future clinical research.

Murat Kaan Erdal
Ph.D. Candidate
Electrical and Computer Engineering
m_erdal(at)ucsb.edu

My research focuses pharmacokinetics models and how to use them. I am using the data generated by others in the group to learn about the pharmacokinetics of drugs with high precision. This allows us to model the drug distribution in the body. I then design feedback control algorithms informed by these models so that we can achieve therapeutic levels of the drug for a prolonged time with high sensitivity.

Kevin Honeywell
Ph.D. Candidate
Psychology and Brain Sciences
honeywell(at)ucsb.edu

I am testing the in vivo viability and efficacy of electrochemical aptamer-based biosensors for small molecules including serotonin. The aim of the serotonin project is to measure serotonin in a rat model of serotonergic drug taking including drugs of abuse and pharmaceuticals. My ultimate goal is to explore changes in brain serotonin levels in a rat model of addiction.

Julia Chung
Ph.D. Candidate
Biomolecular Science and Engineering
juliachung(at)ucsb.edu

I am broadly interested in leveraging electrochemical approaches to preserve measurement precision for single-particle nanoimpacts and for the electrochemical aptamer-based (EAB) sensor platform. My research focus in the Plaxco lab is to adapt existing surface coupling chemistries to (i) expand the substrate scope of working electrodes and (ii) support the binding-induced folding of EAB sensors.

Lisa Fetter
Ph.D. Candidate
Biomolecular Science and Engineering
lisafetter(at)ucsb.edu

My primary research focus is to characterize how electrochemical aptamer-based (EAB) sensor signal response is affected by fluctuations in physiological factors experienced within the in vivo environment.

Jenny Gibson
Junior Specialist
Institute of Collaborative Biotechnologies
jgibson(at)ucsb.edu

TBD