Bio
My research interests are in three areas:
(1) Molecular and cellular biophysics of human innate immunity, with a focus on the pleiotropic roles of host defense peptides and amyloidogenic peptides in human health and disease, including infectious disease, cancer, and plaque diseases, with a particular focus at present on Alzheimer's Disease.
(2) Design, synthesis, and biophysical studies of sequence-controlled, biomimetic oligomers (synthetic peptide mimics) with helical structures, for biomedical and biomaterial applications (mimicry of lung surfactant proteins, antimicrobial and anticancer innate immune peptides).
(3) Design, synthesis, and testing/demonstration of novel strategies and water-soluble polymeric materials for capillary and microchip electrophoresis (DNA sequencing and genotyping); creation of polymer-biomolecule conjugates.
Academic Appointments
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Associate Professor, Bioengineering
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Member, Bio-X
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Member, Stanford Cancer Institute
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Member, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Honors & Awards
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National Hispanic Scholar, Univ. of Washington, Seattle (1986)
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Tektronix Foundation Merit Scholarship, Univ. of Washington, Seattle (1986)
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University of Washington Undergraduate Merit Scholarship (two consecutive years), Univ. of Washington, Seattle (1988, 1989)
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H.K. Benson Chemical Engineering Tuition Scholarship, Univ. of Washington, Seattle (1989)
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1986-1990 National Merit Scholar and Recipient of Associated Four-Year Scholarship, National Merit Scholarship Corporation (1986-1990)
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1990-1993 U.C. Berkeley Chancellor's Minority Pre-doctoral Fellowship, U.C. Berkeley (1990-1993)
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Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, U.C. Berkeley Dept. of Chemical Engineering, U.C. Berkeley (1993)
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U.C. Berkeley Provost's Research Fund Grant, U.C. Berkeley (1993)
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Matheson Fellowship in Chemical Engineering, U.C. Berkeley (1994)
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University of California Minority Dissertation Year Fellowship, U.C. Berkeley (1994)
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Dow Excellence in Teaching Award, 1994, U.C. Berkeley Department of Chemical Engineering, U.C. Berkeley (1994)
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NIH National Research Service Award (Postdoctoral Fellowship #1 F32 GM 18112), National Institutes of Health (1996)
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Beckman Young Investigator Award, Arnold & Mabel Beckman Foundation (1998-99)
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Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, NIH/NHGRI (1999)
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DuPont Young Professor Award, DuPont, Inc. (2002)
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Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation (2002)
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Thiele Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, University of Notre Dame (2005)
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W.M. Keck Associate Professor of Bioengineering, Stanford University (2007-present)
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Nanobio Scholar, Virginia Tech (2011)
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Invited Participant, 2015 Nobel Symposium: Amyloid: A multifaceted player in human health and disease, Stockholm (June 10-11, 2015)
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Invited Lecturer, Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (March 6, 2018)
Professional Education
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Postdoc, UCSF/Chiron Corporation, Biomimetic & Bioorganic Chemistry (1997)
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Postdoc, Soane BioSciences/ACLARA Biosciences Inc., Molecular Biotechnology (1996)
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Ph.D., Univ. of California, Berkeley, Chemical Engineering (1995)
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B.S., Univ. of Washington, Seattle, Chemical Engineering (1990)