March 29, 2016

Amanda Pentecost, dual PhD candidate in MSE and MS in BIOMED (Advisors: Y. Gogotsi and K. Spiller), was awarded a 2016 Whitaker International Fellowship to conduct research with Dr. Kwangmeyung Kim in the Center for Theragnosis at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) in Seoul, South Korea. Amanda's dissertation research focuses on using theranostic nanoparticles to increase the effectiveness of a common anti-inflammatory drug, dexamethasone, in preventing fibrous capsule formation and isolation of an implanted biomaterial. She has been designing and characterizing this novel drug delivery system, as well as testing it on a cellular lever. At KIST, Amanda will have access to high-level expertise and state-of-the-art microscopy and microscopic equipment needed to monitor the real-time distribution of nanoparticles within the body, as well as their effectiveness in preventing fibrosis.