Seminar Presentation, May 3: C-AIM postdoctoral fellowship finalist Dr. Crystal E. Rapier

“Droplet Based Microfluidics for Biomimetic Immunomodulation”

Friday, May 3, 2019, at 10 a.m.
Memorial Union, Conference Room 360
University of Rhode Island-Kingston Campus
50 Lower College Road, Kingston, RI 02881

View seminar abstract

Please join us this Friday, May 3, 2019, 10 am, at the URI Memorial Union Conference Room 360 for a seminar by C-AIM postdoctoral fellowship finalist Dr. Crystal Rapier entitled, “Droplet Based Microfluidics for Biomimetic Immunomodulation”.

Dr. Rapier is currently an Adjunct Professor of Biology and Microbiology at Georgia Military College. She received her Ph.D. at the University of California, Irvine under the direction of Dr. Abraham P. Lee in the department of Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Rapier’s research interests are particularly focused on two main thrusts:

Droplet-based microfluidics, including the production of microfluidic devices capable of producing droplets, double emulsions, PLGA microparticles, and liposomes, with the goal of using such devices for microfluidic-based biosensors and therapeutics.

Biomaterial development, including the design, fabrication, and evaluation of biocompatible PLGA particles, protein/polymer hybrids, and more, with the goal of developing immuno-responsive materials and materials capable of being used in fluorescence microscopy and design.

As a C-AIM postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Rapier will contribute to C-AIM goals through developing synthetic biology approaches to novel paper-based sensors for the bay, and will also work on identifying sources of failure detection in coastal sensor networks.

Dr. Rapier also has experience and is strongly interested in creating and organizing community STEM initiatives, and also mentoring underrepresented minority students in graduate programs. Such skills complement the workforce development and broader impacts aspects of the RI NSF EPSCoR/RI C-AIM program.

Click for directions to URI’s Kingston Campus and a campus map. We look forward to seeing you Friday!

Best Regards,

Dr. Mindy Levine
RI C-AIM Researcher, Thrust 3
Associate Professor, Chemistry
University of Rhode Island