We have a lot of changes in the lab personnel. Three new Ph.D. students will join our lab this year - Scott Hymel, Nithya Kasireddy, and Asis Lopez. Scott will conduct computational studies of blood cell migration and blood flow in bifuracting vessels. Nithya is coming from India. She will develop computational models of blood coagulation during acoustic levitation (NSF-funded project). Asis is a Ph.D. student in the Tulane Bioinnovation Program. He will study the effect of focused ultrasound on axon regeneration in the CNS. Additionally, Hakm Murad and Radhika Josi are now 5th year M.S. students. Hakm will continue his research on focused ultrasound-based anti-cancer therapy. Radhika's project is to investigate in vitro the effects of mast cell-macrophage interactions on endothelial dysfunction and monocyte adhesion. Finally, two undergraduate students will conduct their junior/senior research projects in the lab. Gray Halliburton will investigate the reduction of the metastatic potential of liver cancer cells after focused ultrasound treatment and Aut Singhchinsuk will conduct in vitro experiments on platelet adhesion to vascular endothelium exposed to the chemicals released as a result of mast cell-macrophage interactions. All together, there will be 10 students (4 Ph.D., 4 M.S., and 2 undergraduate) in the lab in the 2015-2016 AY.
