Scholar News

ARCS MWC Scholar Alum John Hickey, who is now an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, received an Early Career Research Grant from the Human Frontier Science Program. John and his collaborators aim to understand how cytokines, growth factors and other small, soluble molecules, can direct cell behavior...

ARCS MWC 2024-25 Co-President Patty Sparrell was featured in the May ARCS National newsletter! The article highlights her commitment to science through her involvement in major volunteer roles – with the ARCS Foundation National, the ARCS Metro Washington Chapter, and as a trustee at Russell Sage College. Read the full article here.

Ariel Slepyan – Willard and Marilynn Sweetser Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate
Electrical & Computer Engineering
John Hopkins University

Research: 
My research is focused on developing ‘CS-Skin’, a next-generation touch sensor mimicking the acuity of human skin. CS-Skin boasts a large area, numerous sensors, and fast response times, replicating...

Sydney Shannon – Virginia Lukasik Memorial Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate
Biomedical Engineering
John Hopkins University

Research: 
Gene therapies are transforming treatment approaches for many human diseases; but current approaches can be very costly and not available for all patients. This research focuses on engineering novel biomaterials that incorporate...

Emily Cheung – MWC Endowment Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate
Biomedical Engineering
George Washington University

Research: 
To develop a novel therapy that provides targeted activation of specific neuron populations in the brain to mitigate progression of cardiovascular diseases that have higher prevalence in women. I use high-speed optical mapping techniques...

Patrick Banner – MWC 55th Anniversary Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate
Physics
University of Maryland

Research: 
This research spans atomic, optical, and detector physics. The primary research uses strongly interacting atoms to make light and matter interact in ways that can be used for both studies of fundamental few-body...

Prachi Shah - MWC Chapter Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate
Biology
Georgetown University

Research: 
Memory and forgetting are highly regulated biological processes fundamental for animal survival in an ever-changing environment. This project aims to understand the neurobiological basis of retrograde amnesia induced by different insults. This research requires the...

DaVonne Henry – Hesse Endowment Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate
Physics
Georgetown University

Research: 
Combining single-molecule magnets (SMMs) with graphene nanodevices can lead to high-density data storage or quantum computing applications. Using nanofabrication techniques, I create highly responsive devices that can be used to perform measurements on SMMs. Electrical...

Alexander Lu – Mulford Endowment Scholar
1st Year Scholar, MD/PhD candidate, Biomedical Engineering
Johns Hopkins University

Research: 
Surgeons use a variety of imaging systems to guide diagnostics and interventions; patient movement during imaging is often unavoidable and can substantially distort the images. This current research combines machine learning with physics-driven...

Najwa Labban – Danaher Foundation Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate, Biomedical Engineering
University of Virginia

Research: 
Most breast cancers are treated with surgery, radiation, and hormone therapy, but not all women respond equally to these therapies. This research uses breast cancer cells from patients to engineer tumor “organoids” that...