David Cliffel

Dr. Cliffel's research group was established at Vanderbilt in September 2000, after he left a post-doctoral assistantship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 

Juan Tuberquia

Juan came to the Cliffel lab in 2011 after completing his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt in Chemical Engineering with Dr. Kane Jennings.

Danielle W. Kimmel

Danielle received her BS in chemistry with a concentration in biochemistry at the University of Louisville in 2007. She earned her MS in chemistry from Vanderbilt University in 2009 studying secondary metabolites produced by bacterial species. Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate using the multianalyte microphysiometer to study the dynamic metabolism of macrophages undergoing various types of activation and oxidative stress. Additionally, she is screening the metabolic influence of potential therapeutics on lung cancer cells.

Gongping Chen

Gongping Chen came to Vanderbilt University after working for a few years at Arch Chemicals Inc. (China) as a chemist in a microbiology lab. In 2005, she received her bachelor’s degree from Nanjing University in Applied Chemistry. Her hometown is Baotou, in Inner Mongolia of China. Her research focuses on the development of a disposable insulin sensor through the imaging of islets with the SECM.

Matt Casey

Hailing from Little Rock, Arkansas, Matt received his B.A. in Chemistry in
Spring 2009 from Hendrix College in nearby Conway, AR. His work focuses on
the development of a Au/VO2 nanomaterial that can be used for catalysis
reactions and then further developed into a component for a novel sensor designed
for safe detection and decomposition of TNT.

Mandy Agrawal

Mandy received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of South Carolina in May 2009. After joining the Cliffel group in March 2010, her research has centered on the development and in vivo analysis of immunoreactive gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). As prime candidates for drug delivery agents, multiple biologically relevant molecules can be easily attached to the particle surface. Mandy is interested in comparing AuNP scaffolds and AuNPs functionalized to be biorecognition mimics in mouse models to determine if an immune response can be generated.

Mika Meschievitz

Mika, originally from Rochester Hills, MI, joined the Cliffel group in 2010 after receiving a B.S in chemistry from Middle Tennessee State University in Spring 2009. Her current research focuses on using multianalyte microphysiometry to study the metabolic effects of bacteria-host interactions.

Dave Crisostomo

David joined the Cliffel group in January 2011. Originally from Pleasanton, California, he joined Vanderbilt University in 2010 after receiving a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame. His current work involves research into the electrochemical properties of metal nanoparticles and their use in molecular circuits.

Gabriel LeBlanc

Gabriel joined the Cliffel group after graduating from Lyon College with a B.S. in Chemistry in 2010. His research focuses on the integration of photo-active membrane proteins with various electrode materials for solar energy conversion. The charge separation that occurs in these proteins during photosynthesis occurs at nearly perfect efficiency. By incorporating these biological materials in solar conversion devices we hope to replace less efficient inorganic materials as a platform for cheap and renewable solar devices that are truly "green".

Evan Gizzie

Evan received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Central Florida in 2011. His current research with Photosystem II (PSII) aims to maximize the oxygen-evolution ability of the enzyme as well as elongate the lifetime of this unique protein. PSII’s high quantum efficiency in-vivo makes it an enzyme of great interest to bioelectrochemists. Evan’s ultimate goal is to explore the possibility of interfacing PSII with bacterial hydrogenases to create a biologically driven route for hydrogen gas production.

 

Tesniem Shinawi

Tesniem Shinawi is an undergraduate at Vanderbilt, who joined the group at the beginning of 2009. She has recently entered the Systems Biology and Bioengineering Undergraduate Research Experience (SyBBURE).She is working with Jennifer on the multianalyte microphysiometer and is measuring the effects that fluorescent dyes have on PC-12 cells.