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We’re excited to share some highlights from our annual lab summer party, held this June. This year’s celebration was a potluck with an amazing variety of delicious foods brought by our talented and creative lab members.

We had a fantastic and creative fruit bowl, mouth-watering burgers and hotdogs, buttery corn on the cob, flavorful biryani, crispy egg rolls, and a show-stopping red velvet cake. The spread was a true feast, and everyone enjoyed sampling all the tasty dishes.

Beyond the incredible food, the party was filled with laughter, fun activities, and great conversations. It was a perfect chance for everyone to relax, enjoy each other’s company, and celebrate our achievements together.

We look forward to many more gatherings like this that help us bond as a team and create lasting memories. Here’s to another year of exciting research and good times!

We are thrilled to share another momentous achievement in our lab’s history—the graduation of Qichan Hu, our second PhD student! Qichan has been an integral part of our research community, and her dedication, passion, and hard work have left an indelible mark on our lab.

The Journey:

Qichan embarked on her doctoral journey with us in the Fall of 2019, bringing not only her academic prowess but also a contagious enthusiasm for pushing the boundaries of scientific exploration. Throughout her years with us, she has been a beacon of inspiration for her peers and an invaluable asset to our research endeavors.

Research Contributions:

Qichan’s research has been nothing short of groundbreaking. Her innovative work on the Development of GelMA-Alginate Interpenetrating Network Hydrogel for Establishing an In Vitro Osteoarthritis Model to Screen MMP-13 Inhibitors has not only expanded our understanding of biomaterials but has also garnered recognition within the scientific community. She has published several key papers during her time in the lab, including:

• Screening of MMP-13 Inhibitors Using a GelMA-Alginate Interpenetrating Network Hydrogel-Based Model Mimicking Cytokine-Induced Key Features of Osteoarthritis In Vitro.
• Precision Engineering of Chondrocyte Microenvironments: Investigating the Optimal Reaction Conditions for Type B Gelatin Methacrylate Hydrogel Matrix for TC28a2 Cells.
• Overview of MMP-13 as a Promising Target for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis.

Her contributions have been instrumental in shaping the direction of our lab’s research and will undoubtedly influence the field for years to come.

Collaboration and Leadership:

Beyond her individual achievements, Qichan has been a collaborative force within our lab. She has fostered a culture of teamwork, inspiring fellow students and researchers to work together toward common goals. Her leadership qualities have been evident in several publications, where she spearheaded the manuscript preparation.

Qichan’s Impact:

As Qichan walks across the stage to receive her well-deserved doctoral hood, we reflect on the lasting impact she leaves on our lab. Her resilience, intellectual curiosity, and commitment to excellence have set a high standard for future graduate students to aspire to.

Looking Ahead:

Qichan’s success is a testament to the vibrant research environment we strive to cultivate in our lab. As we celebrate this milestone, we eagerly anticipate the continued success of our graduate students, each contributing to the rich tapestry of discoveries that define our research community.

Join us in extending heartfelt congratulations to Qichan for her remarkable achievement! As she takes the next steps in her career, we are confident that her journey will continue to inspire and shape the future of scientific inquiry.

A very special message from Scrappy!

The fun fact is, that they made this video in our lab, and our very own Jessica Baas is featured in it!

We want to congratulate all our recent graduates from UNT Biomedical Engineering!

Graduates from our lab are:

• Sukhpreet Singh (MS in BMEN)
• Eric Hedrick (MS in BMEN)
• Joy-Anne Najwa Oliver (MS in BMEN)

And our Lab Manager:

• Edward Gates (MS in BMEN)

Congratulation to all of you!

Congratulations to Sukhpreet Singh for successfully defending his Maters’ Thesis on “IN VITRO ELECTROCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF BIOELECTRONIC PROBES”. Sukhpreet was the first M.S. student that did his thesis with our lab and we couldn’t be prouder of his accomplishments.

We are wishing you all the best in your future endeavors!

I am honored that I could be part of the Frisco ISD Independent Study and Mentorship (ISM) program as a mentor.

FISD ISM is a Professional program meant for academically advanced students who go through a rigorous and competitive selection process before being accepted. Within this program students explore their desired field and research about a specific topic and display their knowledge through an original work and product.

Manogna’s potfolio

But let me start from the beginning. Last year in December, I was approached by Manogna Jonnalagadda, an 11th-grade student from Centennial High School in Frisco. She was asking if I was available for an interview, that she wanted to conduct as part of her ISM program to learn more about biomedical engineering. And sure enough, I agreed. During this interview, Manogna told me more about the ISM program and asked me to become her mentor, which I happily did.

Manogna was interested in spinal cord injury and ways to treat that. During her first part of the project (original work), she was doing research on spinal cord injuries and treatments, including spinal cord stimulation, and was creating an interactive website as a helpful guide. For the second part (final product), she was researching nerve conduit devices for nerve repair and was writing a review article to summarize her findings.

During the mentored phase, we had weekly meetings to plan her final product, discuss her findings, review her milestones, and talk about science and engineering. It was a blast for me to see how Manogna managed to accomplish her goals and how her final product came to life, and all this in the midst of a pandemic.

In March, Manogna came to UNT to see our labs and to make her first own polymer. That was our first and only in-person mentor meeting we had, and it was a lot of fun.

At the end of April was the “Final Presentation Night” at Centennial High School and Manogna was presenting her final product. She did an awesome job presenting her work and seemed like she never did anything else in her life. So professional and confident! I was beyond proud to see what she had accomplished and it was a great honor for me to be part of her journey. I would always do it again.

To learn more about this fantastic young woman and her research, please visit her online portfolio.

And here is a link to her final presentation.

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The Univerity of North Texas will host an TEDxEvent:

I am beyond excited to share that I will present a part of our lab’s research at TEDxUNT! I will be speaking about the shape memory polymers that we are working on within our lab. Stay tuned for more details to come.

Topic of the TEDxUNT: Create the Change

When? Friday, Oct. 1, 2021
1-4 p.m

Where? UNT University Union, Denton, TX

Event registration will open in late August.

For more info, please visit the TEDxUNT website or the TEDx website.

We are happy to announce that the Ecker Lab has received seed funding from UNT for a collaborative research project together with Dr. Diana Berman (MTSE), Dr. Tom Cundari (CHEM), and Dr. Jeff Kelber (CHEM).

The project is entitled: “Metal Oxynitrides as Biocompatible Coatings for Medical Device Applications“

The College of Engineering (CENG), College of Science (COS), and the and VPRI office are co-sponsoring targeted seed funding to establish teams of CENG-COS faculty to advance the collection of preliminary data in support of collaborative external research proposal submissions.

I am looking forward to a fruitful collaboration!

A hearty welcome to our new lab members:

• Christine Beauchamp
• Manahil Tariq
• Jessica Baas

They’ll be working on hydrogels to expand our research endeavors.