Author: Gianna Busch Major: Biomedical Engineering

During the fall semester of 2020, I worked in the biomedical engineering research lab of Dr. Kyle Quinn.  Although there were many restrictions on my ability to be in the research center, I was still able to accomplish a lot. Dr. Quinn’s lab focuses on using multiphoton microscopy (MPM) to analyze and improve wound healing techniques. My project involves a collaboration with Dr. Kumar’s and Dr. Chen’s labs, both in the department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.  Dr. Kumar’s lab is developing engineered forms of the protein fibroblast growth factor-1 (FGF-1), which are potential wound healing therapeutics.  Dr. Chen’s lab is developing biodegradable hydrogels for protein delivery.  Due to the restrictions caused by COVID-19, I was unable to conduct another in vivo animal study this semester. Instead, I have been taking advantage of the bank of tissue samples I have from the studies I conducted last semester. I have spent the semester sectioning tissue samples and mounting them on slides, as well as imaging the slides with the Quinn lab’s multiphoton microscope. I have also begun processing and analyzing the image data to evaluate the optical redox ratio – a potential biomarker of wound healing – at day 10 post-wounding.

Although this semester was restricted, I was still able to present my work at the annual Biomedical Engineering Society meeting. The meeting was virtual this year, but I still felt that I was able to learn and experience a lot and had a fantastic time “attending” the conference. I gave an oral presentation over my work in Dr. Quinn’s lab entitled “Monitoring FGF1-Treated Skin Wounds with Label-Free Multiphoton Microscopy” and a poster presentation over my summer research in Dr. Marklein’s lab through the University of Georgia’s NanoBio REU entitled “Tracking Morphological Features of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells to Evaluate Immunosuppressive Potential.” I learned a lot from the process of putting together both an oral presentation and a poster with my mentors. I also enjoyed getting to explain my research to other people at the conference, as well as learning more about the innovative research happening in other subfields of biomedical engineering.

Along with my BMES presentations, I also participated in the first Undergraduate Research Poster Competition at the University of Arkansas and placed first in the Engineering category. My poster was entitled “Monitoring FGF1-Treated Skin Wounds with Label-Free Multiphoton Microscopy” and was based off of the same material as my BMES oral presentation. Despite not being able to present my poster in person, I still learned a lot from the process of putting together the poster. Condensing my ten-minute BMES talk into a three minute audio was a challenging process, but I developed my ability to evaluate the key components of my research. I also learned a lot about the pros and cons of the oral presentation and poster formats and how to optimize the content for each.

I also spent part of this semester preparing applications for graduate schools and scholarship programs. I worked closely with the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards – meeting with Dr. McCray every week from May to November – to prepare my scholarship applications. Although I did not receive a Marshall or a Rhodes Scholarship, the process of putting together these applications streamlined the process of applying to graduate schools, which I did by myself. In addition, I contacted a professor at the University of Oxford and applied there, something I might never have done without applying for the Marshall and the Rhodes. Although I would have enjoyed getting the opportunity to interview, these experiences showed me how to look for the silver lining in everything and appreciate that something good can still come from a rejection. I also applied to the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program and have not yet heard anything on that yet or any of the graduate schools I applied to. I am excited to start my PhD in biomedical engineering and looking forward to figuring out where I will be going next.