Two undergraduate students have completed their senior theses this April in the Santerre Lab. Nicole and Melody have both decided to pursue graduate studies this coming Fall. Congratulations to them both and best of luck!

Nicole Machado:

“My thesis project was titled “ Effects of Sodium Ascorbate on the Deposition of Extracellular Matrix Proteins within Scaffolds, Generated by Human Adipose Derived Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Monocytes”. For my thesis I assessed the effect of sodium ascorbate on extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and vascular smooth muscle cell phenotypic marker expression in static vascular grafts over four weeks. A significant enhancement was observed in ECM formation, along with an increase contractile markers of vascular smooth muscle cells. This work will determine optimal conditions required for generating successfully integrated, biomimetic vascular grafts. I have been accepted to the University of Oxford to complete my Master of Research in Oncology in the UK in the fall.”

Mengyuan Melody Li:

“Mengyuan Melody Li has completed her fourth-year thesis “Cytotoxicity evaluation and determination of subcellular localization of ribonucleoprotein (RNP) loaded polyurethane nanoparticles in C2C12 cells” in Dr. Santerre’s lab. Her work in the lab focuses on investigating the cellular uptake of RNP-loaded polyurethane nanoparticles and the uptake mechanisms through time-dependent and inhibition studies. The study can facilitate applications of non-viral polymeric nanoparticles in the systemic delivery of gene editing system into cells and specific tissues. This coming fall 2021, Melody will join Dr. Vasconcelos’s lab to develop vascularized cardiac tissue devices as a Ph.D. student at IBBME, University of Toronto.”