Among the incoming class of doctoral students are Elizabeth Bullard and Latifah Maasarani, who were named part of the 2021 NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowships Program. Both will focus on optics in Dr. Kristen Maitland’s lab; however, their approaches and background vary.
Bullard’s interests involve imaging in the intestinal system. Past projects include using a spectroscopy probe to measure blood oxygenation and hemoglobin content in the colon for monitoring cancer. As part of her doctoral program, she hopes to work with the vet school to create an endoscopic system for imaging nanoparticles in colon cancer.
She has also applied the technology to ulcerative colitis, an autoimmune intestinal disease, to detect signs of healing in ulcers.
“It’s such a difficult disease to manage, and I think there’s so much more that we can do in that area,” Bullard said.
Maasarani aims to become a biotechnical entrepreneur and has wanted to pursue a Ph.D. since she started on her engineering journey.
“I think that there’s more for me to learn; there are more skills for me to develop, and I just believe there’s more that I want to do to prepare myself to be a leader in my field,” she said.
Maasarani’s research focuses on quantitative phase imaging, an imaging method where pixel values in an image quantify how light slows down as it passes through a sample. The technique could be used concurrently with qualitative imaging techniques to better understand cell properties.
Latifah Maasarani also received the 2021 National Excellence Fellow position from the department. This award supports doctoral students who intend to pursue translational research.