NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2013

PRFB奖学金：利用新型显微工具开发纳米粒子传感器纳米材料通常与生物配体功能化，以使其能够用作生物活性传感器。然而，纳米生物相互作用的复杂性知之甚少，这阻碍了设计基于纳米材料的传感器。为了满足同时研究纳米粒子和生物分子的需要，提案获奖者将为此目的构建一种新型仪器。该仪器将用于高灵敏度合成传感器的表征，其制备取决于适当的生物分子-纳米颗粒缀合。基于纳米粒子-生物分子杂化物的合成传感器的设计对于需要高特异性传感工具的领域是有希望的，例如细胞内分子的无标记检测、廉价的医疗诊断工具和纳米级治疗。要做的工作的一个重要子集将致力于获奖者的更广泛的影响？的研究建议。获奖者将参加会议委员会，致力于通过点对点指导促进少数群体参与科学。为了提高人们对当地科学代表性不足的认识，获奖者将在马萨诸塞州理工学院设立一个促进奇卡诺人和美洲土著人协会（SACNAS）的分会。通过麻省理工学院的SACNAS，获奖者将组织和领导鼓励大学预科学生考虑STEM职业的活动。最后，获奖者将撰写并提交一份资助金，以举办一次以低维纳米材料和纳米结构为主题的国际会议。本次会议将侧重于通过鼓励在资源有限的国家开展纳米材料科学的讨论，增加北美，中美洲和南美洲研究人员之间的对话。

PRFB FELLOWSHIP: DEVELOPMENT OF NANOPARTICLE-BASED SENSORS WITH A NOVEL MICROSCOPIC TOOL Nanomaterials are often functionalized with biological ligands to enable their use as sensors of biological activity. However, the intricacies of nano-bio interactions are poorly understood, which hampers designing nanomaterial-based sensors. To fill the need for the simultaneous study of nanoparticles and biomolecules, the proposal awardee will construct a novel instrument for such a purpose. This instrument will be used for the characterization of high-sensitivity synthetic sensors, whose preparation depends on proper biomolecule-nanoparticle conjugation. The design of synthetic sensors based on nanoparticle-biomolecule hybrids is promising for areas in need of high-specificity sensing tools, such as label-free detection of molecules within a cell, inexpensive medical diagnostic tools, and nanoscale therapeutics. A significant subset of the work to be done will be dedicated to the broader impacts of the awardee?s research proposal. The awardee will participate in conference committees dedicated to advancing the participation of minority groups in science via peer-to-peer mentorship. To increase awareness of underrepresentation in the sciences locally, the awardee will found a chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans (SACNAS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Through SACNAS at MIT, the awardee will organize and lead activities that encourage pre-college students to consider careers in STEM. Lastly, the awardee will write and submit a grant to hold an international conference on the topic of low-dimensional nanomaterials and nanostructures. This conference will focus on increasing dialogue between researchers in North, Central, and South America by encouraging discussions in nanomaterial science that can be carried out in resource-limited countries.