Albert Tulli IV is a Graduate Student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Connecticut. 

 

As a third year doctoral candidate, Tulli’s research investigates 3D cell cultures in liquid crystalline polymeric materials. 

 

He works with liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs), a material commercially used in electrical displays, for the benefit of controlling the orientational alignment on a molecular level. 

 

Tulli is looking to apply this technology to tissue engineering and 3D cell culture as a whole. He utilizes extracellular matrix (ECM), along with the LCPs, to synthetically replicate certain environmental factors. Through these changes, he can determine how cells behave in different conditions.

 

Before that, Tulli interned for Pfizer, where he worked on small molecule formulation development and drug product design. His project has unique potential in pediatric applications as well as older patient ranges. 

 

Going forward, he plans to remain in the field of pharmaceuticals, but hopes to shift his focus to biological systems. His preference is to work with biologics and potentially keep a focus on three-dimensional culture or tissue engineering

 

As John Lof Leadership Academy’s current President, Tulli organizes weekly E-board meetings, as well as events and workshops held throughout the semester. He supervises members of the E-board and maintains correspondence with outside speakers, organizations and faculty.

 

Allison Surian is a second-year Biomedical Engineering Masters Candidate specializing in nanomedicine. 

 

She obtained her Bachelors in Biology and Chemistry at Roger Williams University, while minoring in Mathematics. At that time, she worked in the Aquatic Diagnostic Lab, where she developed a new assay for detecting a parasite in oysters. 

 

Surian also has experience as a vet technician at the New England Equine Practice, where she was surprised to learn how vast the discrepancies are between medicine involvement in humans and animals. She hopes to someday work within veterinary pharmaceuticals to combat this. 

 

Surian’s current research aims to treat diseases like cancer and osteoarthritis through a specialized form of gene delivery. She is working to develop a vehicle which would efficiently deliver drugs to tissues with little vasculature. 

 

This vehicle should penetrate spheroids of cancer cells, delivering chemotherapeutic drugs directly to cancerous tissue. In this way, healthy cells would remain virtually unaffected, mitigating the harsh side effects of cancer treatment. 

 

In other words, the broad range of Surian’s research involves gene delivery within hard-to-reach tissue. We call the vehicle behind it all “Janus Base Nanotubes.” 

 

As Public Relations Director on John Lof’s E-board, Surian has had the opportunity to connect with many different people from a diverse set of backgrounds. 

 

She recently chaired the Teamwork workshop, where she led all “different types of people, with different schedules and priorities.” When reflecting on this, she remarked, “it was so exciting to see it come to fruition.”

  

 

 

Uchenna Anene is a final-year PhD candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Her background is multidisciplinary, with an added focus in Chemistry, Biology and Materials Science. 

 

Her current research uses computational methods based on quantum mechanics and machine learning to model different material properties at the atomic level, such as adsorption and adhesion. These are used to guide and accelerate the design and development of new materials. 

 

Such facilitates design strategies of metal-organic framework STAM-17-OEt for gas adsorption, as well as an understanding of the properties needed for strong epoxy-copper adhesion to prevent delamination on electronic devices.

 

Ultimately, Anene’s research implements computational studies to guide new scientific discoveries that improve our health and the way we live.

 

Outside of research, Anene is active in several communities, including the American Chemical Society (ACS), NOBCChE, Engineering Diversity and Outreach Center (EDOC), and the Learning Community Innovation Zone (LCIZ) Makerspace. The latter provides hands-on learning that assists in creative ideas, problem-solving and prototyping. 

 

As a LCIZ Makerspace Fellow, Anene works with the undergraduate Maker Specialists to develop workshops that include soap making, laser cutting, sewing, constructing heat pads, masks, and wiring electronics. She enjoys working with undergraduates to “bring them into the space,” and “get them excited about being curious.”

 

She co-chaired the LCIZ 2021 Women in Making: Global Making Forum, which highlighted the successes and challenges of the Women Maker movement. The forum identified barriers and discussed best practices through an array of panel discussion and skill-building workshops.

 

She co-developed a seminar for the 2021 Women’s Advance Conference that touched upon the same topics.

 

Anene has also had a hand in the development and instruction of a course for underrepresented women in STEM, ‘BOSS LADI.’ This acronym is short for ‘Building Our Sistas’ Strength, Leveraging Adversity, Diversity and Intellect.’ 

 

The course aims to increase retention and ensure the overall success of UConn’s female STEM students by providing the tools necessary to help them develop positive STEM identities, excel as student-leaders and transition to graduate school.

 

Anene enjoys participating in projects designed to implement positive change and increase awareness of the barriers faced by women. In engaging the UConn community with guest speakers and panel discussions, Anene has helped to provide strategies that overcome these barriers.

 

Throughout the course of her academic career, Anene has been the recipient of several accolades. One of the more memorable, however, is the George Sideris Student Travel Award that she received during her master’s program at Long Island University to attend the ACS national conference.

 

This allowed her the opportunity to interact with other scientists from various backgrounds, and gave her the confidence to start applying to PhD programs. 

 

Last summer, Anene completed an internship with the pharma company Merck, where she utilized computational modeling to determine drug candidates for COVID-19. This computational background blends nicely into Anene’s most recent internship opportunity with Genentech, which applies similar tools to build drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic models. 

 

As a second-year member of John Lof, Anene has developed greatly as a student-researcher. She maintains that the Academy has helped her to “gather the resources necessary to grow and empower.” She says, “I know how to be effective in whatever I do.”

 

 

 

Mikayla Moody is a third year PhD student at the University of Connecticut, where she currently engages with biomaterials in the field of biomedical engineering. 

 

Throughout her academic career, Moody has been the recipient of countless awards, fellowships and stipends. There’s a lot to be proud of. But some of these most memorable moments were never saved on paper. 

 

At her undergraduate graduation, Moody was selected by classmates to deliver a speech during the ceremony, and was later awarded ‘Most Distinguished Senior’ in the department of Materials Science and Engineering.

 

She describes of this experience, “It was a shock. I realized that I was capable of doing things I’d never thought possible before…and that maybe I wasn’t giving myself enough credit for all the work I’d done.” 

 

And work she does. Moody’s current research focus aims to understand how acidosis affects bones structurally and mechanically. This ‘secondary disease’ has been glossed over for some time now, despite its wide-reaching effect.

 

As a result, she has put together a treatment study of her own creation. By this, Moody plans to analyze the effectiveness of current treatment plans in increasing bone strength. Meaning, she hopes to quantify the effect of bicarbonate on our bones. 

 

In the future, Moody plans to enter into science policy and communications. She hopes to engage more with politicians and the general public, so as to “create more science-based decisions, and inform on public and climate health decisions.” 

 

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there, which I want to help with.” Moody’s experience in the lab translates to hospitals and other medical facilities, which can then be communicated to the public, allowing for a safer, stronger future. 

 

That being said, she didn’t always see herself working in public communication. John Lof strengthened her skills as a leader, helping Moody to make great connections and network with a variety of people and groups.

 

Now she’s John Lof’s first Social Media Director, where she spends a great deal of time raising awareness of the program, all while connecting with the community. 

 

She aims to make the Academy visible to communities outside of UConn, in hopes that other universities will develop similar programs for graduate engineers.