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BTEC undergraduates showcase summer research projects

Published July 29, 2019

Six NC State Engineering majors who have engaged in research projects at BTEC this summer will participate in the university’s 18th Annual Summer Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium. The event takes place from 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1 at the Talley Student Center Ballroom.

As participants in the College of Engineering’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, these students have worked on independent research projects under the guidance of BTEC faculty mentors within the core areas of biomanufacturing: analytical development (e.g., assay development and in-process testing); downstream processing (e.g., chromatographic optimization, process optimization); upstream processing (e.g., cell scale-up and optimization); and cell-line development. Students participating in the symposium are listed below.

• Samantha Gall, a rising junior and chemical engineering major, will present on “Screening and Characterization of Rituximab Producing Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells." Dr. Caroline Smith-Moore served as her internship advisor.
• Karissa Klimek, a rising senior and biomedical engineering, will present on “Green Fluorescent Protein: Studies around the ultrafiltration of process intermediates and the stability of process intermediates.” Dr. Krisstina Burgess served as her advisor on this project.
• Lauren Monroe, a rising junior and chemical engineering major, will present on "Creating a Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell Line for CRISPR Application." She was advised by Dr. Driss Elhanafi.
• Aaron Seekins, also a rising junior and chemical engineering major, will discuss his project, “Affinity Column Lifetime Study for AAV2 Purification.” Dr. Gary Gilleskie served as his internship advisor.
• Rayhaan Siddiqui, a rising junior with a major in chemical engineering and a minor in biomanufacturing, will present on “Fermentation of Robust E. coli BL21(DE3)-gfpuv Cells.” Dr. Charles Rutter advised him on this project.
• Nicholas Sprauer, also a rising junior with a major in chemical engineering and a minor in biomanufacturing, will discuss his project, “Development of a DeltaV Control System for 2L Bioreactor Processes.” Dr. Ryan Barton served as his advisor.

In addition, Mitchell Vanderlaan worked on re-validating CIP protocols for BTEC's large-scale bioreactors and was advised by Dr. Jennifer Pancorbo. He is a rising senior with a major in biomedical engineering, a concentration in biomaterials, and minors in biomanufacturing and tissue engineering. Mary Sharkawy, a rising senior and chemical engineering major, worked on optimization and validation of a high performance liquid chromatography method for the assay of bacitracin in cell culture media. Mr. Brian Mosley served as her mentor.

For more information about the symposium, which is free and open to the public, see https://undergradresearch.dasa.ncsu.edu/18th-annual-nc-state-summer-undergraduate-research-and-creativity-symposium/. For more information about BTEC’s REU program, visit https://www.btec.ncsu.edu/academic/students/reu.php.