Dr. Pompano and Ashley Ross had a successful trip to Pittcon 2017 in Chicago, IL earlier this month. Dr. Pompano co-hosted a symposium entitled "Microanalytical Techniques for Immunology" alongside Christopher Love (MIT), in the first immunology-focused session at Pittcon, to our knowlege. Ashley presented an oral presentation on her newest work, using a microfluidic method to quantify diffusion of cytokines through lymph node tissue. Look for the publication soon.
Virginia Piedmont Regional Science Fair
Both Meg and Maura participated as judges for the Virginia Piedmont Regional Science Fair. The fair was held on March 9, 2017 at John Paul Jones arena in Charlottesville Virginia and hosted students from all over central Virginia. This is a great event that allows both middle and high school students to showcase their creativity and scientific skills. More information on the fair and how to get involved can be found here
Analyst Cover
Our article entitled "Spatially resolved microfluidic stimulation of lymphoid tissue ex vivo" has been printed in The Analyst and has been featured on the cover!
A PDF version of the full text of the publication can be accessed here.
Dr. Pompano goes to Richmond capitol
On January 12, 2017, the first Thursday of the legislative session, Colleen Taylor (faculty at Virginia State) and Rebecca Pompano (UVA) participated in Virginia Higher Education Advocacy Day at the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond. The theme of the day was “Hands off Higher Education -- Maintaining Commonwealth Support for Higher Education.”
As faculty, we urged our state delegates and senators to resist the temptation to cut funds further from public education: state funding per student already declined by 46% and 31% for 4-year and community colleges respectively, from FY 2001 to FY 2014.(1) Funding for education directly affects the quality of science training that Virginia students receive to prepare them for future careers and active citizenship.
We especially thank Charlottesville's Delegate David Toscano for taking the time to meet with us. We appreciate his strong ongoing support for higher education.
1. D. Toscano, “Politics and The Great Cost Shift in State-Funded Higher Education.” Virginia General Assembly Update. October 20, 2016.
From left: Brian Turner (Randolph-Macon College), Colleen Taylor (Virginia State), Rebecca Pompano (UVA), Gerry Sherayko (Randolph College, President of VA Conference of American Association of University Professors)
Quote visible on the wall of VA state capitol: "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government." --Thomas Jefferson, 1789.
Welcome Austin!
The Pompano lab is happy to welcome Austin Dunn as a new first year graduate student! Welcome to the lab and we all look forward to working with you!
Paper Publication!
Congrats to Dr. Ashley Ross, Maura Belanger, and Jacob Woodroof for publishing the first paper of the Pompano Lab. The paper is entitled "Spatially resolved microfluidic stimulation of lymphoid tissue ex vivo" and can be found by clicking the link. This paper is published in The Analyst.
MicroTAS in Dublin!
Dr. Pompano and Dr. Ross both attended this year's MicroTAS conference in Dublin, Ireland! MicroTAS is a world-wide microfluidics conference where Dr. Ross presented on the local stimulation device.
Dr. Pompano took part in the outreach program.
Overall it was a great conference and we look forward to many more in the coming months!
Welcome Hannah Freeman!
The Pompano lab is participating in a new summer research opportunity, the First Year Research Experience (FYRE). This program gives underclassmen from underrepresented groups in the sciences an opportunity to experience research early in their collegiate careers. Through this program we welcome Hannah Freeman of Dillard University in New Orleans! We look forward to all the great work you'll do this summer Hannah!
For more information about the FYRE program please click here
Dr. Ashley Ross Selected for AAI Postdoctoral Fellowship
Dr. Ashley Ross has been selected for postdoctoral funding through a 2016 AAI Careers in Immunology Fellowship to Prof. Pompano! This program from the American Association of Immunologists supports the career development of AAI members and trainees. This award focus on a new project at the interface of microfluidics and neuroimmunology. Congrats Ashley!
Welcome Dr. Sangjo Shim!
The Pompano lab is pleased to welcome Dr. Sangjo Shim! Sangjo comes to the lab with a rich background in biomedical engineering and microfluidics expertise. He earned his Ph.D. in 2014 from the Univeristy of Texas, Austin school of biomedical engineering. Welcome to the lab!
