Prof. Pompano visited our friends at Virginia Tech in the Department of Bioengineering on October 30, hosted by amazing scientist Prof. Jenny Munson. So much interesting work going on at VT, including the immunomicrofluidics in the Jones and Li labs in Biology!
Live immunostaining paper published
We are very proud of Andrew, Ben, and Jacob for publishing their method for fluorescent immunostaining of living lymph node tissue. Most available methods to label structures in tissue are intended for samples that have been fixed (i.e. killed). We showed that it is possible to get beautiful and informative images of tissue structure while the tissue is still alive, without perturbing key functions such as T cell activation. Check out their work in the Journal of Immunological Methods or on our Publications page.
ACS WCC Career Panel
Prof. Pompano hosted the ACS Women Chemist’s Committee for their annual Career Panel Event on October 4, 2018. We were thrilled to meet three highly successful chemists with all different career histories:
Dr. Bonnie Landy, co-founder and director of brewery operations at Winchester Brew Works in Winchester, VA. BS and MS in Chemical Engineering.
Dr. Linnette Watkins, professor and department head of Chemistry and Biochemistry at James Madison University. PhD in Chemistry.
Ms. Debbie Winetzky, applications chemist and product manager at BIO-CAT in Troy, VA. Over 20 years in the chemical industry across the country.
It was a great experience for the students in attendance. Many thanks for Dr. Stephanie Mabry for organizing!
Peach picking
The Pompano lab took a field trip to Chiles Orchard in Crozet to celebrate a successful summer. Lots of peach cobbler the following week. Yum!
Pompano lab joins the UVA Cancer Center
We are thrilled to be the newest member of the UVA Cancer Center as part of the Immunology & Immunotherapy Program. We look forward to participating in the research of the center and being part of a community that seeks to find treatments and cures for such a devastating set of diseases.
The UVA Cancer Center is one of a prestigious national network of centers supported by the National Cancer Institute at the NIH.
Active Learning for Analytical Chemistry workshop
I was very fortunate to be selected to participate in the NSF-funded Active Learning for Analytical Chemistry workshop, organized by Tom Wenzel of Bates College. Thirty faculty from all over the country met at beautiful Indiana University Bloomington and worked for four days on developing course materials to better engage their students. Many thanks to the facilitators and organizers for sharing their experiences and advice, and to the NSF Education division for funding the workshop. I look forward to applying these activities to my Analytical Chem course this fall.
Public talk at UVA Forward
“A Glimpse into the Chemistry of the Immune System”
It was a special honor to be invited to speak to UVA staff members at their annual professional development event in June 2018. Although the event was meant to inspire the attendees, in the end it was just as inspiring for me! Sharing our lab’s vision, goals, and progress with people from mostly non-science backgrounds, many of whom provide the daily support that make it possible, was a special privilege and a touching reminder of why I am here.
Prof. Pompano named Lab on a Chip Emerging Investigator
Professor Pompano was named an Emerging Investigator by Lab on a Chip, following publication of our article on a movable port for stimulation of slices of live tissue. What an honor! You can read the full interview here.
Lab on a Chip paper published
Congratulations to Meg Catterton for putting out a great paper. You can read about her cool SlipChip for movable stimulation of lymph nodes and other tissue slices online today in Lab on a Chip. This technology enables the user to move a microfluidic port to a desired location under a slice of tissue or 3D culture of cells, and deliver solution just to that spot. We hope it will be useful for many other researchers who are interested in local events in live tissue. Contact us if you are interested in testing it out!
User-defined local stimulation of live tissue through a movable microfluidic port
Welcome Gianna Haskin from Xavier University
We are thrilled to have Gianna Haskin, a rising second year student at Xavier University of Louisiana, join us for summer research this summer. She is participating in the First Year Research Experience (FYRE) program, a nationwide program that sponsors first-time research experiences after the first year of college. Gianna is working on pioneering methods for long term culture of lymph node slices! She has done a great job in her first month, and we look forward to seeing what she achieves by the end of the summer.
