SLAS Announces Recipients of Tony B. Travel Award Program for SLAS2019

SLAS, the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, has selected 50 students who represent aspiring life sciences professionals to present their research at SLAS2019 as the most recent winners of the SLAS Tony B. Academic Travel Award.

These notable undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and junior faculty
members from 12 countries were selected by an independent panel of judges who evaluated their abstract proposals based on scientific merit and potential impact of the research toward the advancement of life sciences discovery and technology.

As SLAS Tony B. Academic Travel Award winners, they will travel to SLAS2019, February 2-6, in Washington, DC, courtesy of SLAS. In addition to full conference registration (which includes access to more than 140 podium presentations, hundreds of poster presentations, 22 short courses, more than 300 exhibitors, as well as scores of other workshops, meetings and special events), SLAS will provide each winner with roundtrip travel and hotel accommodations.

Listed alphabetically by their home country, the SLAS Tony B. Academic Travel Award winners for
SLAS2019 are:

Argentina
Manuel Llanos, National University of La Plata
In-Silico High-Throughput Screening by Sequentially Combining Machine Learning and Biomolecular Simulations

Australia
Sebastian Eggert, Queensland University of Technology
An Additive Biomanufacturing Platform to Automate 3D Cell Culture and Screen for 3D Biomaterial Properties

Ramya Mandyam, Griffith University
Small Molecule Stimulants of Olfactory Ensheathing Cells for Spinal Cord Injury Repair

Brazil
Cyro Lucas Chagas, Federal University of Goiás
Droplets Generation on Devices Manufactured with 3D Printing for Analysis of Ascorbic Acid in Vitamin Supplement

Canada
Sayyed Nasseri, University of British Columbia
A Novel One-Step Clearing of Micro-Tissues Using Hyperbranched Polyglycerols

Angela Quach, Concordia University (Montreal)
An Automated Gene-Editing Platform for Breast Cancer

China
Williams Kweku Darkwah, China Hohai University
High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) Analysis and Antioxidants Activities of Extract of Azadirachta indica (neem) Leaves

France
Roxane Crouigneau, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
Microfluidic Encapsulation of Pancreatic Islets with Improved Biopolymers for Type 1 Diabetes Cell Therapy

Germany
Mark Doerr, Institute of Biochemistry Uni Greifswald
LARA and SiLA2.0/AnIML – An Integrated Open Source Laboratory Automation Planning and Evaluation Suite

Anna Popova, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Droplet-Microarray — A Universal Miniaturized Platform for Screening of Live Cells in 2D and 3D Environments

David Weigt, Hochschule Mannheim
An Automated, Metabolite-Based MALDI-MS Cell Assay to Monitor Inhibition of an Enzymatic Drug Target

India
Nitin Kumar, Periyar Maniammai University
Gold Nanorod-Based Electrochemical Immunosensor for CA125 Biomarker Detection

Satya Sesha Sai Kira Pindiprolu, Jagadguru Sri Shivarathreeshwara University (JSS)
Death Receptor-5 Mediated Delivery of γ-secretase Inhibitor, DAPT for Silencing Notch Signaling Pathway in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Kanchan Vishwakarma, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad
Silicon and Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacterium Mediated Regulation of Antioxidant Defense and DNA Damage Under Silver Nanoparticle Induced Phytotoxicity in B. Juncea

Poland
Magdalena Bulka, Warsaw University of Technology
The Microfluidic Device for Study the Effectiveness of Chemotherapy Against Ovarian Cancer

Katarzyna Tokarska, Warsaw University of Technology
Multifunctional Lab-on-a-Chip Platform for Controllable Coculture and Cell Migration Analysis

Aleksandra Szuplewska, Warsaw University of Technology
The Influence of Superficial Oxidation Layer on Biological Activity of 2D Ti3C¬2 ¬MXene Monolayers – The in vitro Studies

Singapore
Theodore Kee, National University of Singapore
AID.One: Artificial Intelligence-Driven Dosing for N-of-1 Medicine

David Yeo, Nanyang Technological University
Live-Cell Gene Imaging Nanotechnology for Cells, Tissue and Pre-Clinical Abnormal Scarring Challenges

Switzerland
Magdalena Rausch, University of Geneva
Heterotypic 3D Systems to Accelerate the Drug Screen in Cancer and Predict in vivo Efficacy

United Kingdom
Jessica Taylor, University of Manchester
High-Throughput Combination Screening Reveals Synergism Between Chemotherapeutics and Loratadine in Recurrent Glioblastoma

United States
Mark Ferris, Colorado School of Mines
Ionophore-Based Optode Films with a Phosphorescent Signal for Background-Free Sodium Monitoring

Antra Ganguly, The University of Texas at Dallas
A Passively Addressable Electrochemical Sensor for the Detection of Chloride Ion Levels in Ultralow Volumes of Perspired Human Sweat

Takara Sai Pavan Grandhi, Genomic Institute of Novartis Research Foundation
High-Throughput, Complex Phenotypic Assay Identifies Novel Pro-Invasive Cancer Associated Fibroblast Targets in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Badrinath Jagannath, The University of Texas at Dallas
Unique Sensor Platform for Monitoring of Inflammation in Multi Body Fluids

Shailja Jakhar, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Diagnosis of Tuberculosis by Direct Detection of Mycobacterial Lipoarabinomannan in Patient Serum

Megan Jewell, Colorado School of Mines
Optical Nanosensors for Quantitative Monitoring of 3D Oxygen Gradients in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms

Ramila Joshi, The University of Akron
Stem Cell Colony Interspacing Effect on Differentiation to Neural Cells

Jesse Liang, University of California, Los Angeles
A 3D Hyaluronic Acid-Based Biomaterial Platform for High-Throughput Screening of Glioblastoma

Julie McIntosh, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
3D Paper-Based Tumor Models to Characterize the Relationship Between the Tissue Microenvironment and Multidrug Resistant Phenotypes

Sudip Mondal, The University of Texas at Austin
High-Speed C. elegans Cytometry at 0.8 Million Frames Per Second

Luis Ortiz, Boston University
Toward Standardizing Automated DNA Assembly

Santosh Paidi, Johns Hopkins University
Mechanical Trap Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Live Three-Dimensional Molecular Imaging of Single Cells

Tim Peterson, Washington University
Cell Growth is an Omniphenotype

Christopher Poon, University of Southern California
Multifunctional Peptide Micelle for Monocyte Targeting and Gene Therapy to Reduce Atherosclerosis

Paul Rice, The University of Texas at Dallas
CortiWatch: Wrist Worn Biosensor for Non-Invasive Cortisol Detection

Sameera Sansare, University of Connecticut
Morpho-Molecular Microscopy (3M): Quantitative Assessment of Leukemic Cells

Soumik Siddhanta, Johns Hopkins University
Label-Free SERS Platform for Rapid Screening of Protein-Tethered Drug Molecules

Brittany Spitznagel, Vanderbilt University
A Multiplexed, 1536-Well HTS Format for the Simultaneous Discovery of Modulators of Wild-Type and Epilepsy-Associated Mutant Slack Potassium Channels

Banu Sridharan, The Scripps Research Institute Florida
Utilizing High Content Analysis to Assess Neurotoxicity Using hiPSC-Derived Induced Neuron Models

Ambalika Tanak, University of Texas At Dallas
Effective Point-of-Care Platform for Screening of Sepsis as a Potential Clinical Resource

Andy Tay, Stanford University
Magneto-Mechanical Force Enhancement of Cell Transfection

Ashootosh Tripathi, University of Michigan
Development of a Millennial Drug Discovery Platform Using Microbial Treasure Trove

Pradip Thakuri, The University of Akron
Modeling Adaptive Resistance of KRAS Mutant Colon Cancer Cells to Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Inhibitors Using Tumor Spheroids

Peter Wang, University of California, Los Angeles
Prospective Modulation of Combination Chemotherapy Dosing in a Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Patient using CURATE.AI, an Artificial Intelligence Platform

Xiao Wang, Harvard Medical School
Microfluidic Chemotaxis Plate for High-Throughput and High-Content Analysis of T-Cell Migration

Lindong Weng, Massachusetts General Hospital
On-Chip Microfluidic Denudation of Mammalian Eggs

Chueh-Yu Wu, University of California, Los Angeles
Amphiphilic Particle-Templated Monodisperse Droplet Generation for Democratized Digital Bioassays

Bo Xia, New York University School of Medicine
Single-Cell and Spatial Transcriptomic Profiling of Mammalian Spermatogenesis

Wei-Hsi Yeh, Harvard University and Broad Institute
Developing Methods to Enable Precise and Specific Genome Editing in Living Cells

The SLAS Tony B. Academic Travel Awards program is one of many ways the SLAS Education Fund supports the next generation of life sciences discovery and technology leaders. Opportunities for advancement via the SLAS Graduate Education Fellowship Grant Program, SLAS Visiting Graduate Researcher Program, mentorship program and Career Connections as well as the Student Poster Competition provide a launching pad for young professionals.