Jacinta C. Conrad | |
---|---|
Born | Eugene, Oregon, USA |
Academic background | |
Education | SB, Mathematics, 1999, University of Chicago M.A. Physics, 2002, PhD, 2005, Harvard University |
Thesis | Mechanical response and dynamic arrest in colloidal glasses and gels (2005) |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Houston |
Jacinta Carmel Conrad is an American soft matter physicist. She is the Frank M. Tiller Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Houston. Conrad was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society in 2022 for "experimental contributions to understanding nanoparticle dynamics,bacterial adhesion,and colloid-polymer mixtures,using advanced microscopy and light scattering techniques."
Conrad was raised in Eugene,Oregon,USA,where she attended South Eugene High School. As a senior,she was a finalist for the Westinghouse science final,becoming one of two Oregonians in a decade to make the finals of the national contest. [1] Conrad later stated that she became involved in science in part because of a "transformative research experience" in high school. [2] Following high school,Conrad enrolled at the University of Chicago for her undergraduate degree in mathematics. Upon graduating in 1999,she then enrolled at Harvard University for her master's degree and PhD. Upon earning her PhD,Conrad completed her post-doctoral research position at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2009. [3]
Following her post-doctoral work,Conrad joined the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Houston in 2010 as an assistant professor. [4] In this role,she continued to expand on her postdoctoral research by publishing a paper detailing a then-newly discovered method that bacteria used to move. Her research team found that Pilus were used by some bacteria to pull themselves upright and "walk" across a surface. [5] She later built on this finding by discovering that the bacteria used the pili as grappling hooks by employing them in a "slingshot" motion to move. [4] Conrad's research into new methods of bacteria motility and movement earned her the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2012. The award granted her five years of funding to study how bacteria movement influences the formation of biofilms,colonies of bacteria that are extremely difficult to remove once they have formed. [6]
Conrad's work in colloid and interfacial science earned her funding from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Her funding was aimed at determining how the use of dispersants to break up an oil spill affects the natural cleaning role played by bacteria. [7] As the Ernest J. and Barbara Henley Associate Professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering,Conrad became a UH Energy Fellow and received a UH Women and Gender Resource Center Distinguished Faculty Scholar award. [8] In 2021,as the Frank M. Tiller Professor,Conrad was elected a Fellow of the Society of Rheology. [9]
Conrad was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society in 2022 for "experimental contributions to understanding nanoparticle dynamics,bacterial adhesion,and colloid-polymer mixtures,using advanced microscopy and light scattering techniques." [10]
Shewanella oneidensis is a bacterium notable for its ability to reduce metal ions and live in environments with or without oxygen. This proteobacterium was first isolated from Lake Oneida,NY in 1988,hence its name.
Michael Elmhirst Cates is a British physicist. He is the 19th Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and has held this position since 1 July 2015. He was previously Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh,and has held a Royal Society Research Professorship since 2007.
David J. Pine is an American physicist who has made contributions in the field of soft matter physics,including studies on colloids,polymers,surfactant systems,and granular materials. He is Professor of Physics in the NYU College of Arts and Science and Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.
Dominique Langevin is a French researcher in physical chemistry. She is research director at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique and leads the liquid interface group in the Laboratory of Solid State Physics at the University of Paris-Sud. She was the Life and Physical Sciences Panel chair for the European Space Sciences Committee of the European Science Foundation from 2013-2021.
Belinda Carlene Ferrari is an Australian microbiologist who specialises in the genetics and ecology of soil bacteria and fungi,particularly in polar regions. She is an associate professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences,where she heads a microbiology laboratory.
Orlin D. Velev is the INVISTA Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University. He is best known for his work in soft matter,colloid science,and nanoscience.
Jessica O. Winter is an American bioengineer. She is a Professor of Chemical,Biomolecular,and Biomedical Engineering and an Associate Director of the MRSEC Center for Emergent Materials at the Ohio State University. Her research interests include nanoparticles for cancer imaging,diagnostics,and drug delivery;and cell migration in the brain tumor microenvironment. In 2021,she was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering,Biomedical Engineering Society,and Royal Society of Chemistry.
Irshad Hussain is a Pakistani Scientist in the field of chemistry and among the few pioneers to initiate nanomaterials research in Pakistan.
Twitching motility is a form of crawling bacterial motility used to move over surfaces. Twitching is mediated by the activity of hair-like filaments called type IV pili which extend from the cell's exterior,bind to surrounding solid substrates and retract,pulling the cell forwards in a manner similar to the action of a grappling hook. The name twitching motility is derived from the characteristic jerky and irregular motions of individual cells when viewed under the microscope. It has been observed in many bacterial species,but is most well studied in Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Myxococcus xanthus. Active movement mediated by the twitching system has been shown to be an important component of the pathogenic mechanisms of several species.
Nicola Stanley-Wall FRSE FRSB is a Professor of Microbiology in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee who works on the molecular mechanism of biofilm formation. Her laboratory investigates how bacteria come together to form social communities called biofilms. More specifically,her research analyses the way the molecules in the biofilm matrix provide support and protection to biofilms formed by the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis.
Cynthia B. Whitchurch is an Australian microbiologist. Whitchurch is a research group leader at the Quadram Institute on the Norwich Research Park in the United Kingdom and was previously the founding director of the Microbial Imaging Facility and a Research Group Leader in the Institute of Infection,Immunity and Innovation at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in New South Wales.
Eva M. Harth FRSC is a German-American polymer scientist and researcher,and a fellow of both the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Chemical Society. She is a full professor at the University of Houston and director of the Welch Center for Excellence in Polymer Chemistry.
Joy Wolfram is a Finnish nanoscientist. She is known for her pioneering work in nanomedicine concerning the treatment of cancer,cardiovascular diseases and other life-threatening illnesses. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland,in the school of Chemical Engineering and the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. She was the forefront of the Extracellular Vesicles and Nanomedicine laboratory at Mayo Clinic. She is also an affiliate faculty member at Houston Methodist Hospital's Department of Nanomedecine. Wolfram sits as a scientific advisor and as a board member of several biotechnology companies around the world.
Surita Bhatia is an American chemist who is Professor and Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs at Stony Brook University. Her work considers the structure of soft materials,including polymeric hydrogels and colloidal glasses. She was elected Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers,the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the Society of Rheology in 2020.
Gemma Reguera is a Spanish-American microbiologist and professor at Michigan State University. She is the editor-in-chief of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology and was elected fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2019. She is the recipient of the 2022 Alice C. Evans Award for Advancement of Women from the American Society for Microbiology. Her lab's research is focused on electrical properties of metal-reducing microorganisms.
Lynn Walker is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research considers the rheology of complex fluids and how nanostructure impacts the behavior of complex systems. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers,the Society of Rheology,and the American Physical Society.
Arezoo M. Ardekani is an Iranian-American physicist who is a professor at Purdue University. Her research considers the flow of complex fluids. She was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2020 and a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2022.
Elena P. Ivanova is a nanobiotechnologist/biophysicist,academic,and author. She is a Distinguished Professor at RMIT University,Australia. She is most known for her research on biomaterials and bioengineering,focusing on biomimetics antimicrobial nanostructured surfaces.
Lori Lee Burrows is a Canadian microbiologist. She is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Microbe-Surface Interactions at McMaster University.
For the Australian former rowing coxswain,see Megan Robertson.