Fall 2026 Seminar Series

October 21, 2026

Mandatory Export Control Training

Patrick Bourgoyne, Compliance Specialist, UNM Provost Office

4:00 p.m., Larrañaga Engineering Auditorium

October 14, 2026

Engineering Heterochiral DNA Strand Displacement Systems for Intracellular Applications

Anshika Mishra, University of New Mexico

4:00 p.m., Larrañaga Engineering Auditorium

Abstract: Toehold mediated strand displacement is a powerful strategy for designing programmable DNA circuits for applications in molecular computation, biosensing and therapeutics. However, existing systems rely on D-DNA based components that are susceptible to nuclease degradation which can limit their stability and utility in biological environments. L-DNA is the chiral form of D-DNA which is resistant to nuclease degradation and offers a more stable alternative to develop nucleic acid-based systems. In this talk, I will present our work on heterochiral DNA systems that combine D- and L-DNA to control strand displacement reactions. I will show how the incorporation of L-DNA regions in strand displacement circuit components can be used to control the reaction kinetics and identify key parameters for designing heterochiral circuits. This work will help us to understand how D- and L-DNA interact during strand displacement, so we can combine the biological compatibility of D-DNA and the nuclease resistance of L-DNA to build novel forms of DNA circuits that are suitable for biological applications.

Bio: Anshika Mishra is a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering at the University of New Mexico, advised by Dr. Matthew Lakin. Her research focuses on DNA computing and the development of heterochiral DNA systems for biological applications. She holds an M.Sc. in Biotechnology from University of Pune, India and an M.Tech. in Bioscience and Bioengineering from Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, India.

Nucleocapsid (NC) proteins can concentrate and chaperone complementary nucleic acids (NAs) to facilitate their transition from single-stranded hairpin (ssh) structures to the canonical double helix

Jacob Belchak, University of New Mexico

4:00 p.m., Larrañaga Engineering Auditorium

Abstract: Nucleocapsid (NC) proteins can concentrate and chaperone complementary nucleic acids (NAs) to facilitate their transition from single-stranded hairpin (ssh) structures to the canonical double helix. Through ensemble analytical ultracentrifugation, circular dichroism, fluorescence quenching measurements, and small-angle x-ray and neutron scattering, we evaluate the chaperone action of E1-40COR30, a fusion protein engineered with DNA-binding elements of an NC protein and an elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) domain that confers capability for temperature-triggered liquid-liquid phase separation. Further, we extend our chaperone technology with H-24, a novel histidine-rich ELP that integrates pH-responsive charge control and phase separation functions into a multicompetent molecule for separable, recyclable DNA manipulation.

Bio: Jacob Belchak is a 5th year PhD student who is jointly advised by Dr. Gabriel Lopez and Dr. Nick Carroll. Born and raised in Albuquerque, he graduated with highest honors from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology with a BS in Chemical Engineering before moving to UNM to pursue a MS in Biomedical Engineering, where he was recruited into the Lopez/Carroll lab for his doctoral work.

October 07, 2026

Pathways linking transportation and health

Lisa L. Losada-Rojas, University of New Mexico

4:00 p.m., Larrañaga Engineering Auditorium

Abstract: How we travel shapes our health long before we reach a clinic. Transportation determines whether people can reach care and healthy food, how safe they are on the road, the air they breathe, and how much they move. This seminar introduces the pathways linking transportation and health and illustrates them with case studies from my group: geographic access to buprenorphine treatment, mobility options for rural and tribal communities in New Mexico, and the use of eye-tracking, ECG, and virtual reality to measure cyclists' experiences of the road. I will close with our newly funded ACCESS Center (Advancing Community-Centered Engineering & Science Solutions for Health) and the themes transportation and biomedical engineering share: measuring the human body in real environments, designing with communities, and translating evidence into practice.

Bio: Lisa L. Losada-Rojas is an assistant professor at the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at the University of New Mexico. Her current research, supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the New Mexico DOT, the University Transportation Center system, and private foundations, focuses on developing transportation solutions that promote community health through behavioral changes. She is currently the Assistant Director of the Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety and a member of the TRB Standing Committee on the Implications of Transportation Choices and Access on Public Health (AQC14).

September 30, 2026

From Observing Dynamic Electrocatalytic Sites to Controlling Reaction Pathways

Qiaowan Chang, Washington State University

4:00 p.m., Larrañaga Engineering Auditorium

Abstract: Electrocatalysis provides a promising platform for sustainable chemical conversion powered by renewable electricity. Under electrochemical conditions, however, catalysts can undergo dynamic structural and electronic evolution, while changes in reactive intermediates can reshape reaction pathways and product selectivity. Understanding these dynamic processes and developing strategies to control them are therefore important for the rational design of electrocatalytic systems.

In this seminar, I will discuss our efforts to establish relationships among catalyst structure, structural evolution, and catalytic performance through controlled materials synthesis, in situ characterization, and theoretical calculations. CO2 electroreduction over metal organic frameworks and ethanol oxidation on Pt nanocubes decorated with isolated Rh atoms will illustrate how changes in local coordination and catalyst structure influence catalytic stability and selectivity. I will then extend this perspective from understanding dynamic catalytic sites to controlling reaction pathways through electrochemical process design. A dual-cathode strategy enables the generation and regulation of reactive oxygen species for methane activation under ambient conditions, where controlled radical chemistry promotes C-C coupling toward liquid oxygenates, including acetic acid. In sum, these studies demonstrate approaches to understanding and controlling electrocatalytic transformations, from dynamic active site evolution to reaction pathway regulation.

Bio: Dr. Qiaowan Chang is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Washington State University. Her research focuses on developing catalytic and electrochemical technologies for the conversion of methane, biogas, and biomass into value added chemicals under ambient conditions, with particular emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) and large language model (LLM) guided catalyst design, programmable control of reactive species, mechanistic understanding via in-situ characterization, and machine learning (ML) guided pulse electrochemical reactor engineering.

Dr. Chang received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego, under the guidance of Prof. Zheng Chen, where she was awarded the Marye Anne Fox Endowed Fellowship in recognition of her distinguished academic achievements. She subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at Columbia University with Prof. Jingguang Chen and Prof. Alissa Park, expanding her expertise in electrocatalysis, carbon conversion, and sustainable chemical processes.

Her research has been recognized through several awards, including the ACS Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator Award, the Voiland School Junior Research Faculty Award, recognition as an Emerging Investigator by the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, and recognition as an Early Career Materials Researcher by MRS Communications. Her research has received support from the U.S. Department of Energy, the ACS Petroleum Research Fund, the National Science Foundation, and Washington State University. She has published broadly in leading journals including the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Communications, ACS Catalysis, Chem Catalysis, and other journals in catalysis and energy research. Her publications have received more than 6,600 citations, with an h index of 22, and she holds one U.S. patent. Her research aims to bridge fundamental understanding of electrocatalytic reactions with scalable technologies for distributed and sustainable chemical manufacturing.

September 23, 2026

Microfluidics-based High-throughput Bioassays & COFs for Water Treatment

Alireza (Ali) Abbaspourrad, Cornell

4:00 p.m., Larrañaga Engineering Auditorium

Abstract: In the first part of this presentation, I will discuss how we can utilize microfluidic platform to design bioassays and devices for cell manipulation to address challenges in infertility. In the second part of my talk, I will describe our approach to synthesize porous materials for gold sequestration from e-wastes and remove PFAS from water.

Bio: Ali holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Isfahan University of Technology in Iran. After 6 years of post-doctoral research on designing microfluidic-based platforms at Harvard University, School of Engineering, in 2015, he joined the Department of Food Science at Cornell University.

He is currently an associate professor at Cornell, leading a group of 42 scientists. In 2023, Ali served as a Vice President of R&D (12 months, full-time) at Fairlife, LLC, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company in Chicago.

He is the co-author of over 310 peer-reviewed publications and holds more than thirty patents and co-founder of three startups in IVF (in vitro fertilization) and antibacterial susceptibility tests platforms. He also serves as science advisor to Bill Gates Foundation, National Dairy Council, CJ Foods, Chick-Fil-A, and IFF.

September 16, 2026

Random Walk to 2D Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Materials

Anand Chamarthy, CEO/Co-Founder, Lab 91 Inc

4:00 p.m., Larrañaga Engineering Auditorium

Abstract: Since graphene's isolation in 2004 showed that atomically thin, stable crystals could be manufactured, researchers have asked which two-dimensional materials might carry that promise into real devices. The 2010 discovery that monolayer MoS₂ has a direct bandgap, unlike its semimetallic bulk parent, reframed transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) as genuine semiconductors and set off a research arc that has increasingly intersected with the semiconductor industry's own scaling roadmap. This talk follows that arc — a random walk in the truest sense — from early exfoliated flakes in university labs to TMD channels now being integrated on 300mm production-format wafers by imec, ASML, TSMC, Intel, and others.

As silicon FinFET and gate-all-around (GAA) nanosheet architectures approach their electrostatic and mobility limits at sub-1nm-class nodes, the industry has looked to sub-1nm-thick 2D channels as one of the few material options that can, in principle, preserve carrier mobility and gate control at these dimensions. I will trace how TMDs moved from IEDM device demonstrations in the mid-2010s into formal roadmap discussions, culminating in their explicit inclusion in imec's logic scaling roadmap and the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS) as a candidate scaling booster and eventual channel-replacement technology.

The current state of the field will be framed around the challenges that stand between lab-scale devices and manufacturable ones: wafer-scale growth of low-defect TMD films; the persistent trade-off between contact resistance and further pitch scaling, challenge in dielectric deposition, and the need for CMOS-compatible, complementary n- and p-type integration flows. I will discuss the June 2026 milestone reported by imec, ASML, and TSMC — the first demonstration of complementary MoS₂ nFETs and WS₂/WSe₂ pFETs at a 50nm contacted poly pitch on a 300mm wafer, patterned with EUV lithography down to 28nm channel lengths and yielding 94% functional devices — as a marker of how close, and how far, the technology remains from foundry adoption.

Finally, I will discuss where TMDs are likely to enter production first — plausibly in back-end-of-line devices rather than front-end logic — and how that nearer-term path relates to the longer-range roadmap positions publicly discussed by imec and reflected in IRDS projections, which place complementary FET (CFET) architectures around the early 2030s and full 2D-channel logic considerably later, in the early 2040s. I will close with an honest assessment of the open questions that will determine whether TMDs become a mainstream logic material or find their first lasting home elsewhere in the technology stack.

Bio: Anand Chamarthy is a technical leader with over a decade directing semiconductor and hardware programs from early-stage R&D through foundry qualification and production deployment, with a focus on two-dimensional materials, analog & RF devices, and AI accelerator technologies. Serves as the primary technical liaison between end customers, defense primes, foundry partners, and equipment-ecosystem collaborators, translating research and customer requirements into qualified engineering programs. Anand is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer for Lab19 Inc. in Austin, TX.

September 9, 2026

Environmental Pollution and Human Liver Disease: Studying the Canaries in a Coal Mine of Hepatic Pathologies

Rama Gullapalli, UNM

4:00 p.m., Larrañaga Engineering Auditorium

Abstract: The global burden of metabolic disease has reached epidemic proportions. In the United States (USA), approximately 40 million individuals (~11–12% of the population) are diagnosed with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and nearly 40% of adults are pre-diabetic emphasizing the growing healthcare burden of metabolic disease. Obesity, insulin resistance, and chronic inflammation are well-established drivers of metabolic (dysfunction) associated liver disease (MASLD). New Mexico is ranked # 1 for chronic liver disease burden in the US. Environmental pollutants are a key risk factor of increasing human metabolic disease burdens including MASLD. Chronic exposures to heavy metal pollutants are an important yet underrecognized contributor to metabolic diseases. Cadmium (Cd), a non-essential heavy metal, is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant that represents a significant public health concern. Due to its exceptionally long biological half-life and poor excretion, Cd progressively accumulates throughout life, particularly in metabolically active organs such as the liver and kidneys. Research in the Gullapalli lab has focused on understanding the role of environmental pollutants (e.g., cadmium, nano- and microplastics) as a driver of human liver metabolic diseases. The Gullapalli lab has established multiple experimental toxicological and imaging protocols to understand environmentally driven MASLD. This talk will focus on environmental pollution driven hepatocellular molecular changes (e.g., insulin resistance, mitochondrial dysfunction and altered lipid metabolism) as key drivers of human metabolic liver diseases.

Bio: Rama Gullapalli, MD, PhD is an associate professor and a physician-scientist in the departments of Pathology, Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of New Mexico (UNM). The Gullapalli research lab is focused on understanding the role of environmental pollutants (e.g., cadmium, microplastics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) as risk factors for hepatobiliary diseases with a focus on metabolic diseases of the liver. On the clinical side, Dr. Gullapalli is interested in the convergence of emerging technologies with traditional pathology clinical practice, with a focus on next generation sequencing, digital pathology, clinical informatics and personalized medicine.

September 2, 2026

Acoustofluidic Trapping of Particles for Improved Separation

Ruben Trujillo, Postdoctoral Fellow, Chemical & Biological Engineering, UNM

4:00 p.m., Larrañaga Engineering Auditorium

Abstract: Separation of micro- and nano-sized particles is necessary for a wide range of processes including water purification and biological sample preparation. However, current separation techniques such as ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and ultracentrifugation generally require high pressures, membrane replacement, high energy input, and can be limited to batch processes. There is a growing need for scalable isolation technologies that enable efficient, label-free isolation of micro- to nano-scale particles from complex media. Acoustophoresis is a technique that applies an acoustic wave via mechanical vibration to a fluid under laminar flow, creating pressure gradients that directly manipulate particles flowing in media. In the Graves Lab, we leverage acoustophoretic systems to not only manipulate particle flow, but to additionally trap and isolate these particles from solution. In our most recent work, we demonstrated the successful trapping of particles (>90% removal) in a novel acoustofluidic device using a stainless-steel wire placed in the center of a cylindrical capillary. Future work will continue to expand on this foundational study, and improve upon acoustofluidic devices for the capturing of nanoparticles.

Bio: Ruben Trujillo received a B.S. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from The University of New Mexico in 2019. Ruben completed his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University in 2024 where he studied polymer microgel systems for osteoarthritis treatment under Dr. David Putnam. Ruben is now a postdoc in Dr. Steven Graves’ lab in the Chemical and Biological Engineering department at UNM, working on microfluidic systems and separating particles using acoustic waves. Throughout his academic career, Ruben was named an NSF-GRFP Fellow, a Cornell Engineering Commercialization Fellow, and is now an ASERT-IRACDA Postdoctoral Fellow. Additionally, Ruben has participated in and received entrepreneurial funding through the NSF Innovation Corps program, the Cornell Ignite Acceleration program, and the UNM Rainforest Pitch Deck competition.

Computational and Experimental Study of Turn-On Luminescence of Amyloid- Targeting Oligomeric p-Phenylene Ethynylenes

Benjamin Fetrow, NSME PhD student, advised by Eva Chi

4:00 p.m., Larrañaga Engineering Auditorium

Abstract: The interaction between oligomeric p-phenylene ethynylenes (OPE) and amyloid beta oligomers involved in Alzheimer’s disease have been well documented, but the mechanisms underlying the turn-on behavior are complex and poorly understood. Initial work suggests that OPE undergoes aggregation-induced emission on the protein. This work studies the mechanisms of restriction of internal motion, intramolecular charge transfer, and coherent exciton formation through combined experimental and computational methods. We conclude that the initial direction of aggregation-induced emission was misguided, and that OPE-protein interactions are better characterized as aggregation-caused quenching partially disabled by protein binding.

Bio: I am a sixth year PhD student, co-advised by Professors Eva Chi and Will Bricker. I have an undergraduate degree in chemistry from UNM. In 2020, I began my graduate research synthesizing OPEs for my project and have since moved to a combined experimental and computational study of these molecules. I’ve been awarded the Griffith Fellowship in 2022, founded and ran the CBE student journal club from 2023-2024, and was one of the winners of the ACS 2025 Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting poster awards.

August 26, 2026

Keynote Address: Lipid Nanoparticles for Overcoming Biological Barriers to RNA Delivery

Michael J. Mitchell, Ph.D., Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

4:00 p.m., Larrañaga Engineering Auditorium

Abstract: Recent years have witnessed tremendous developments and breakthroughs in the field of RNA-based therapeutics and vaccines. The distinct mechanisms of exogenous RNAs and analogs, including messenger RNAs, small interfering RNAs, microRNAs, and antisense oligonucleotides, have brought them unprecedented potential to treat a variety of pathological conditions. However, the widespread application of RNA therapeutics and vaccines is hampered by their intrinsic features (e.g., instability, large size, and dense negative charge) and formidable host barriers. Development of safe and efficient vectors is key for successful delivery and translation of RNA therapeutics and vaccines. In this talk, I will discuss our efforts towards the development of new lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that enable the delivery of RNA therapeutics and vaccines to target cells and tissues in vivo. Furthermore, I will describe new therapeutic strategies utilizing these LNPs for (i) mRNA delivery to solid tumors for cancer immunotherapy, (ii) in vivo reprogramming of immune cells for in situ CAR T cell engineering, (iii) targeting the placenta to treat deadly pregnancy disorders.

Bio: Michael J. Mitchell is the Hibbert Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Lipid Nanoparticle Delivery Systems Group Leader at the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation. He received a BE in Biomedical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in 2009, a PhD in Biomedical Engineering with Prof. Michael King from Cornell University in 2014. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Chemical Engineering with Prof. Robert Langer at MIT from 2014-2017, prior to pursuing his independent career at University of Pennsylvania in 2018. Mitchell is an internationally recognized expert in lipid nanoparticle technologies for the delivery of mRNA and other genetic medicines. His interdisciplinary research bridges biomaterials science, drug delivery and molecular engineering, with applications ranging from cancer immunotherapy and vaccines, genome editing, aging, cardiovascular disease, and fetal and maternal therapeutics.

Mitchell has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications, including those in Nature, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Materials, Nature Chemistry, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Cancer and Nature Biomedical Engineering. He is an inventor on over 80 pending or awarded patents, and is a co-founder and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of numerous biotechnology companies focused on developing non-viral delivery technologies for genetic medicines. His work has earned numerous distinctions, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, Penn’s Emerging Inventor of the Year Award and Young Investigator Awards from the Society for Biomaterials and the Controlled Release Society. He has also been twice-designated a Clarivate World’s Top 0.1% Highly Cited Researcher, elected a Fellow of the Controlled Release Society, and received the Kabiller Rising Star Award.

August 19, 2026

Mandatory Safety Training

Fernando Garzon and Geoff Courtin, UNM

4:00 p.m., Larrañaga Engineering Auditorium