RESEARCH INTERESTS
Doreen has engineered material systems to study structure-property and structure-function relationships in polymers, from elastomeric networks to carriers for drug delivery. She has developed anti-biofouling polyacrylamide hydrogel formulations and assessed their performance on biosensors. She is interested in further developing materials through characterization, refinement and application of polymer formulations under a variety of different conditions and applications.
EDUCATION
PhD, Chemistry, Stanford University - June 2020
BS, Chemistry, California Institute of Technology - March 2015
HONORS, AWARDS, and SCHOLARSHIPS
NDSEG Predoctoral Scholarship, 2015-2018
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Jun 2015 - Aug 2015
Research Advisors: Dr. Aimee Reynolds and Dr. Cameron Lee
Working alongside an interdisciplinary team, Doreen developed novel hydrogel formulations for small molecule delivery and applications in wound healing and inner ear delivery.
Department of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Caltech, Mar 2013 - Mar 2015
Research Advisor: Prof. David A. Tirrell
Doreen studied the swelling and mechanical behavior of triblock telechelic protein hydrogels.
Department of Biomolecular Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Jun 2014 - Aug 2014
Research Advisor: Prof. Shine Kondoh
The work focused on the development a murine model of bone metastasis and investigated several cell lines.
Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, Jun 2013 - Aug 2013
Research Advisor: Prof. Luis Campos
Doreen optimized biomolecule patterning on nanostructure surfaces to induce stem cell differentiation.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, Jun 2012 - Aug 2012
Research Advisor: Prof. Tarek Fahmy
Doreen examined the paracrine effect of interleukin-2 delivered from artificial antigen-presenting cells on naive and artificial lymphocytes.
ABOUT
Doreen grew up in the isolated suburbs of Maryland before moving to the west coast, mostly for the sunshine and good food, but also for the science. While studying Chemistry at Caltech, she worked with Prof. Dave Tirrell on the mechanical properties of protein hydrogels. Her passion for traveling brought her to different lab around the work during the summers, where she worked on material systems for biological applications. She moved to NorCal to pursue a PhD in Chemistry at Stanford, where she continues her work on biomaterials. Out of the lab, she is often found exploring the city or pursuing her other hobbies of spinning, painting, and cooking. She is an ESFP.