Wendy Thomas, UW associate professor of bioengineering, and BioE Ph.D. student Nuttada Panpradist have received 2016 UW Undergraduate Research Mentor awards.
Dr. Thomas and Nuttada are among seven recipients of the award in 2016. Awardees are selected from nominations made by participants in the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Participants are provided the opportunity to nominate their research mentor. Nominations are considered by a small review committee of faculty and staff. Faculty, postdocs, graduate students and research staff are eligible for nomination. Learn more about the Undergraduate Research Symposium and Research Mentor Awards at the UW Undergraduate Research Program website.
Dr. Thomas is well-recognized for teaching and mentoring bioengineering students – in 2016, she received a UW Distinguished Teaching Award and the UW College of Engineering Faculty Award for Teaching. In her research, she studies the regulation of biological adhesion, and her research focuses on the biophysics of catch bonds involved in blood clotting and in bacterial infections. She is a UW BioE Ph.D. alumna (2003) and has been a member of the UW BioE faculty since 2004.
Nuttada is a third year Ph.D. student in Assistant Professor Barry Lutz’s lab, and a 2015 recipient of the BioE Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor Award. Her research focuses on developing diagnostic tests for diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis, and she hopes to increase access to affordable, accessible and sustainable tools that address urgent global health needs. Learn more about Nuttada in a 2014 article written for UW Bioengineering eNews.