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Welcome to the Microtechnologies Laboratory for Pediatric Oncology

We aim to advance targeted and precision therapies for pediatric cancers to increase survival rates and minimize life-long impacts of treatment. To uncover new therapeutic targets, we design and apply tools to study changes in molecular interactions at the micro and nano scales of proteins and cells. Our approach integrates micro and nanoengineering, systems & structural biology and biophysics.

Learn more about our research here.

February 2023 Group Photo

News

April 2024: Huge congratulations to Neica on receiving a fellowship from the NSF GRFP!

February 2024: Vlassakis serves as associate track chair, session chair and speaker in the Micro/Nanotechologies Track of the SLAS meeting in Boston.

November 2023: We are happy to welcome bioengineering PhD students Alison Lao and Neica Joseph for their thesis research in the lab!

Vlassakis is selected as a BMES CMBE 2024 Rising Star and will present the lab’s research at the CMBE 2024 meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico in January!

October 2023: Vlassakis is awarded an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award! The award supports the lab’s efforts on “Deep phenotyping of fusion oncoprotein-driven pediatric cancer metastasis with single-cell proteomics”
Project number: 1DP2CA290802-01
https://reporter.nih.gov/search/tqAPqmyRFUCr72wLKQRQNw/project-details/10687394

October 2023: Viraj presents a poster at BMES 2023 in Seattle, WA (with travel support from the BIOE department)!

Vlassakis presents an invited talk in the “Emerging Leaders” session of the American Electrophoresis Society track at SciX in Sparks, NV.

September 2023: Congrats to Viraj Ghosh on his 2nd-place poster award at the Rice University Surface Analysis and SIMS Workshop!

Welcome to our rotation students: Henry Gatica-Gutierrez (SSPB), Katherine Chen (BIOE) and Bakai Sheyitov (BIOE)!

August 2023: Welcome to our new masters student, Carla Canales who will conduct her BIOE MBE research in the lab this year!

Also, welcome to our BIOE rotation students: Jeffrey Venegas, Mehnaz Jahangir, Neica Joseph, Diana Barr and Tinghan Chen!

Congrats to Mel Zhou on winning the first-place undergraduate poster prize at the SCI Research Colloquium!

July 2023: Vlassakis serves as an instructor at the CSHL Single-Cell Analysis Course

June 2023: Vlassakis presents an invited talk and Jocie and Edgar present posters at the GRC on the Physics and Chemistry of Microfluidics in Barga, Italy!

Tanushree Dutta presents a poster at ASMS in Houston!

We are happy to welcome three Rice undergraduates to the lab for summer research: Mel Zhou, Naomi Sahle and Amelia Tsai!

Congratulations to Edgar on passing his thesis proposal exam to become a PhD candidate in ChBE!

Vlassakis selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering’s 2023 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium

May 2023: Congratulations to Jocie and Viraj on passing their thesis proposal exams with flying colors to become the lab’s first PhD candidates!

Vlassakis presents a poster at TAMEST 2023 as a protégé nominated by Dr. Richards-Kortum.

See older news here.

Contact


Email:
vlassakis@rice.edu
Phone: 713-348-2853
Dr. Vlassakis’ Office Address
BRC 819
6500 Main St.
Houston, TX 77030

Laboratory Address
BRC 850
6500 Main St.
Houston, TX 77030