Poly senior wins first prize at AIChE national student poster competition

Arjun S. Adhikari BS/MS Candidate

Poly senior Arjun S. Adhikari won first prize at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ (AIChE) annual national student poster competition in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical category. Adhikari’s winning poster, “Detection of ‘Raft Switches’ Using Fluorescence Markers in Rigid Liposome Membranes,” was recognized at AIChE’s annual meeting, held November 4 – 9 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The poster is a snapshot of Adhikari’s research on introducing a new method to evaluate the reversibility of lipid membrane heterogeneities (lipid rafts) in model systems. His research has potential applications in enhanced drug delivery. For example, by forming lipid rafts on liposome membranes, drugs can be better targeted and released within cancer cells, and, in turn, potentially be more effective.

Adhikari, a BS/MS chemical and biological engineering candidate and Honors College fellow, conducts independent research in Poly’s Laboratory for Drug Delivery Systems run by Professor Stavroula Sofou. One of the objectives of the lab’s research is to develop delivery systems that can potentially contribute to the cure for cancer.

Adhikari’s work is supported by the undergraduate research fellowship from NYSTAR within the framework of the J.D. Watson Young Investigator Award.