The Roper Group
Back Row, Left to Right: Liaoran Cao, Bowei Li, Dennis Bennett, Chris Baker, Tuan Truong, Xinyu Zhang
Front Row, Left to Right: Alix Grimley, Anna Lomazney, Cindy Duong, Dr. Mike Roper, Emarndeena Haji Cheteh (Click Here for previous group pictures)
Michael Roper, Principal Investigator
University of Texas at Austin - B.S. Chemistry (1998)
University of Florida - Ph.D. Chemistry (2003)
University of Virginia - Postdoctoral Fellowship
Christelle Guillo, Research Scientist
University Paris XI, Orsay, France - D.U.T. (1997)
Kingston University, Kingston-Upon-Thames, UK (2000) - B.Sc. Medicinal Chemistry (2000)
King’s College London, London, UK - Ph.D. Chemistry (2004)
University of Virginia - Postdoctoral Fellowship
My research interests include the design of new analytical methods and microfluidic technologies to measure the secretion of multiple analytes from cells simultaneously. One project has involved the development of a two-color electrophoretic immunoassay for the simultaneous detection of insulin and glucagon from islets of Langerhans. Another project aims at developing new methods to investigate the role of leptin on islet physiology.
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Graduate Students
Chris Baker
Wayne State University - B.S. Chemistry (2006)
Hometowns - Detroit, MI / London, England
I was born in the UK and grew up in Canada, but Detroit is really where my heart is. I love Tigers baseball, traveling, sailing and craft brewing. Prior to joining the Roper group I was a contract chemist working in the specialty petrochemical industry in Houston, TX.
My research interests include the development of a microfluidic platform for the selection of aptamers, and the application of those aptamers to CE and microchip immunoassays.
Cindy Duong
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill - B.S. Chemistry (2005)
Hometown - Charlotte, NC
Prior to joining Dr. Roper's group, I worked for Cirrus Pharm, Inc.
in Raleigh, NC.
My Current research focuses on developing microfluidic device to perform real-time derivitization of fatty acids to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) to investigate fatty acid signaling
Anna Lomasney
University of West Florida - B.S. Chemistry (1998)
University of West Florida - M.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction (2002)
Hometown - Pensacola, FL
I taught high school chemistry for 5 years and hope to work in industry after earning my Ph.D. I like to quilt, read science fiction novels, and ride my scooter.
My research project is a proteomics study of insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells. We are specifically interested in the proteins that have the post-translational modification O-linked-N-Acetylglucosamine, which is a ubiquitous regulatory mechanism similar to phosphorylation.
Supriya Mathur
Xinyu Zhang
Anhui Normal University - B.S. Chemistry Education (2001)
University of Science and Technology of China - M.E. Materials Physics and Chemistry (2004)
Hometown - Bengbu, Anhui, China
I always hope to do a little faster and better.
My research involves the development of microfluidic perfusion devices for automated delivery of reagents in cell secretory dynamics research
Alix Grimley
College of Charleston - B.S. Biochemistry (2007)
College of Charleston - B.A. Chemistry (2007)
Hometown - Greenville, SC
I love Charleston, dancing, reading and the Beatles. My undergraduate research was in metalloenzymes at CofC. When I complete my graduate work I hope to work in the pharmaceutical industry.
My research involves the study of transcription factors which may be affected by type II diabetes.
Undergraduate Students
Ashley Sidebottom
Liaoran Cao
Fudan University, China - B.S. Chemistry (2007)
Hometown - Shanghai, China
My Current research focuses on developing multi-analyte microfluidic device to perform independent control of the dilution of multiple samples. Reactions with tiny amount of reactants might run on this kind of device.
Roper Lab Alumni
Carla Garcia
Dennis Bennett
Rhode Island College - B.S. Chemistry (2008)
Hometown: Bristol, RI
I'm from Rhode Island, the greatest state in the country. At RIC, I researched the correlation between logP values and HPLC retention times for arylphosphonium salts, a class of cytotoxic compounds known to specifically target ovarian cancer cells in vitro. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling as much as possible and learning new languages. I hope to go into academia after graduating.
My research involves developing microfluidic immunoassays to simultaneously detect insulin and glucagon secretion from Islets of Langerhans in real-time.
Tuan Truong
Western Washington University- B.S. Chemistry (2008)
Hometown : Tacoma, WA
I love the outdoors including fishing, going to the beach, and camping. Bowling, table tennis, and tennis are a few of my favorite sport activities. My undergraduate research was in cyclopropanation reactions.
My current research project is on solvent resistance microfluidic system. PDMS is widely use for microfluidic system but swells in most organic solvents. Our research is to work toward a membrane or coating that would be inert to these organic solvents to run organic reactions.
Joseph Duren Jr.
Currently studying at Clemson University
Currently living in Potsdam, New York
Currently studying at Indiana University
Bowei Li, Postdoctoral Researcher
Xiamen University, China－B.S. Chemistry （2001）
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Acadamy of Science, China－ Ph.D. Analytical Chemistry（2009）
Hometown –Wulumuqi and Weihai，China
My research interests focus on miniaturizing and developing biological assays on microfluidic devices. The prime project aims to develop higher sensitivity and low-cost immuno-PCR assay method for the detection of leptin from islets of Langerhans. Another project is to do some investigations about leptin by using droplet technology.