Joe Ficarrotta

I began working as an undergraduate research student with Dr. Lanier in the Fall of 2018. I worked on developing and characterizing a magnetically triggered polymeric system for the release of human placental proteins in the context of wound healing. I was involved in the tuning of the polymer composition and synthesis to effectively control the passive and triggered release of beneficial placental proteins. I am now an NSF GRF Ph.D. candidate at the University of Virginia, utilizing metabolic modeling and machine learning to elucidate the link between bacterial metabolism and the development of antibiotic resistance. 

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Dr. Lanier is without a doubt the best mentor that I have ever had. She was extremely patient and kind as she taught me the skills and knowledge to thrive in a lab setting. She was willing to set aside time during her busy schedule to teach me all about her projects as well as the lab techniques to get involved in her work. I would not be confident in my abilities to succeed in grad school if it were not for her encouragement and support. I was not planning on going to grad school before working with Dr. Lanier. Her enthusiasm for research is extremely contagious as it sparked my interest and inspired me to pursue my own Ph.D. Her passion and work ethic constantly motivated me to put forth my best effort in the lab. Dr. Lanier’s attentiveness and support for her students always made me feel extremely valued, which is quite rare in my experience. I cherish the time I spent learning from Dr. Lanier and I would not be the researcher I am today without her. I am confident that she will be an outstanding teacher.