Rebekah Adams

I am currently a PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University in the Mechanical Engineering Department. I am a graduate from Princeton University with a Bachelors of Science and Engineering in Chemical and Biological Engineering with certificates in Engineering Biology and Biophysics. My previous research experiences have focused on fields such as soft matter material science, biophysics, molecular biology, chemistry, and biological modeling. I am co-advised by Professor Taylor and Professor Ozdoganlar. My research objective is to design, fabricate and test a stable DNA-origami-based sensing platform that is capable of providing continuous in vivo physiological measurements.

Current Project

Fabrication and intradermal delivery of DNA-origami nanosensors for continuous physiological monitoring via microneedle arrays.

Research Experience

  • Student Researcher -- Complex Fluids Group (Sept 2019 - May 2021)

    • Completed undergraduate thesis titled, "Computational Study of Microtubule Networks for Cell Division" under Dr. Howard Stone, advised by graduate student Bernardo Gouveia.
    • Applied Langevin dynamics software, Cytosim, and used Ubuntu to run simulations of self-organizing microtubules with motor proteins in confinement. Modelled behavior of microtubules using liquid crystal theory and motor proteins using Brownian motion.
    • Presented novel dimensionless constants highlighting synergy between microtubules, motor proteins and cellular confinement. Highlighted the need to expand model to 3D space to generate spindle structures with multiple, optimal phases of microtubules.

  • Research Intern -- Princeton Environmental Institute (June 2019 - Aug 2019)

    • Worked in lab of Environmental Geochemistry under Dr. Satish Myneni.
    • Used X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and image processing to determine if Deccan Traps paleosol samples are soils based on chemical composition. Plotted concentration gradients of minerals and elements present in soil samples.
    • Project aimed at determining if the samples were capable of providing sufficient information on the paleoclimate. Observed high concentration of metal oxides and minerals, which are expected in highly weathered ancient basaltic soils. Presented project at PEI Summer Colloquium to Princeton peers and professors.

  • Research Intern -- ReMatch+ Summer Research Program (June 2018 - Aug 2018)

    • Worked in lab of Soft Materials in Complex Spaces under Dr. Sujit Datta and Dr. Jeremy H. Cho.
    • Project aimed at describing the morphological and diffusive properties of hydrogels in solidarity and packing configurations.
    • Used microscopy and computational image processing to analyze morphology and diffusion properties of hydrogel. Modelled granular media using hydrogel beads.
    • Demonstrated the relationship between the diffusive behaviors and morphological properties of hydrogels in isolation and packing. Provided insight to coordination of poromechanics and transport behaviors in cracking and self-healing granular media. Presented at the Summer Research Colloquium for incoming freshmen and Princeton faculty. Co-authored paper, "Cracking and Self-Healing in Shrinkable, Granular Packings" for Soft Matter journal in Nature.

  • Student Researcher -- An Integrated Model of Viral Infection and Autoimmune Diabetes (Sept 2014 - June 2017)

    • Project aimed at developing mathematical model to develop a mechanism in which a virus could activate Type 1 diabetes.
    • Worked with University of Professor’s Professor of Medicine Dr. Harvey Rubin.
    • Used Excel and numerical modeling methods to integrate host-pathogen kinetics of Coxsackie B virus, a childhood virus, with immune response kinetics and pathogenesis of autoimmune diabetes. Optimized ODE system of equations model using Python and Mathematica. Student Researcher

Publications

  • Cho, H. J.; Lu, N. B.; Howard, M. P.; Adams, R. A.; Datta, S. S. Crack Formation and Self-Closing in Shrinkable, Granular Packings. Soft Matter 2019, 15 (23), 4689–4702. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9SM00731H.
  • Adams, R. A.; Leon, G.; Miller, N. M.; Reyes, S. P.; Thantrong, C. H.; Thokkadam, A. M.; Lemma, A. S.; Sivaloganathan, D. M.; Wan, X.; Brynildsen, M. P. Rifamycin Antibiotics and the Mechanisms of Their Failure. J Antibiot 2021, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41429-021-00462-x.

Volunteer Service

  • Mentor through Princeton University Biological Sciences Society (Sept 2019 - May 2021)
  • Volunteer for Girl Scouts Badging and Science Demo events through Society of Women Engineers (Sept 2017 - May 2020)

Contact Information

Contact me by email: raadams@andrew.cmu.edu