Christopher L. Smith, a PhD candidate from Murfreesboro, TN, has received a 2011 UNCF/Merck Graduate Science Research Dissertation Fellowship. The fellowships help African American graduate students complete coursework, conduct research, and prepare the dissertation required for a doctoral degree in the biomedically relevant life or physical sciences.
Christopher is conducting a collaborative project with primary mentor, Andre Levchenko, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and co-mentor, Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, M.D. Christopher’s research utilizes adult stem cells from human fat to treat brain cancer. Specifically, he is attempting to enhance the ability of stem cells to localize to tumor sites and deliver therapeutic agents. His experimental approach employs novel micro- and nanotechnology.