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Blanca Lapizco-Encinas

RIT researcher Blanca Lapizco-Encinas found new ways to identify those mutations faster. Resurrecting an older theoretical technique that can be used for analyzing pathogens that cause disease, her work could improve how clinicians develop more effective treatments.

Numerous Rochester Institute of Technology faculty, professors emeriti, and postdoctoral researchers were recognized as top-cited scientists in their fields, according to a Stanford University study published by Elsevier.

The 31st annual Undergraduate Research Symposium on July 28 featured some of the best in undergraduate research ideas and solutions. Research proposals were featured in a series of oral and poster presentations throughout the day. Students who were unable to present their research at the in-person event can showcase their research at the International Day Online Gallery on Aug. 3.

As an expert in microfluidic devices—tiny labs able to decipher bioparticles—Blanca Lapizco-Encinas and her research partners uncovered a mystery in how these particles can be better differentiated. As she has moved her own research forward, she is influencing a new generation of scientists to do the same.

Blanca Lapizco-Encinas, a professor in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering, recently received a National Science Foundation grant for $348,000 to develop a new separation technique to be used in microfluidic devices. 

Ke Du and Blanca Lapizco-Encinas, both faculty-researchers in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering, worked with an international team to collaborate on the design of a next-generation miniature lab device that uses magnetic nano-beads to isolate minute bacterial particles that cause diseases. This new technology improves how clinicians isolate drug-resistant strains of bacterial infections and difficult-to-detect micro-particles such as those making up Ebola and coronaviruses.

While attending the 2019 American Electrophoresis Society (AES) annual meeting at the Scix conference, Nicole Hill, a microsystems engineering doctoral student, received two awards for her research: The Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS) first place Poster Award and the Wiley Innovation Award.

Blanca Lapizco-Encinas, professor of biomedical engineering in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering, was named a Fellow in the inaugural cohort of the I Aspire Leadership Academy. This leadership program aims to help STEM faculty from underrepresented backgrounds attain leadership roles at colleges and universities.