Amani M. Ebrahim

College of liberal Arts and Sciences- Polymers Program

Research Project: Synthesis and functionalization of biocompatible polymer for bio-sensing applications.

Amani M. Ebrahim originally from Queens, N.Y., is a PhD candidate in polymer science at the University of Connecticut’s Institute of Materials Science. Her research interest is in the synthesis and modification/functionalization of biocompatible polymers for biosensing applications. The goal of this project is to utilize the naked eye for pathogen detection without the need for robust instrumentation and equipment using liposome/polymeric networks.

Amani was a Research and Teacher Assistant at the City College of New York (CCNY), where she also received her master’s and bachelor’s degree in chemistry, and bachelor’s in chemical engineering. Her research at CCNY was devoted to the synthesis and evaluation of engineered nanomaterials as adsorbents of toxic gases for environmental remediation purposes. She is also a recipient of the National GEM Consortium Fellowship, the National Science Foundation (NSF)-LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship and has received honorable mention for the NSF- Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

As a GEM fellow, she conducted research dedicated to the synthesis of bifunctional chelators and linkers for nuclear imaging and therapy. In collaboration with oncologists at Memorial Sloan Kettering, the projected goal is to utilize the synthesized chelators and linkers as vehicles to deliver radionuclide to cancer sites for medical therapy or imaging by using tailored monoclonal antibodies that effectively and efficiently bind to the linker of choice. Nuclear imaging has been a growing technique in medical procedures- with ongoing research efforts, it can be an extremely beneficial tool for diagnostic imaging, perfecting the deliverance of therapeutic doses, measuring function at the cellular level, and most importantly improving patient care.