Congratulations! Dr. Lee Blaney
2020 George L. Braude Award Recipient
American Chemical Society honors UMBC’s Lee Blaney for commitment to mentoring student researchers
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | OCTOBER 28, 2020 | MEGAN HANKS
Last Thursday, UMBC’s Lee Blaney was honored for his impact as a chemistry educator and mentor who closely involves students of all levels in collaborative research. Blaney is an associate professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering. He received the 2020 George L. Braude Award from the Maryland section of the American Chemical Society. Blaney was nominated for the award by Mark Marten, chair of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering at UMBC. During the virtual meeting of the society, Blaney presented his research on the occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern in the Chesapeake Bay.
Blaney said that he was honored and humbled to receive the 2020 George L. Braude Award for his efforts to mentor undergraduate and graduate students in research. During his lecture, Blaney emphasized the impact of his own mentors on his mentoring approach, and said that his mentors Arup SenGupta (Lehigh University), Desmond Lawler (University of Texas at Austin), and Lynn Katz (University of Texas at Austin) changed his life. Blaney has incorporated their advice and his own experiences into his mentoring approach at UMBC. “Seeing my students succeed is the most gratifying aspect of being a professor,” he says.
Even though the event could not be held in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of Blaney’s students were able to attend the virtual lecture. Blaney noted that the presence of his students made the celebration even more special. Upon receiving the Braude Award, Blaney emphasized that “this is our award” to his students.
Man receiving award from woman. Both are wearing masks.
Lee Blaney, left, receiving his award from Louise Hellwig of Morgan State University. Photo courtesy of Hellwig.
Mamatha Hopanna Ph.D. ‘22, environmental engineering, who conducts research in Blaney’s lab, the virtual lecture. “I am amazed by how much he cares to support each student’s learning style and needs. I have always felt his sincerity, commitment, and enthusiasm towards his students’ success,” she said. “It is so encouraging to see Dr. Blaney celebrate each of his achievements as our achievements. I, personally, aspire to be a mentor to inspire and motivate other students in the same way as Dr. Blaney has inspired me.”
SEPTEMBER 2, 2020 12:23 PM
by SARAH HANSEN
CBEE, CUERE, GES, RESEARCH
There is an essential resource constantly flowing beneath our feet: groundwater. Urban denizens may not think about it often, or at all, because they don’t rely on wells, “but it’s still there,” says hydrologist Claire Welty, and it’s critical to understanding the health of urban ecosystems.
Welty is director of UMBC’s Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education (
CUERE) and a professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering. Groundwater is just one piece of a complicated puzzle that she and her team will work to put together over the next five years. A $4.8 million Critical Zone Collaborative Network grant from the National Science Foundation will make the large-scale project possible. The grant will support researchers at UMBC and eight other institutions that are part of the UMBC-led Urban Critical Zone Cluster.
Welty’s team will explore Earth’s critical zone, which extends from the tops of trees to the base of weathered bedrock, in urban centers along the Eastern Seaboard. In particular, they’re interested in how natural, geological processes occurring below the Earth’s surface and human-driven processes interact. Human influences include road salt application, polluted stormwater runoff, and soil-disturbing construction. These factors can all significantly influence urban water quality, water chemistry, and weathering processes.
Most Critical Zone grants are for work in more pristine wilderness areas, because the added effects of urban processes make the research more complicated. But, Welty says, “that’s the most interesting part.”
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SEPTEMBER 2, 2020 12:23 PM by SARAH HANSEN CBEE, CUERE, GES, RESEARCH There is an essential resource constantly flowing beneath our feet: groundwater. Urban denizens may not think about it...
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Wed, 02 Sep 2020 13:16:20 -0400
UMBC’s Dipanjan Pan receives two NIH grants
continuing rapid COVID-19 testing research
Dipanjan Pan, professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering, has received two new grants from the National Institutes of Health to support research poised to improve COVID-19 testing.
Pan and his team recently developed an experimental diagnostic test to rapidly detect the novel coronavirus causing COVID-19, potentially as early as the first day of infection. The test shows results visually, through a color change visible with the naked eye when the virus is present. Their preliminary results were published in the journal ACS Nano, and the biosensors behind this work have generated substantial academic and commercial interest.
Pan received funding from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) to support the development of a mediated colorimetric biosensor. This technology greatly reduces the possibility of misinterpreting the results of COVID-19 sensing tests.
“These awards are very timely. Two back-to-back grants from NIBIB will help me to further develop and optimize the technology and help cover the cost for conducting a clinical study for validation purposes,” says Pan. “The key here is the fine balance between the accuracy of the results and the ability of the testing platform to provide a rapid response.”
The second grant will support Pan’s work to develop a COVID-19 diagnostic platform that will work like a home-based glucometer. Currently, with limitations in sample collection and transportation, it often takes several days for patients to receive their COVID-19 test results. The delay between when the test is taken and when the results are available can lead to the continued spread of the virus.
To reduce the time between when a person takes a COVID-19 test and receives their results, Pan will develop a test that includes an electrochemical biosensor that can detect the virus in about 3 minutes. If patients can receive their results within minutes of taking the test, Pan notes, they can quickly self-isolate and avoid exposing others to the virus.
Pan explains that the test will limit the possibility for inaccurate results. “We adopted a molecularly targeted approach to detect RNA from the virus. Since every living organism has unique RNA, targeting a distinctive genetic material of COVID-19 causative virus SARS-CoV-2 ensures remarkable accuracy and specificity,” he says.
In addition to his appointment at UMBC, Pan is a professor of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine and pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine as part of his dual appointment with the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
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SOURCE: UMBC NEWS | JULY 23, 2020 | MEGAN HANKS Dipanjan Pan, professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering, has received two new grants from the National Institutes of...
https://news.umbc.edu/umbcs-dipanjan-pan-receives-two-nih-grants-to-continue-rapid-covid-19-testing-research/
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UMBC’s Dipanjan Pan develops rapid diagnostic test for virus
Excerpt from UMBC NEWS | SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
JUNE 9, 2020 11:23 AM
MEGAN HANKS
A team led by UMBC’s
Dipanjan Pan has developed an experimental diagnostic test to rapidly detect the novel coronavirus causing COVID-19, potentially as early as the first day of infection. Researchers designed the test to show results visually, through a color change visible with the naked eye when the virus is present. Unlike other tests, it does not require advanced laboratory techniques or tools. The American Chemical Society recently published their paper on the technique in the journal
ACS Nano.
Pan is both a professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering at UMBC and professor of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine and pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). His co-authors included UMSOM Pan Lab researchers Parikshit Moitra and Maha Alafeef, and UMBC faculty research assistant Ketan Dighe. The work also included Matthew B. Frieman, a UMSOM faculty member from the Virology Institute.
From sample to results in ten minutes
Like some other diagnostic tests, this one starts with a nasal swab or saliva sample. After the sample is retrieved, a technician extracts RNA from it through a 10-minute process. This process then uses a biosensor molecule attached to gold nanoparticles to detect a particular protein unique to the virus. When the molecule attaches to the protein, the gold nanoparticles respond by causing a chemical used in the test to turn blue.
As recent media reports have revealed, current tests that are used to diagnose COVID-19 are not always reliable, with high rates of false negatives and false positives. Pan hopes the design of this new diagnostic test will avoid some of these pitfalls.
“Many of the diagnostic tests currently on the market cannot detect the virus until several days after infection. For this reason, they have a significant rate of false negative results,” he explains. A test that can detect the presence of the virus sooner after infection would avoid this issue.
