EBS Seminar: Functional Nanomaterials for Biomedical and Environmental Applications

Title: Functional Nanomaterials for Biomedical and Environmental Applications

Speaker: Wassana Yantasee

Location: OHSU West Campus
20000 N.W. Walker Road on Von Neumann Drive
Paul Clayton Building, Room PC401

Dr. Wassana Yantasee is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Biomedical Engineering, OHSU School of Medicine.

She received her Ph.D. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Oregon State University and also received an M.B.A. from OSU. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Chulalongkorn University.

Following her Ph.D., she joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) where she was the principal investigator on a project to develop a rapid, portable and inexpensive detection system that identifies personal exposures to toxic lead and other dangerous heavy metals. The device can provide an accurate blood sample measurement from a simple finger prick.

Her research interests focus on nanomaterials (functionalized mesoporous silica and functionalized magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles) in environmental and biomedical applications. For environmental applications, the nanomaterials are used in water treatment and sensing devices for toxic metals and radionuclides. For biomedical applications, they are used in sorbent dialysis and hemoperfusion, as well as oral chelation therapies for toxic metals and dirty bomb components. Her research has been sponsored by the DOE, CDC/NIOSH, and NIH (NIEHS, NIAID, and NIGMS).