Education
BS, Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers University, 2018
PhD Candidate, Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers University, 2018-present
(click to enlarge)Research Interests
Drug Delivery, Polymer Synthesis, Automation, Machine Learning, Nano & Micro Biological Interface
Research Summary
The last decade has seen a significant increase in the use of polymers for biological applications from drug delivery vehicles to materials for tissue engineering. Combinatorial libraries are chemical libraries with a large array of structurally and chemically diverse compounds, which are then used for screening individual interactions with biological targets. My goal is to leverage recent oxygen tolerant polymerization chemistries such as PET-RAFT to develop an automated synthesis platform for combinatorial polymer libraries. My research has focused on the adaptation of a liquid handling robotic system that allows the user to design nanoscale polymers using a graphic user interface (GUI) developed in Python. This interface allows for the customization of chemical parameters such as polymer size, material, and post-functionalization using click chemistry techniques. The aim of developing this platform, is for it to become a tool for high throughput synthesis of easily customizable polymers for various biological interfaces. Current work utilizing this platform has been focused on exploring the interaction of random heteropolymers with enzymes in destabilizing environments (high temperature, extreme pH, organic solvents) to retain enzymatic activity. The future goals of this work are to bring a big data approach to biological testing and leverage the ability to create combinatorial libraries of polymers in high throughput fashion. The application of machine learning techniques and high-throughput characterization will be aimed at exploring the relationship between structure and activity between diverse polymers and their biological interactions.
Awards & Honors
NIH Rutgers-UMDNJ Biotechnology Training Fellowship, 2019-2021
NSF-GRFP Honorable Mention, 2020
US DoEd GAANN Fellowship in Precision and Personalized Medicine, 2018-2019
Publications
Kosuri S, Borca CH, Mugnier H, Tamasi M, Patel RA, Perez I, Kumar S, Finkel Z, Schloss R, Cai L, Yarmush ML, Webb MA, Gormley AJ. Machine-Assisted discovery of chondroitinase ABC complexes toward sustained neural regeneration. Adv Healthcare Mater. 2022; e2102101. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202102101. (Online ahead of print)
Upadhya R, Kosuri S, Tamasi M, Meyer T, Atta S, Webb M, Gormley AJ. Automation and data-driven design of polymer therapeutics. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2021. PMCID: PMC8127395.
Tamasi M, Kosuri S, Distefano J, Gormley AJ. Automation of controlled/living polymerization. Adv Intell Syst. 2020.PMCID: PMC Journal - In Process
Representative Graduate Courses Taken
Nano and Micro Biointerfaces
Advanced Biotechnology Topics
Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering
Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Science and Technology
Bioimaging Methods
Kinetics, Thermodynamics and Transport
Drug Delivery
Leadership & Outreach
Rutgers Educational Athlete Development Initiative (READI) – Co-Founder & Mentor (2017 – Present)