Nickolas Boroda of Massapequa Publishes Biomedical Research

2015 Dec 14

Hofstra University senior bioengineering student, Nickolas Boroda from Massapequa, NY, has co-authored a paper published in the latest issue of Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering. To publish a study in a peer-reviewed journal as an undergraduate student is a prestigious and uncommon achievement. The article was reviewed and approved for publication by multiple scientists in the field. Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering is an official journal of the Biomedical Engineering Society, publishing original research that advances the study and control of mechanical, chemical, and electrical processes of the cell.

"A Parallel-Plate Flow Chamber for Mechanical Characterization of Endothelial Cells Exposed to Laminar Shear Stress," is the result of work Boroda conducted over the summers of 2014 and 2015 in collaboration with Dr. Sina Rabbany, Acting Dean of Hofstra's School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS). Additional collaborators were Engineering Department Laboratory Supervisor Seth Rosenberg and Adjunct Instructor Andrew K. Wong. Funding provided by SEAS Advisory Board member Paul Saueracker '78 provided Boroda with the financial means to remain at Hofstra to conduct research over the past two summers.

The paper presents a design for a new device and demonstrates its effectiveness. The device is a specialized parallel-plate flow chamber which is compatible with atomic force microscopy applications. The parallel-plate flow chamber recapitulates the microenvironmental conditions within blood vessels and allows scientists to conduct experiments under these conditions. Boroda worked extensively with an atomic force microscope and other state-of-the-art equipment in Dr. Rabbany's Cell and Tissue Engineering Laboratory.