Alexandra Arteaga
MS Molecular Biology (New Mexico State University, 2013)
I received my BS in Biology with a minor in mathematics from the University of Texas at El Paso in May of 2010. I also received my MS in Molecular Biology from New Mexico State University in May 2013. I am currently in the MS program, but pursuing to get a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas. I joined Dr. Rodrigues’ BONE lab in the spring of 2018. My current work focuses on analyzing metals that are commonly used in orthopedics in simulated diabetic environments. In the near future, my work will focus on characterizing surfaces of retrieved orthopedic/dental implants through in vitro testing by using spectroscopic, microscopic and electrochemical techniques. This work will help us better understand reasons why implants have a higher failure rate in diabetic patients, and can lead to surface modifications for more successful osseous healing. In my free time, I like to play tennis, swim, lift weights, and ride my motorcycle.
Bhuvana Lakkasetter Chandrashekar
MS Bioengineering (University of Texas at Dallas, 2020)
I received my BS in Medical Electronics from Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in 2016, India, Bangalore. I'm currently working towards my Masters in Biomedical Engineering here at UT Dallas. I have been a part of Dr. Rodrigues' Lab since summer 2018. I will be working on Re-passivation of titanium surfaces post detoxification with citric acid and also the biological effects of the same. In my free time I enjoy singing, sketching and playing flute. It has been very exciting to be a part of this lab and I'm looking forward to learn more!
Sareda Schramm
MS Biology (California State University, 2018)
I began working in a microbiology lab during my time as an undergraduate at California State University Fullerton. I enjoyed the projects immensely and my mentor Dr. Soledad Ramirez encouraged me to continue my work as a Masters student. During my masters I was given the opportunity to move to Jena Germany to start a collaboration project with Dr. Loren Tuschscherr de Hauschopp at the Institute for Medical Microbiology. The project involved working with both mammalian and bacterial cells and I greatly enjoyed the new challenge. When starting my PhD program at The University of Texas at Dallas Dr. Palmer and Dr. Rodrigues presented a collaboration project where I would be able to utilize the skills I gained in Germany. The laboratory experience and lessons learned working on collaboration projects will ultimately help me achieve my career goal of working for the United States government in biodefense research. Time spent outside of the lab is occupied with fishing, wakesurfing, paddle boarding and being an activist for rescue dogs.
Shruti Natarajan
BS Biology (UTD, 2020)
Hello! My name is Shruti Natarajan and I began to work under Dr. Rodrigues' lab as a Clark Scholar in Summer 2016. I began working with growing cell culture on titanium plates and observing cellular responses. Currently, I am currently pursuing a DDS degree at Texas A&M University in Dallas. I love to play piano, and travel around the world. I also work as a lifeguard and am an active American Red Cross volunteer. I am excited to do more dental research under Dr. Rodrigues in these upcoming years!
Krishna Prajapati
BS Biomedical Engineering (Parul University, India, 2020)
I did my B.Tech in Biomedical Engineering from Parul University, India. During my undergraduate I was highly motivated to do research. Keeping my interests in mind I decided to join Dr. Rodrigues’ lab in Spring 2022 while pursuing my Master’s Degree at UTD. Currently, I am working on finding if there exists any correlation between patient related factors to that of early and late dental implant failures based of patient data. I am excited to learn more from everyone here and work on more interesting projects in the future!
Anthony Reyes
BS Biomedical Engineering (UTD, 2020)
I received my BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas in December 2020. I'm currently working towards my master’s in biomedical engineering here at UT Dallas. I joined the BONE lab in Spring 2022 and have been eager to learn as much as I could in the lab. My current work focuses on identifying surface characteristics of surface treated implants to improve corrosion resistance in diabetic environments. In my free time, I enjoy working on projects with my 3d printer, playing video games, and playing the blues on the harmonica. I look forward to being able to learn more from Dr. Rodrigues and the rest of the BONE lab.
Shrutha Shabarish
BS Chemical Engineering (BMS College of Engineering, India, 2009)
I received my BS in Chemical engineering in 2009 from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore, India. I have worked in IT industry for 3.5 years, and currently pursuing MS in Materials Science Engineering here at UT Dallas. I started working at the Bioengineering lab headed by Dr.Rodrigues for dental and orthopedic implants in May 2022. My work is mainly focused on studying the impact of different kinds of dental cements on Titanium implants in restoration treatments using characterization techniques, and also study the electrochemical properties of titanium surfaces coated with dental cements using Electrochemical testing technique. In my free time, I like dancing and singing. I have had a great experience here working with my peers and everyone is very welcoming and helpful, and looking forward to learning more and spend productive time here.