Mary Gates Endowment For Students

Jake Flynn

Mary Gates Research Scholar, Winter 2021

 Research Project:Total Number of Platelets on a Micropost Is Correlated With the Magnitude of Contractile Forces

Project Description: To determine how the total number of platelets on a micropost are correlated with the magnitude of the contractile forces produced by the platelets by analyzing pixel intensity using self-developed MATLAB scripts.

What have you learned throughout your research project? 

Throughout my research project, I have developed many wet lab skills, most importantly I learned how to prepare for and run blood experiments in the Cell Biomechanics Lab’s block and post microfluidic device. In addition, I developed data analysis skills as I created MATLAB scripts that accurately and efficiently analyzed data recorded by experiments in the lab.

What piece of advice do you have for future applicants?

It is very important to find a mentor that you can regularly meet with to discuss your research. This allows you to make sure you are making progress on your research, gives you an opportunity to ask questions, and also allows you to brainstorm ideas to figure out how you can move forward if you are stuck.