The goal of this ADVANCE Fellows award is to enable Principal Investigator to reenter the academic workforce and establish a long-term career basis. The PI successfully demonstrated technical and educational excellence in her first academic career and her goal to reenter the academic workforce will leverage this experience. The PI will be returning to academia after a six year hiatus, and this award will support her in her endeavors to build the skills to initiate new research expertise in a topic of significant national need (biosensors and metrology). The planned research effort will focus on the science for surface plasmon resonance sensors and biological actuators. Key elements are the understanding of the interface between the biological function and the sensor design and performance, and the role of sensitivity (molecular weight and lower-limit capability) in successful sensor performance. The low-level molecular weight issue is particularly poorly understood, and relates strongly to not only sensor design, but to broader impacts in proteomics and drug discovery. The broader impacts of this award are significant for the research and education in the biomaterials. The PI plans to develop a Center for Materials Characterization and Metrology at San Jose State University that will serve students, faculty, and Bay Area technologists, A key component of this project is to create new areas of technical expertise for both Dr. Lackritz and the students and faculty with whom she interacts. There will be a departmental and campus-wide impact for the planned Center, and her research in biosensors and metrology will be a key part of ongoing campus technical efforts.
