This afternoon Dr. Stroka gave an invited talk at John Hopkins University Institute for NanoBiotechnology.  Dr. Stroka presented the lab's recent work on how cues from the blood-brain barrier alter the migration of metastatic breast tumor cells. Thanks to JHU INBT for the chance to share our work and catch up with old friends!

The lab has been awarded a UMD/NCI Partnership for Integrative Cancer Research Grant! This grant is for work in collaboration with Voula Milli at NCI and will fully support PhD student Becca Moriarty for the next year, renewable up to 3 years. Thank you to UMD and NCI for support of our work through this program!

We have been awarded a Tier 1 grant from the University of Maryland! This grant will support some new efforts to understand the mechanobiology of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived brain endothelial cells. Thank you, UMD!

Dr. Stroka and Ph.D. students Kelsey Gray and Mary Doolin were invited to celebrate recent Grad School Awards at a reception. Kelsey Gray received the Dr. Mabel S. Spencer Award for Excellence in Graduate Achievement in 2017, and also was the 2nd place winner in the 2018 3 Minute Thesis Competition. Mary Doolin was awarded a Graduate Student Summer Research Fellowship in 2017. Dr. Stroka was awarded the Research and Scholarship Award for summer 2017. Thank you to the UMD Graduate School for the continued support of our research!

This week Dr. Stroka attended and gave an invited talk at the Modeling Cellular Mechanics in Cancer Workshop, held at the University of Minnesota. The workshop was sponsored by the University of Minnesota's Physical Sciences and Oncology Center. A huge thank you to the Minnesota PSOC for the invitation and for organizing such a great workshop!

A huge congratulations to PhD student Marina on her marriage to Adam Pranda!!! Adam is a PhD student in Dr. Gottlieb Oehrlein's lab, and has also been our lab's unofficial "IT Guy." The wedding was beautiful, and we are thankful to have been a part of such a special day! Everyone in the lab should now be on the lookout for Marina's new reagent labels, from MAS to the new MAP. Congratulations, Marina and Adam!

Congratulations to PhD student Becca Moriarty who has been awarded the Graduate Student Summer Research Fellowship for Summer 2018! This award from the UMD Graduate School provides $5000 for Becca's research this summer. Congratulations, Becca!

Congratulations to PhD Student Kelsey Gray who won second place in UMD's 3 Minute Thesis Competition! The award includes $300 for research and creation of a professional video. Congrats, Kelsey! 

Congratulations to PhD student, Marina Shumakovich, who has been awarded the Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship from the UMD Grad School! This $15,000 fellowship will fund her fall 2018 semester of research. Congrats, Marina!