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PUBLICATIONS: 
Beardsley, M., Hazelton, B. J., Sullivan, I. S., Pober, J. C., Carroll, P., Barry, N., Morales, M. 
F., Jacobs, D. C., Bernardi, G., Bowman, J. D., Busch, M. P., and 54 others. First Season 
MWA EoR Power Spectrum Results at Redshift 7. In Prep for Collaboration Review. 
CONFERENCES: 
The 24th Annual Arizona/NASA Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 18th, 2015. 
Arizona State University. Contributed Talk: The External Calibrator for Hydrogen 
Observatories 
The 23rd Annual Arizona/NASA Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 12th, 2014. 
University of Arizona. Contributed Talk: Epoch of Reionization: Creating a Data Quality Metric 
for the MWA 
INTERESTS: 
I co-created a rocketry club on campus called Icarus Rocketry which I helped 
coordinate outreach for and design rockets for members. This led to me creating my own 
rocket which I will soon fly for my level 1 national certification in rocketry. This required a great 
deal of time management, creativity and cooperation. 
I am a cellist, having played the instrument since the fifth grade; I am sometimes 
contacted to play for weddings, as a soloist for choirs or in concerts. I was in three local 
orchestras, as 1st chair, before starting my college career. I now play just to keep up my skill 
and relieve stress. I plan to find a local orchestra to play in while in graduate school. As 1st 
chair, I led the cello section in all orchestras and helped the conductor when needed as 
concertmaster. 
I am also a writer. While in high school I interned at a local county magazine for eight 
months where I wrote (ironically) horoscopes, fiction, and copy-edited pieces contributed from 
the community. After my editor moved jobs, I became de facto editor of the magazine. I then 
setup interviews, called contributors and setup deadlines. Eventually I guided the content of 
the magazine overall. Being able to write effectively is a huge part of the science field. I find 
all of the skills I learned as an editor transferable when writing physics group reports and lab 
memos. 
I enjoy giving back to the community when possible by performing outreach for the 
public. I was inspired at an outreach event to pursue a career in astrophysics so I regularly do 
these types of activities through my college. Typically, I speak about radio and low-frequency 
astronomy and present a poster on the Epoch of Reionization at these events. 
OUTREACH: 
(Select events, not a complete list.) 
Future STEM Sun Devil Family Night (10/20/2012): Arizona Science Center. Assisted families 
in exploring STEM Majors in college. Contact: Nicole Cassis; [email protected] 
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ASU Earth and Space Open House (10/26/2012): ASU Tempe Campus. Operated telescopes 
for use by the general public. AstroDevils. Contact: Kimberly Ward-Duong; 
[email protected] 
STARLAB Portable Planetarium (11/6/2012, 11/9/2012): Granada East School. STARLAB 
education and misc. galaxy activities with 7th graders. Contact: Dr. Karen Knierman; 
Earth and Space Exploration Day x2 (11120/2012): ISTB-4 open to public, 3000+ participants, 
assisted in outreach at AstroDevils table. Contact: Kimberly Ward-Duong; 
[email protected] 
Night of the Open Door x2 (3/2/2013): ASU Tempe Campus, ISTB-IV. Represented ASU 
Astronomy Club, aided in coordination, set-up and tear-down. Contact: Meg Hufford 
[email protected] 
STARLAB Portable Planetarium (4/10/2013): Salt River Elementary School. STARLAB 
education and galaxy activities with K-3rd grade students. Contact: Dr. Karen Knierman 
Mesa Prep Academy (5/9/2013): 1303 S Lindsay Rd, Mesa AZ 85204, Event Details: 
STARLAB Planetarium in the Gym operated by Michael and Danny. Approx. 200 students. 
Earth and Space Open House (5/24/2013): 781 E Terrace Rd, ISTB 4Tempe AZ 85287, 
Event Details: LoCo table with Octocopter and Dipole antenna, etc. Approx. 150 students. 
Night of the Open Door (6/1/2013): 781 E Terrace Rd, ISTB 4 Tempe AZ 85287, Event 
Details: LoCo table with Octocopter and Dipole antenna, etc. Approx. 3000+ 
Gallery Tours: 9am — Noon, December 15th and December 16th 781 E Terrace Rd, ISTB 4 
Tempe AZ 85287, Event Details: Michael gave tours of the GSE (1st and 2nd floor of ISTB 
4)Approx. 150 First and Third Graders 
Earth and Space Exploration Day (ESE Day): 9am — 3pm, November 2nd 781 E Terrace Rd, 
ISTB 4 Tempe AZ 85287, Event Details: LoCo table with Octocopter and Dipole antenna, etc. 
Approx. 3000+ general public. 
CLAS Homecoming Block Party: 9am — 5pm, October 19th Old Main, ASU Tempe AZ 85287 
Event Details: Space Grant table, Michael talked about LoCo with the public. Approx. 100 
Arizona Museum of Natural History: "A Night with the Stars": 6pm — 9pm, October 4th 53 N 
MacDonald Mesa, AZ 85201, Event Details: AstroDevils table and STARLAB Planetarium 
with Jackie M. Approx. 300 
Incoming Freshman Tour of GSE: Noon — 3pm, August 9th 781 E Terrace Rd, ISTB 4 Tempe 
AZ 85287, Event Details: Michael helped with tours of the Gallery of Scientific Exploration 
with incoming freshmen. Approx. 200 
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Project Title 
Enabling a New Window on the Earliest Astrophysical Structures from the Dark Ages, First 
Light, and Reionization 
Project Narrative 
Introduction 
One of the most compelling questions remaining in astrophysics today is the origin of 
structure in the Universe. How did the massively complex cosmic web—with sheets, filaments 
and halos that we see today—form from a smooth and simple intergalactic medium (IGM) that 
emerged in the aftermath of the Big Bang? Research in recent decades have seen 
tremendous progress in answering many of the questions in this story and has established 
the foundational theory that is now in place. In this theory, the Cosmic Microwave 
Background—the afterglow of the Big Bang—contains tiny density fluctuations caused by 
gravitational instabilities. Eventually, these instabilities grew and collapsed hierarchically into 
the complex cosmic web (Furtanetto et al 2006). 
This paradigm has been incredibly successful in explaining both observations of the early 
Universe and local structures. However there are gaps remaining in explaining the origin of 
these structures. We have yet to observe directly the cosmic 'Dark Ages', the time between 
the surface of last scattering and the emergence of everything we see today: galaxy clusters, 
stars, planets—everything. Additionally, we are only now beginning to observe the era known 
as 'First Light' (about a billion years after the Big Bang); when the first luminous objects in the 
Universe formed and ionized the IGM in a period known as the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). 
In order to directly investigate these epochs, new radio array interferometers are coming 
online to observe this mysterious time in our Universe's history. The Murchison Widefield 
Array (MWA) is a radio telescope in Western Australia that is making strides to observing the 
formation of the cosmic web, the first luminous sources, and mapping the reionization of the 
IGM during the EoR. 
Research Plan and Expected Impact 
ASU is one of four U.S. partners of the MWA, lead locally by Prof. Judd Bowman's 
Low-frequency Cosmology (LoCo) research group in SESE. The LoCo team has undertaken 
preliminary analysis of data from the MWA EoR observations in collaboration with colleagues 
at MIT, Harvard and U. Washington. This type of research is an important step in mapping the 
reionization of the IGM by the first luminous sources such as stars and galaxies, from which 
we can infer the properties of the first sources and how they influenced the development of 
large-scale structure in the Universe. 
A pressing concern of these observations is the spectral structure of bright sources in the 
primary beam sidelobes of the MWA. Sidelobes are lobes in the radiation pattern of the MWA 
that are not the primary beam, where the field strength is the largest. Radio point sources in 
the sidelobes of the primary beam are numerous and difficult to deal with: these include active 
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galactic nuclei, radio galaxies, and local Galactic sources. These foreground contaminants 
are 5 orders of magnitude brighter than the redshifted 21 cm emission expected from the IGM 
during the EoR (Bowman et al. 2009). This is one of the major challenges for all of the 
upcoming radio interferometers that aim to detect the faint hydrogen signal from the EoR. In 
order to prevent contamination, these foreground signals must be properly subtracted from 
the MWA observations (Datta et al, 2010). 
The Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) in New Mexico has the most reliable equipment to 
provide observations of the radio sources in the MWA's sidelobes. We also do not know how 
sensitive the MWA is to the sky in the sidelobes as well as we do in the primary beam. By 
creating a foreground model for these contaminations, the MWA will be able to subtract these 
sources from their future EoR measurements, enabling more sensitive measurements of the 
origins of cosmic structure. 
My research plan is to use the JVLA to characterize 100 bright radio sources to provide a 
high-quality foreground model to the MWA and potentially other interferometers. Observations 
of these 100 sources have already been acquired by graduate SESE student Boom Kittiwisit 
over the last 16 months. As a current third-year member of the ASU MWA team, this project is 
readily available for me to work on. In the first two months of the project, I will calibrate and 
image all of the individual observations and from the calibrated data, I will extract spectral fits 
and fluxes for each source. In December and January, I will compare the data from the JVLA 
observations to the MWA observations. In February, I will begin to investigate discrepancies 
between the two data sets, and look for the causes of these. By March I will be able to 
compute the foreground signature from these radio sources, since JVLA observations are 
more accurate than the MWA, this foreground model will enable the MWA to overcome its 
foreground limits and should deliver deeper, more sensitive EoR data. 
Conclusion 
The compelling story of Cosmic Dawn: the origins of cosmic structure—from the Dark Ages to 
First Light and the subsequent reionization of the Universe within the first billion years of our 
history is one of the fundamental frontiers left to explore in the astrophysics community. This 
proposed research is poised to help the ASU MWA EoR team in answering some of these 
questions by providing a validated, reliable foreground source model. By comparing JVLA 
with the MWA, it is expected that this research will further identify calibration errors in the 
MWA and help transfer the northern hemisphere flux-scale standard to the MWA. This project 
is expected to yield directly publishable results and improve the outcome of the core MWA 
science analysis. 
References 
Bowman, J. D., Morales, M. F., & Hewitt, J. N. 2009, ApJ, 695, 183 
Datta, A., Bowman,., & Carilli,C.L. 2010, ApJ, 724, 526 
Furlanetto, S.R., Peng Oh,S., & Briggs, F.H. 2006, Phys.Rep., 433, 181 
Madau, P., Meiksin, A., & Rees, 
1997, ApJ, 475, 429 
Thyagarajan, N., Udaya Shankar, N., Subrahmanyan,R., et al. 2013, ApJ, 776, 6 
Thyagarajan, N., Jacobs, D., Bowman, J. D, et al. 2015 ApJ, 804, 14 
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Project Timeline 
General Timeline for this academic year is: 
September: Organize data and prepare software analysis tools (and become familiar 
with how to run the software.) 
October: Focus on processing one source until I perfect the processing steps 
November: Run script on all sources -100. 
December/January: Compare the power spectrum I receive get from the VLA 
observations to MWA observations. 
February: Identify discrepancies, look for causes, and investigate findings. 
• 
March: Compute the foreground signature (wedge contribution) from these sources to 
reionization power spectra (so they can be subtracted by the MWA). It is the "enabling" word 
in the title. Since we will be looking at VLA observations, we will assume they are very 
accurate — better than what the MWA can do for the same sources. So using the VLA data to 
help with foreground subtraction in MWA data should improve the overall results. Hence, our 
project will help the MWA get beyond its current limits due to foreground subtraction and 
should ultimately help the MWA deliver deeper, more sensitive observations. 
April: Write up and present your results. 
Project Budget 
Student Budget: $5,000 would offset tuition and school fees. 
Faculty Budget: $3,000 for data storage. $2,000 to finance Michael Busch to attend the 227th 
AAS meeting this year in Florida: January 4-8th, 2016, Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention 
Center, Kissimmee, FL 
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Student 
Alexandra Norwood 
[email protected] 
Anthropology, Geological 
Sciences, May 17 
Faculty Mentor 
Michael Smith 
[email protected] 
Professor of Anthropology 
and Graduate Director, 
SHESC & ASU-Santa Fe 
Institute Center for Biosocial 
Complex Systems 
Resume 
Alexandra Norwood 
701 E. Apache Blvd, #F1068 
Tempe, AZ 85281 
(626) 222-0394 
[email protected] 
Research Interests 
I am currently pursuing my Bachelor's degree in Anthropology and Geological Sciences, with 
an archaeological focus. I intend to focus regionally on Northern and Western Europe. My 
interests include how people have been able to interact with and adapt to their physical 
environments, as well as the rise of social complexity. 
Education 
Arizona State University (2013 to present), Tempe, AZ 
Barrett, the Honors College 
Anthropology major with archaeological focus and Geological Sciences major 
Medieval and Renaissance Studies certificate 
San Marino High School (2009 - 2013), San Marino, CA 
Cumulative GPA of 4.1 
Architecture Regional Occupation Program 2011- 2012 
Business Management Regional Occupation Program 2011 
Field Experience 
2015 Archaeological field school 
Archaeology Southwest Preservation Archaeology Field School 
University of Arizona 
National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates 
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Awardee 
2014 Archaeological field work 
Gufuskalar and Skuggi, Iceland 
North Atlantic Biocultural Organisation, Fornleifastofnun islands 
City University of New York 
Work Experience 
Event and Birthday Party Facilitator (January 2015- Present) 
Arizona Museum of Natural History 
Kathy Eastman, supervisor 
Barrett Ambassador (August 2014- May 2015) 
Barrett, the Honors College, Arizona State University 
Michelle Hollin, supervisor 
Research Assistant (Fall 2013-Present) 
Plaza Mapping Project/Urban Services Project, Arizona State University 
Dr. Michael Smith, supervisor 
Summer Nature Camp Assistant Director (June —August 2013, August 2014, August 2015) 
Los Angeles County Arboretum 
Ted Tegart, supervisor 
Awards and Achievements 
2015 Spring Dean's List, Arizona State University 
2015 National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates 
Award (Archaeology Southwest Preservation Archaeology Field School) 
2014 Fall Dean's List, Arizona State University 
2014 Spring Dean's List, Arizona State University 
2013 Fall Dean's List, Arizona State University 
2013-Present Barrett Scholarship, Arizona State University 
2013-Present New American University Scholarship, National Scholar, Arizona State 
University 
2013 California Scholarship Federation Sealbearer 
2013 National AP Scholar 
2012 National Hispanic Scholar 
2012 National Merit Commended Student 
2011 Outstanding Community Service Award, San Marino 
Volunteer Work 
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President (August 2015-Present) 
Undergraduate Anthropology Association, Arizona State University 
Vice President (November 2014- Present) 
Associated Medieval and Renaissance Undergraduate Students 
Mudslinger (October 2014- Present) 
Pueblo Grande Museum 
Exploration Station Facilitator (September 2014- Present) 
Arizona Museum of Natural History 
Barrett Mentor (August 2014- Present) 
Barrett Mentoring Program, Arizona State University 
Mentor (Spring 2015) 
Student Educators for Cultural Awareness, Arizona State University 
Mentor (Spring 2015) 
Page Turners, Arizona State University 
Secretary (August 2014-May 2015) 
Undergraduate Anthropology Association, Arizona State University 
Talent Match Mentor (Fall 2013) 
Barrett Talent Match, Arizona State University 
Youth Education Intern (June 2011-May 2013) 
Los Angeles County Arboretum 
Additional Memberships 
Phi Beta Kappa 
2015-Present 
Associated Medieval and Renaissance Studies Undergraduate Students 
2014-Present 
Alpha Lambda Delta Arizona State University 
2014-Present 
Barrett Residential Council 
2013-Present 
Undergraduate Anthropology Association 
2013-Present 
Presentations 
2015 Viking Social Complexity: Settlement and Burial Patterns. Undergraduate Research 
Symposium, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Tempe, AZ. April 24, 2015. 
2013 Otzi the Iceman's Body Deposition. Buried Cities and Lost Tribes Honors 
Presentation, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Tempe, AZ. December 4, 2013. 
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References 
Margaret C. Nelson, 
Vice Dean, Barrett Honors College, Arizona State University 
President's Professor, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State 
University 
[email protected] 
(480) 965-9520 
Michael E. Smith, 
Professor of Anthropology, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Affiliated 
Faculty, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Core Faculty, Center for 
Social Dynamics and Complexity, Arizona State University 
[email protected] (480) 727-8724 
Ted Tegart 
Youth Education Coordinator, Los Angeles Arboretum 
[email protected] 
(626) 821-5897 
Project Title 
Origins of public spaces in the earliest cities 
Project Narrative 
The Urban Revolution—marking the origins of the first cities—was a major turning point in 
human social and cultural development. New social conditions in dense, crowded cities were 
stressful for the people that lived in them. Lots of people packed together created a social 
stress that was addressed by manipulation of architecture and the built environment in order 
to enable people to coexist in the ways they and their leaders desired. An important part of 
the layout of a city is the nature of formally defined open spaces that are used for assemblies, 
trade, and other interactions between community members. These spaces give people a 
designated forum for interaction, help them navigate the stress of a dense population, and 
impact how common people perceive each other and their authority and how they move 
through the built environment. There is a lack of crucial understanding of the origin of these 
spaces in the earliest cities, and their social context. Such public spaces were built by 
authorities and planners, but was this done to help autocratic kings control their subjects, or 
were they built to give people a say in more collective or democratic states? 
I will analyze the size, distribution, and architectural features of plazas in a sample of 
pre-modem cities, and compare the results to plazas in two types of more recent cities: those 
with collective governments, and those with authoritarian governments. This will allow me to 
discern if there is a quantifiable relationship between governance and public space. A 
development of this more complex understanding of the dynamics of early cities is critical to 
understanding the evolution of both human culture and the modem city. 
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Many current ideas about plazas and formal open space are based on the assumption that 
plazas are always a top-down initiative with the intent of rulers to arrange the landscape in a 
way that supports their power. A new perspective on early societies, however, shows that 
some early govemments were more collective in their organization, providing public services 
for their population, while others were characterized by despotic kings who exploited their 
subjects and provided few benefits (Blanton & Fargher 2007). Public spaces are critical to the 
basic political, social, and economic functions of cities (Stanley et al. 2012) and act as a 
reflection of the authority responsible for their creation. Governments concerned with 
centralizing wealth and power used plazas to communicate different messages from those of 
governments concerned with citizen empowerment. By categorizing public spaces as a public 
good, we are able to make a prediction that more responsive governments will have more 
public space, more equitably located, because they are more responsive to the needs of the 
people. 
This project developed from my previous work on the transdisciplinary project, Service 
Access in Premodern Cities, directed by Michael E. Smith at ASU (Stanley et al 2015). This 
project assesses inequality in access to services, like public space, between elite and 
common classes in pre-industrial cities. Project members have devised a method to code the 
governance type of each city on a scale ranging from collective to authoritarian. In this project 
I conducted spatial analyses in GIS with digitized maps in order to identify and measure 
public spaces and their access by urban residents. This project will furnish my project with a 
number of mapped cities with pre-identified public spaces from different time periods and 
geographic regions (from ancient China to precolonial Yoruba), with varying cultures and 
governance types. I will use these cities and add others not part of the projects sample that 
have adequate mapping and information about governance for my analysis. With GIS, I will 
measure the number of plazas in each city and their sizes. I will then be able to test 
differences between cities with the two types of governance systems identified above. 
My role in the project will be to gather the data by collecting info from Service Access project 
into a common format and measuring plazas in a sample of new cities. I will apply the 
governance scale and carry out comparisons, conducting data analysis. Dr. Smith, as the 
director of project, will supervise work. He will analyze civic architecture and public spaces at 
the archaeological site of Calixtlahuaca so that it can be included in this study. He will also 
help adapt the governance scale to the new cities and conduct the data analysis and city 
comparisons. 
This project has four expected outcomes:(1) the completion of my Honors thesis at Barrett, 
the Honors College, (2) the presentation of a poster at the Society for American 
Archaeology's annual meeting in April, (3) and ultimately the publication of a joumal article. 
(4) For Dr. Smith, he will compile quantitative data on the civic architecture and plazas of 
Calixtlahuaca. His NSF grant for work at the site did not include funds for this kind of analysis. 
This project aligns with the interests of the Origins Project in that it addresses the origins and 
evolution of human culture and social institutions. As more and more of the population of the 
world shifts away from rural life and moves into cities, it will become increasingly more 
important to understand the way that government authority engages the people. This 
relationship can be examined archaeologically to put our modem city-centric lives into a 
broader historical context. This will deepen our understanding of the dynamics not only of the 
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earliest cities, but of cities and urban processes in general. There is much to be learned about 
modem cities from their ancient predecessors. 
References 
Blanton, RE and LF Fargher (2008) Collective Action in the Formation of Pre-Modern States. 
Springer, New York. 
Stanley, BW, T Dennehy, ME Smith, BL Stark, A York, GL Cowgill, J Novic and G Ek (2015) 
Urban Service Access in Premodern Cities: An Exploratory Comparison. Journal of Urban 
History (published online). 
Stanley, BW, BL Stark, K Johnston and ME Smith (2012) Urban Open Spaces in Historical 
Perspective: A Transdisciplinary Typology and Analysis. Urban Geography 33:1089-1117. 
Project Timeline 
Abstract by Sept 10 
Finish Literature Review by Oct 1 
Data Collection done by Jan 1 
Thesis defense by April 1 
Poster by April 4 
Paper completed by April 15 
Journal Submission in May 
Project Budget 
Student estimated costs: 
$1500 for a computer to collect and process data 
$1500 for a GIS license for the computer 
$200 for Adobe Creative Suite for computer 
$200 for a scanner to digitize maps 
$50 for poster for Society for American Archaeology meeting 
$500 for flight to meeting in Orlando 
$700 for hotel for 4 nights in Orlando 
$70 SAA membership dues 
$120 SAA meeting registration 
$160 for expenses (food,etc) during SAA meeting 
Faculty costs: 
$5000 to pay a consultant to analyze civic architecture at plazas at Calixtlahuaca. This will 
include digitizing architectural plans, adapting Autocad maps for graphics output, estimating 
the volumes of civic architecture, and integrating the results with the project GIS database. 
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Student 
Nitish Peela 
[email protected] 
Biomedical Engineering, May 
17 
Faculty Mentor 
Medhi Nikkhah 
[email protected] 
Assistant Professor of 
Biomedical Engineering 
Resume 
Nitish Peela 
[email protected] 
940 E. Canyon Way, Chandler, AZ, 85249 
602.750.8556 
SUMMARY: Seeking a suitable position that would utilize my proven aptitude for biomedical 
research, enable me to assist and collaborate with scientists in interdisciplinary fields, and 
directly deliver translational research to patients in an efficient manner. 
EDUCATION: Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University I Major: Biomedical 
Engineering I CGPA: 3.94 
TECHNICAL & NON-TECHNICAL SKILLS 
• 
Research Skills: Statistical analysis, Literature review, Patent-Writing, Conversant with 
Scholarly Articles 
• 
Computer Information Systems: ImageJ, CGI (Computer generated imagery), 
Animation in Blender 3D/Maya/3DS MAX, Matlab/Python/Java/HTML 
• 
Laboratory Skills: Sterile Technique, Tissue Engineering, Micropatterning, 
Microenvironments, Cell Culture, Gel Electrophoresis, UV mutagenesis, Chemical-Based 
Mutagenesis, Bacterial Transformation, PCR, Animal Care/Animal Testing 
• 
Other Skills: Strong verbal and written communication; Patient Interaction/Bedside 
Manner; Entrepreneurship/Economics; Financial Analysis 
EXPERIENCE AND WORK ACHIEVEMENTS: 
ASU School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering: Independent Researcher 
May 2014 — Current 
• Tissue engineering lab 
• Focus on microenvironments to model diseases 
• Poster presented at ASU Fulton Undergraduate Research Symposium 2014 
N. Peela, F. Sam, M. Nikkhah•. Directed breast cancer cell morphogenesis on micropatterned 
gelatin methacrylate hydrogels. 
• Poster Presentation at AACR (American Association for Cancer Research) 
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N. Peela et. al. Breast cancer cell invasion in a highly organized three dimensional (3D) 
microengineered tumor model 
• Undisclosed, related joumal article in review at Biomaterials 
Medicloud: Founder & CEO 
October 2014-Current 
• Non-profit venture aimed at creating a new medical records system to enable interaction 
between hospitals and assisted living facilities 
• Granted over $20,000 in funding--leading an interdisciplinary team to deploy initial product in 
May 
First Gen Scientists: Founding Member & Program Development Chair 
May 2015-Current 
• Developing a middle school science curriculum for a non-profit STEM outreach/mentorship 
program 
• Program features a 2:1 mentor:student ratio where we progress through a science 
curriculum, mentor underprivileged children, and encourage them to consider STEM careers 
Chandler Unified School District: Science Research Student-Teacher 
August 2013 — Current 
• Mentor high school students on ethical obligations, goals of research design, and research 
presentation at the international level 
Premier Emergency Medical Specialists: Emergency Department Scribe 
March 2014 — Current 
• Take notes and document patient medical history into the computer for physicians in the ER. 
• Assist with patient care, speed up triage process, and closely shadow physician 
ASU Biodesign Institute, Tempe, AZ: Independent Researcher/Technician 
September 2012 — June 2014 
• Proposed an original project idea and conducted scholarly research on reducing side effects 
of antibiotics on livestock 
• Poster presented at Biodesign research symposium 
N. Peela, 
K. Roland*. Distinguishing and eliminating side-effects of sub-inhibitory 
aminoglycoside antibiotics in chickens using an engineered, but naturally resistant probiotic: 
L. Rhamnosus. 
NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY: Independent Researcher 
May 2012 - August 2012 
• Proposed an original project idea on the prevention of C. Difficile infections in humans (an 
antibiotic-induced side effect) 
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• Invited to intern at the NYU medical school to develop my research 
• Filed for a co-patent (still pending) with the chair of the Skirball Institute in NYU, Dr. Richard 
P. Novick 
AWARDS/HONORS: 
Arizona State University, Dean's List 
January 2014 - Current 
• Recognized as a top tier student at Arizona State University for exemplary record of school 
work performance. 
ASU Presidential Scholar 
May 2013 - Current 
• Recognized as a top-tier student for academic achievements throughout high school and 
into college 
AACR (American Association of Cancer Research) Research Poster Award 
March 2015 
• Received a top-ten poster award at the biggest national cancer-research conference in the 
nation 
Edson entrepreneurship funding and CGI-U fellow 
October 2014 - Current 
• Granted funding, mentorship, and office space to assist in developing my start-up company: 
Medicloud 
Intel ISEF, Finalist 
May 2012, 
May 2013 
• Finalist twice at the biggest international pre-college science and engineering fair with 
research conducted at NYU and ASU 
Project Title 
A Novel Three-dimensional Tumor Model to Spatially Assess Cancer Cell-signaling 
Project Narrative 
Metastatic dissemination of cancer cells is a highly complex and multi-step biological process 
initiated by cell invasion into the surrounding stroma, which prompts the formation of new 
capillaries (tumor angiogenesis), and the invasion of cancer cells through the extracellular 
matrix (ECM) towards these capillaries. The intricacies of cell-signaling make it extremely 
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difficult to develop a cohesive understanding on the origins of cancer as virtually every step of 
the metastatic process is governed by such microenvironmental cues. Due to the fundamental 
lack of understanding on the origins of cancer cell invasion, there is a severely stagnated 
development of pragmatic treatment options for patients. 
Many investigators' efforts have been focused on developing in vivo animal models of cancer. 
Despite the physiological relevance of these models, they present an abundance of 
confounding variables, making it challenging to develop causal relationships between specific 
cell-signals and cancer cell behavior. When studying such relationships, researchers often 
turn to in vitro models of cancer. The vast majority of previous in vitro studies simply mix 
cancer cells various cell-signals (cell-cell signaling, proteins, ligands, hormones, etc.) in 
two-dimensional (2D) monolayer culture. This method is effective in determining signal 
function as it allows for cells to be in extremely dose contact with each other, however, it 
lacks physiological relevance, making it impossible to draw any meaningful conclusions on 
the impact of specific cell-signals on cancer cell behavior. 
In the human body, cell-signals are spatially distributed throughout three-dimensional (3D) 
tissue in a complex structure around the tumor. Cell-signals diffuse in gradients through thick 
tissue and interact with proteins in the ECM, so they induce significantly different responses in 
3D tissue than they do in 2D culture. Consequently, in order for an in vitro model of 
cell-signaling to have physiological significance, it must contain both the biological and 
biophysical aspects of the native tumor microenvironment. The focus of this one year 
research project is to microengineer and test a tumor model, embedded with 3D microtissues, 
that can quantifiably assess the magnitude of cell-signals and the effect they have on cancer 
cell behavior. 
The undergraduate student co-planning this project has substantial experience in terms of 
creating physiologically relevant, 3D models of cancer cell invasion. His previous efforts have 
led to a first-author research journal manuscript, which has been submitted (currently 
in-review) to the journal Biomaterials (2015 Impact factor: 8.5). This manuscript has been 
deemed meritorious by the editor-in-chief of Biomaterials in the initial stages of the review 
process. Figure 1A (attached) illustrates an innovative aspect of his previous model where 
cancer cells are organized into circular constructs representative of a native tumor. This 
model allows for high-throughput quantification on the invasive profile of the cancer cells 
(tumor) into the surrounding matrix (tumor stroma) as a function of time. Furthermore, as 
shown in actin cytoskeleton images (green stain), benign cancer cells (MCF10A cells) form 
3D tissue-like tumors, whereas malignant cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 cells) penetrate through 
3D ECM and migrate through 3 planes. Our previous findings and expertise provide valuable 
insight into engineering 3D microtissues supportive of diffusive gradients, organized 
microarchitecture, and cancer cell invasion. 
We propose to create a novel, multi-layer tumor model, illustrated in Figure 2, to create a 3D, 
morphologically accurate tumor with a multi-layer stromal component, which allows us to 
study cell-signaling in a physiologically relevant manner (Figure 2). 3D tissue will be 
engineered and injected through the inlets in this device. The tissue will be comprised 
primarily of collagen, which is a viscous, synthetic hydrogel that polymerizes into a 
biomimetic, tissue-like material when exposed to physiological temperatures (37°C). Figure 
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3A/3B are representative images of a basic microfluidics device created in the Principal 
Investigator's (Professor Nikkhah) lab. The surface tension, induced by the trapezoidal posts, 
prevent flow of the collagen through the gaps between the posts. The result is organized 
tissue that assumes a 3D, circular pattern confined by the posts on day 0, which allows for 
migration past the posts at later times points (Figure 3C). 
For this study, we will engineer breast cancer tissue by encapsulating a highly invasive breast 
cancer cell line (SUM159 cells) in collagen and injecting it into the tumor compartment. A 
buffer layer above the tumor mass will be created by injecting plain collagen (representative 
of the ECM) through the inlet adjacent to the tumor compartment. Above this plain ECM, we 
will inject our desired cell-signal and observe the reaction of the cancer cells to the signal. By 
altering the size of the buffer layer at three stages (250um, 500um, and 750um), we will 
change the effective distance between the signal and the tumor. 
In order to validate the model, we will conduct three separate experiments where we inject 
three different cell-signals into the peripheral layer: Engineered myoepithelial cell tissue, 
which has been demonstrated to inhibit cancer cell metastasis; ECM with increased collagen 
concentration (increased ligand density), which has been demonstrated to promote cancer 
cell metastasis; and a control condition with no specific cell-signal embedded within the 
peripheral layer. Figure 4 schematically represents the three conditions that we will be testing. 
We expect to see cancer cells migrating towards the ligands at the highest velocity when the 
ligands are closest to the tumor compartment. Conversely, we expect to see the highest 
inhibition of cancer cells when the myoepithelial cells are closest to the tumor compartment. 
Values will be analyzed and normalized with respect to the control. 
This research proposal is part of a global research initiative to incorporate biophysical aspects 
of the human body into in vitro models of disease. Our efforts are aimed at unveiling the 
origins of metastatic cancer and determining how cell-signaling prompts tumors to assume an 
invasive phenotype. The proposed microfluidics device is the first model that enables in vitro 
study of cell-signaling in a physiologically relevant manner, which can assist in clinical 
applications such as personalized medicine and high-throughput drug testing. As such, we 
believe that the project has a transdisciplinary objective and translational impact, which would 
better enable cancer biologists to tackle the fundamental questions involving cancer cell 
invasion. 
Project Timeline 
8/1/2015-9/15/2015: Device Modeling 
1. 3D AutoCAD drafting of the microfluidics tumor model 
2. Diffusion modeling 
9/15/2015 - 10/01/2015: Device Creation 
1. Print AutoCAD model, create microfluidics device 
2. Model diffusion using fluorescent dyes 
3. Compare computer generated results of diffusion modeling to real-time results 
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10/01/2015 - 02/01/2016: Debugging Phase 
1. Test injection ports and posts; assess the need for physical modifications to the model 
2. Make modifications, print, and create new model 
3. Test tissue engineering techniques; assess cell death and cell morphology to see whether 
the tissue engineering technique is conducive for creating breast cancer tissue 
4. Optimize the tissue engineering technique 
5. Optimize the distance between layers with the intent of induce a significant response to cell 
signals (ie. 250um, 500um, and 750um vs 300um, 600um, and 900um) 
02/01/2016 - 04/01/2016: Experimentation Phase 
1. Perform the proposed experiment 
2. Make quantifiable metrics to assess cell polarity, cell movement, and signal-diffusion 
3. Run triplicate samples of each test 
04/01/2016 - 05/15/2016: Additional Testing (extra time may be required for a more cohesive 
project, however, it is more than reasonable to have the most significant parts of this study 
completed by this end date) 
1. Record movies of cellular migration 
2. Perform immunofluorescence imaging to observe cytoskeletal organization 
3. Quantify results of immunofluorescence imaging 
4. PCR/Western plot to determine gene/protein expression 
Project Budget 
Clean room usage - $200 
Silicone wafer - $200 
AutoCAD Mask - $100 
Type I Collagen (material) - $500 
Polydimethylsiloxane (material) - $500 
SUM159 Cell line - $200 
Myoepithelial Cell line - $300 
Media, Flasks, Cell culture materials - $200 
Antibodies - $300 
Vaccum Plasma Etching Machine - $4,000 
Total: - $6,500 
Depending on time-frame, results, and commitments from collaborating labs, may need to 
purchase the following: 
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PCR machine: $3,500 
Western Blotting system: $850 
Total: -$10,850 
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