Alina was a graduate student in the Materials Science Program here at UVM who recently defended her thesis. In the spring of 2016 Alina joined Professor Junru Wu’s ultrasound research group where she has since worked on a number of multidisciplinary projects including collaborations with Professor Jeffery Marshall and Professor Mercedes Rincon from the Mechanical Engineering department and Immunology departments respectively.

Alina’s time spent during her Ph.D was divided among three medical applications of ultrasound: T-cell drug delivery, cancellous bone osteoporosis diagnosis, and biofirm mitigation. Her work on these projects demonstrated low-intensity ultrasound as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool to localize acoustic energy deposition, induce a biological effect within a target, and enhance the transport rate of antimicrobial drugs into the biofilm. Alina is now teaching physics to undergraduates at the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, Oregon. On top of teaching, Alina is working as an Ultrasound Consultant at YorLabs Inc. also in Portland, Oregon. Alina thrived at UVM and has since brought her skills to the West Coast where she will continue to find success!