Ariel Stiber
Ph.D. Candidate
Materials Science and Engineering
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Materials track, Caltech (2020)
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow
LinkedIn
In the Dionne group we create lanthanide doped nanoparticles that have the unique optical property that they can emit light at a higher energy than they absorb. My work involves the synthesis and functionalization of multispectrally-doped upconverting nanoparticles as non-invasive, long-term, biocompatible optical probes image cell receptors over space and time at the immune synapse. These nanoparticles can be further harnessed in the future as force sensors to elucidate the impact of mechanical force in immune interactions. Overall, my interest lies in being able to study aspects of the immune system that because of issues of environment or timescale are not easily observed.