User:Despaux

Leo d'Espaux

Graduate Student
Chemical Engineering, MC 210-41
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA 91125-4100
t. 626.395.2753
f. 626.568.8743
despaux@caltech.edu

Education

Ph.D. Student, Chemical Engineering, Caltech , 2005-present

B.S., Chemical Engineering, Cornell , 2005

Honors and Awards

Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2006-present
Betty and Gordon Moore Fellowship, California Institute of Technology, 2005-present
Menschel Public Service Fellowship, Cornell University, 2005
Slayton Evans Research Award, American Chemical Society, 2003
Alumni Sponsored Research Award, Cornell University, 2003
Presidential Research Scholar, Cornell University, 2001-2005
ACS-Xerox Scholar, American Chemical Society, 2001-2005
Gates Millenium Scholar, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2001-2006

Research

My research concerns nucleic acids as adaptive gene regulatory elements in mammalian cells. These molecules are able to detect changes in the cellular environment, e.g. cancerous or infected, and act accordingly. I'm currently designing and testing RNA molecules to efficiently knock down genes in cancerous cells but not in normal cells. Previously I've worked on human genetic evolution, drug delivery, tissue engineering, novel nucleic acids, and macromolecular transport across nuclear pores.

Publications

1. “Controlled assembly of dendrimer like DNA”, Y. Li, Y.D. Tseng, S.Y. Kwon, L. d'Espaux, J.S. Bunch, P.L McEuen, and D. Luo, Nature Materials 3, 38-42, (January, 2004) [1]
2. “Honeycomb-shaped DNA”, L. d’Espaux, and D. Luo, Proceedings of the 18th Annual Cornell Undergraduate Research Board Forum, 69 (March, 2002)

Protocols

Here is a list of protocols I have compiled. Please send me an email with any comments or suggestions. I'll put these somewhere more accessible later.

Plasmid prep with alkaline lysis

Electroporation

PCR

Restriction endonuclease digestion

Ligation with T4 Ligase

Klenow polymerization