Jessica LEMBONG

Department of Chemical Engineering
Engineering Quad, Room A221,Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544
Phone: 609-258-7254
jlembong@princeton.edu

EDUCATION:

Fall 2004 – present Graduate Student in Ph.D. program, Department of Chemical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

June 2004 Bachelors of Science, Chemical Engineering with minor in Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Spring 2005 – present Ph.D. thesis project, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
“Systems-Level Analysis of BMP Signaling in Drosophila melanogaster ovary”
Genetic studies of development across species have established that there are fewer than known ten cell communication pathways that pattern tissues. One of them is the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathway, a cell-cell communication means involving the ligand-receptor binding mechanism. BMP signaling is involved in various cellular processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Since the BMP pathway is well conserved, studies in model organisms, such as the Drosophila melanogaster, are very valuable. We would like to develop a comprehensive understanding of this pathway using the ovary of Drosophila menalogaster as our experimental system. This project will include genome wide analysis and quantitative modeling of the pathway using both genetics and bioinformatics tools.

June 2003 – Dec 2003 Undergraduate Researcher, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Faculty Advisor: Dr. Samson Jenekhe
“Fabrication and Characterization of Thin Film Organic Photoelectric Devices”
Worked in the fabrication and characterization of thin film organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic solar cells.

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Effects of BMP signaling in cell patterning during Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis, mathematical modeling of signaling pathways, genome-wide transcriptional profiling studies, usage of bioinformatics to analyze DNA-protein interaction.

HONORS AND AWARDS:

Recipient of College of Engineering Scholarship (2003-2004)

Recipient of Department of Chemical Engineering Scholarship (2003)

ACTIVITIES

Dept. of Chemical Engineering representative, Graduate Engineering Council, Princeton University (2005-present)

Secretary, University of Washington (UW) chapter of AIChE (2004)

Treasurer, UW chapter of Engineering Honor Society Tau Beta Pi (2004)

Co-Chair, UW Department of Chemical Engineering Graduation Committee (2004)

Member, UW Annual Giving Committee (2004)

Activities Chair, Indonesian Student Association at UW (2003)