PhD Candidate: Amanda Anh Nguyen
Over 80% of human proteins evade conventional drug discovery approaches due to their structural complexity. We have developed hydrogel-encapsulated magnetic beads that can convert solution-phase libraries into FACS-compatible one-bead-one-compound formats via bulk emulsion polymerization and in-gel functionalization. My work established both activity-based aptamer screening and cellular phenotypic assays, enabling functional discovery beyond binding measurements. Together, these advances create a scalable pipeline for high-throughput functional and cellular screening in drug discovery.
