Personal Bio
Jacob is a 2nd year graduate student from Charlotte, North Carolina. He received his B.Sc in Chemistry from NC State University in 2024, joining the Xiao Lab as an undergraduate researcher in 2022. In his spare time, he enjoys watering his flowers, watching movies or T.V. shows, doing yoga, reading, and listening to music.
Favorite artists – Slayer, Black Sabbath, Tim Maia, Stevie Wonder, Outkast, Tyler the Creator, …..
Favorite Movies – There Will Be Blood, No Country For Old Men, Alien, Spirited Away, Interstellar, The Lord of The Rings, ….
Research Summary
Jacob primarily works on aptamer characterization and electrochemical aptamer-based sensor (E-AB) development. In the past, he worked on identifying structure switching aptamers through exonuclease digestion assays, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and gel electrophoresis. His current projects focus on developing portable E-AB sensor platforms using screen-printed electrodes and paper-based devices for the detection of small molecule analytes such as fentanyl, cocaine, estradiol, and THC.
Publications List
- Alkhamis O., Canoura J., Willis C., Wang L.L., Perry, J. & Xiao Y. (2023) Comparison of aptamer signaling mechanisms reveals disparities in sensor response and strategies to eliminate false signals. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 145, 12407 – 12422.
- Canoura J., Liu Y.Z., Perry, J., Willis, C. & Xiao Y. (2023) A suite of aptamer-based sensors for the detection of fentanyl and its analogs. ACS Sensors 8, 1901 – 1911.
