Current Address: 607 Charles E. Young Dr. E., Room 4234 Los Angeles, CA 90024 Telephone: +1-(310)-825-7385 E-mail: messina@chem.ucla.edu Date/Place of Birth: Citizenship: 07 December 1990 / Corpus Christi, TX United States of America Education University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Los Angeles, CA (2014-Present) Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) Corpus Christi, TX (2010-2014) Research Experience 2014 Present Graduate Researcher, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), Los Angeles, CA Advisers: Professor Heather D. Maynard and Alexander M. Spokoyny Synthesis of trehalose glycopolymers for use in protein stabilization. 2012 2014 Undergraduate Researcher, TAMUCC, Corpus Christi, TX Adviser: Mark A. Olson Designed and completed syntheses of bipyridinium-based amphiphiles and worked towards understanding the non-covalent interactions and electrostatics in these macromolecules and how these forces and interactions affect the thermodynamic equilibrium and kinetics of self-assembly in solution, on surfaces, and at the solventnanoparticle interface. Summer 2013 Undergraduate Researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA Adviser: Jeremiah A. Johnson Synthesis of cyclic polymers via UV initiated ring expansion polymerization. Selected Awards and Honors NSF- Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) (2015-Present) Ford Fellowship Honorable Mention (2015) NSF- Bridge-to-Doctorate Fellowship (2014-2015) Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship (2014-2015)
UCLA Competitive Edge (2014) NSF-REU Leadership Group Travel Award to ACS (2014) Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Dean s List (2013) ABRCMS National Conference Travel Scholarship (2013) NSF- LSAMP Research Fellow, National Science Foundation. (2012 2014) SACNAS National Conference Travel Scholarship (2012) NSF- ACE Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation (2012 2014) Welch Research Fellowship, Welch Foundation. (2012) TAMUCC Honors Program Project of Excellence Scholarship (2012) TAMUCC Honors Program Leadership Scholarship (2010) Texas Lutheran University Dean s List (2009) Publications 1. Olson, M. A., Messina, M. S., Thompson, J. R., Dawson, T. J., Goldner, A., Gaspar, D., Vazquez, M., Lehrman, J. A., Sue, A. C.-H. Reversible Morphological Changes of Assembled Supramolecular Amphiphiles Triggered by ph-modulated Host-Guest Interactions Submitted. 2. Olson, M. A., Thompson, J. R., Dawson, T. J., Hernandez, C. M., Messina, M. S., O Neal, T. (2013). Template-Directed Self-Assembly by way of Molecular Recognition at the Micellar-Solvent Interface: Modulation of the Critical Micelle Concentration Org. Biomol. Chem. 2013, 11, 6483 6492, Highlighted on the journal front cover. Research Presentations 1. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Ko, J. H. (Author), Pelegri-O Day, E., Strouse, J. (Author), Maynard, H. D. (Author), Trehalose Glycopolymers for use in Protein Stabilization, 2015 SACNAS National Conference, Gaylord Opryland Convention Center, Washington, D. C. (Oct. 2015). (Poster) 2. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Chong, P. (Author), Wixtrom, A. (Author), Wang, R. (Author), Kirlikovali, K. O. (Author), Axtell, J. C. (Author), Upton, B. M. (Author), Deshayes, S. (Author), Alexandrova, A. N. (Author), Maynard, H. D. (Author), Spokoyny, A. S. (Author), Cationic Polymerization of Styrene Utilizing Metal-Free, Boron-Rich Cluster Photocatalysts, 2015 Louis Stokes Midwest Center of Excellence (LSMCE) Annual Conference, Wyndham Indianapolis West, Indianapolis, IN (Oct. 2015). (Oral) 3. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Wixtrom, A. (Author), Chong, P. (Author), Wang, R. (Author), Axtell, J. C. (Author), Kirlikovali, K. O. (Author), Upton, B. M. (Author), Deshayes, S. (Author), Machan, C. W. (Author), Kubiak, C.
P. (Author), Alexandrova, A. N. (Author), Maynard, H. D. (Author), Spokoyny, A. M. (Author), Metal-Free Boron-Rich Cationic Styrene Polymerization Photocatalysts, 2015 Glenn T. Seaborg Symposium, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (Oct. 2015). (Poster) 4. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Synthesis, Characterization, and Experimentation of Novel Bipyridinium-based Surfactants, Spring 2014 Honors Program Symposium, Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas (May 2014). (Thesis Defense) 5. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Synthesis of Toroidal Polymer by way of UV Initiated Ring Expansion Polymerization, Spring 2014 Honors Program Symposium, Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas (May 2014). (Oral) 6. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Thompson, J. R. (Author), Dawson, T. J. (Author), Hernandez, C. M. (Author), Olson, M. A. (Author), Template-Directed Self-Assembly by way of Molecular Recognition at the Micellar-Solvent Interface: Modulation of the Critical Micelle Concentration, 2 nd Annual Science Innovation Panel Discussion and Poster Session, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas (Apr. 2014). (Poster) 7. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Goldner, A. (Author), Vazquez, M. Micellar-Solvent Interface, 247 th ACS National Meeting and Exposition, Dallas, Texas (Mar. 2014). (Poster) 8. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Goldner, A. (Author), Vazquez, M. Micellar-Solvent Interface, 2014 Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Conference, Westin Hotel, Houston, Texas (Feb. 2014). (Oral) 9. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Thompson, J. R. (Author), Dawson, T. J. (Author), Olson, M. A. (Author), From the Micellar Cradle to the Crystalline Grave: Surfactant Aggregation from Dilute Solutions to Pure Crystals, 2013 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center, Nashville, Tennessee (Nov. 2013). (Oral) 10. Goldner, A. (Author and Presenter), Messina, M. S. (Author), Vazquez, M. Micellar-Solvent Interface, 13 th Annual Sigma Xi Undergraduate Research
Symposium, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas (Oct. 2013). (Poster) 11. Martinez, C. (Author and Presenter), Messina, M. S. (Author), Vazquez, M. (Author), Gaspar, D. (Author), Olson, M. A. (Author), Thermally Initiated Metal Oxide Reduction Using a Redox Active Bipyridinium-based Colloidal Gel, 13 th Annual Sigma Xi Undergraduate Research Symposium, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas (Oct. 2013). (Poster) 12. Vazquez, M. (Author and Presenter), Messina, M. S. (Author), Goldner, A. (Author), Gaspar, D. (Author), Olson, M. A. (Author), Bipyridinium-Based Polymer Sponges for the Selective Sequestration of π-electron Rich Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Water, 13 th Annual Sigma Xi Undergraduate Research Symposium, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas (Oct. 2013). (Poster) 13. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Zhou, H. (Author), Johnson, J. A. (Author), Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers by a Novel UV Initiated Ring Expansion Polymerization, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MSRP seminar day, Cambridge, MA (Aug. 2013). (Poster) 14. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Dawson, T. J. (Author), Thompson, J. R. (Author), Hernandez, C. M. (Author), Olson, M. A. (Author), Reversible Docking at the Micellar-Solvent Interface, 12 th Annual Sigma Xi Undergraduate Research Symposium, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas (Mar. 2013). (Oral) 15. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Dawson, T. J. (Author), Thompson, J. R. (Author), Hernandez, C. (Author), Olson, M. A. (Author), Supramolecular Switching at the Micellar-Solvent Interface, 2013 Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Conference, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas (Feb. 2013). (Poster) 16. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Dawson, T. J. (Author), Thompson, J. R. (Author), Hernandez, C. (Author), Olson, M. A. (Author), Reversible Docking at the Micellar-Solvent Interface, 2012 SACNAS National Conference, Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, Washington (Oct. 2012). (Poster)
17. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Moral Issues of Universal Healthcare, Spring 2012 Honors Program Symposium, Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas (April 2012). (Poster) 18. Messina, M. S. (Author and Presenter), Mechanostereochemistry: Topologies, Synthesis, Utilizations, and Future Outlooks, Fall 2011 Honors Program Symposium, Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas (Dec. 2011). (Oral) Teaching and Mentoring Experience 2012 2014 Research Mentor, TAMUCC, Corpus Christi, TX Mentored 5 undergraduate research students 2012 2014 Supplemental Instructor, TAMUCC, Corpus Christi, TX Teaching assistant for Organic Chemistry I and II as well as General Chemistry I and II 2011 2012 Supplemental Instructor, Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX Teaching assistant for Anatomy and Physiology I