School Notes: School of Engineering & Applied Science
January/February 2013

Advancing epigenetics research

Rong Fan, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, is studying genome-scale epigenetic mapping of single cells. Epigenetic changes are changes in the genome that occur without the DNA sequence being altered, and they play an important role in the study of disease, including many cancers. Current technologies, however, don’t allow for single-cell epigenetic analysis at the genome level. Fan is developing a microfluidic processor for single-cell epigenomic analysis, to study differences in tumor cells as well as tumor evolution, and, ultimately, to perform mapping of single tumor cells from patients. For his proposed research in this area, Fan was awarded a 2012 Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering. From a total of 100 invited nominations from the presidents of 50 select universities each year, 16 early-career Packard Fellows are ultimately selected to receive individual grants of $875,000, to be distributed over a five-year period.

Leadership program continues to grow

Launched in 2009, the School of Engineering & Applied Science’s Advanced Graduate Leadership Program offers doctoral students internships in areas such as technology ventures, educational outreach, communications and public affairs, and professional mentorship, among others. Fellows may participate in grant-writing clinics, attend meetings with venture capitalists, or join consulting case-study competitions, to name a few possibilities—all with the goal of better preparing them for the wealth of opportunities afforded by an engineering degree. The program received a record number of applications for the 2012–2013 school year, enjoying expanded popularity and growth that provides even more opportunities for fellows. AGLP is supported by a grant from the Goizueta Foundation, founded by Yale engineering alumnus Roberto Goizueta ’53E, who served for 16 years as the CEO of the Coca-Cola Company.