Matthew Bakalar is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley. His research in Dr. Daniel Fletcher’s lab focuses on the physical mechanisms of macrophage target recognition, and he is developing methods to overcome immune evasion by tumor cells by manipulating the spatial organization of cell-surface proteins. He has also designed and deployed an automated cell-phone based microscope for quantification of the Loa loa parasite, a neglected tropical disease. The device is currently in trials for use in a mass drug administration campaign against Onchocerciasis in Loa endemic regions, where more than 14 million people have been excluded from treatment. Matthew has received the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and the Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases Kathleen L. Miller Graduate Fellowship.
