Zakaria recognized for Best Poster Presentation following 2024 American Chemical Society’s BIOT annual meeting

Rahma Zakaria, a sixth-year bioengineering Ph.D. candidate in Fischell Institute Director Bill Bentley’s Biomolecular and Metabolic Engineering Laboratories, is the recipient of the 2024 W.H. Peterson Award for Best Poster Presentation.

The award, presented by the Biochemical Technology division of the American Chemical Society, includes a $1,000 cash prize and a commemorative plaque. Award recipients also receive up to a $250 catalog credit from Gibco Cell Culture–Invitrogen for their research groups.

“I’m honored to receive the W.H. Peterson Award for student poster presentations,” Zakaria said. “The poster sessions featured great research in various categories, ranging from cell line development for upstream processing to analysis of biomolecule structure and function. I appreciate that our group’s research in linking biological activity with electronics is being recognized, and I believe it has great potential for biochemical technologies of the future.”

The Bentley labs focus on developing bidirectional communication and information transfer between biological systems and electronics. Zakaria's work examines ways to control gene expression using single or multiplexed electronic cues.

“I am excited by the opportunities in microbial synthetic biology, and it has been a wonderful experience to join the Bentley lab and work on pioneering electrogenetics research,” she said.

Zakaria plans to defend her Ph.D. thesis in spring or summer of 2025 and looks forward to pursuing research in synthetic biology or related fields, whether in industry or government.

“Research is most meaningful when others learn from it and use it to further their own work,” she said. “This award encourages me to continually hone my scientific communication skills and contribute to solving some of our world’s biggest challenges.”

Published February 26, 2025