Fort Bend ISD

Student Biography

Jacob Wipf is currently a senior at Travis High School. During his high school career, Jacob served as the Brass Captain of the Travis Band and was a member of Chess Club. Additionally, he was recognized as an AP Scholar with Honors. Outside of school, Jacob raises a 4-year-old Jack Russell Terrier that he adores. As a part of GT Mentorship, Jacob was mentored at Houston Methodist Research Institute in the field of regenerative medicine. This experience ignited his curiosity about the medical field and taught him the importance of a consistent work ethic. In the fall, Jacob plans to matriculate at The University of Houston to study Nursing. 

Methodist Research Institute

Francesca Paradiso, Mentor

Francesca Paradiso is a PhD student with a bachelor and master’s degree in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. Early in her studies she explored autophagy's role in multiple myeloma at Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele (Italy). During her PhD she is evaluating the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) biochemical and mechanical cues in ovarian cancer development using 3D scaffold models. In her studies, jellyfish derived collagen and bovine derived collagen type I were tested as biomaterials for cancer applications. The resulting porous scaffolds, made of interconnected network of collagen fibres, was used to investigate mechanical and biological effect of collagen crosslinking and HA inclusion, respectively on both fibroblasts and ovarian cancer on 3D cell models. Her future interests will be to apply bio-physical models to support the establishment of patients-based models, displaying individuals unique features as a result of the cell donor’s genetic and epigenetic backgrounds matched with microenvironment mechanic and stromal activation state, to evaluate drug efficacy following a precision medicine approach.