Student Profile

Xiling Yue

Xiling Yue earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Pharmacy at Fudan University in China before entering the Chemistry PhD track. “I became interested in chemistry while studying pharmacy because it is essentially the fundamental basis of pharmacy. As a child I was actually interested in baking and dreamed of owning a shop. Now I basically see myself a baker except with chemicals,” notes Yue. She was interested in UCF initially because of the resources available, including high-tech equipment and a large journal database. She enjoys working with people from all around the world who share a common interest in science.

During her time at UCF, Yue has had several papers published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry, and she recently had a first-author paper accepted into the Journal of American Chemistry Society. Her current research is focused on testing newly synthesized compounds on cells for their ability to be used as a detector or therapy agent for cancer cells.

Yue appreciates the mentorship of both Dr. Kevin Belfield and Ciceron Yanez, who played a huge role in guiding her through her research. She plans to graduate in 2015 and continue on to post-doctoral research. Ultimately, she would like to work for a pharmaceutical company. 

Atul Asati

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from India in 2004, Atul Asati decided to pursue a PhD in Chemistry at UCF. “The Chemistry program offers diversity in almost each stream of science and has a wide range of applications for the well being of current and future human life,” he says. Asati conducts research in nanomedicine, nanobiotechnology, and chemistry, examining the synthesis and biological application of therapeutic and diagnostic nanoparticles under Dr. J Manuel Perez at Nanoscience Technology Center. He won the Best Poster Presentation Award at UCF’s Graduate Research Forum in 2008. During his PhD, he published into high impact peer review journals such as Angewandte Chemie, Small etc. which earned him various awards and honors at different levels.

In 2009, Asati's research won the National Biotechnology Graduate Symposium Award at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientist (AAPS) Biotechnology Conference, the American Vacuum Society's Graduate Research Excellence Award, and the Best Poster Award at the NanoFlorida Symposium held at UCF. His name was featured in American Chemical Society (ACS) new magazine, American Vacuum Society Fall 2009 newsletters and AAPS Pharmaceutica e-news. Asati also was invited to participate in a media interview with reporters at the ACS National Meeting and Exposition in Washington, DC, in August of 2009.

In past, Asati served various student body organizations at UCF campus such as the Nanoscience Technology Society and Materials Research Society, Graduate Student Association, Indian Awareness Council and as a Committee lead for the Registration and Sponsorship for the state level Nanoflorida Symposium 2008. He graduate from the Chemistry PhD program in fall 2009 and is now a research scientist at the NanoScience Technology Center.

Ciceron Yanez

Ciceron Yanez, PhD a graduate of the Chemistry PhD program, received the 2010 Outstanding Dissertation Award. Dr. Yanez developed a new method using microwave irradiation to prepare a technologically very important class of materials, two-photon absorbing photoacid generators. He used these materials to develop true three-dimensional optical data storage. In addition, Dr. Yanez prepared a set of related molecules and demonstrated for the first time the unusual property of two-photon induced stimulated emission depletion. His work has the basis to achieve unprecedented data density in three dimensional data storage. Based on his dissertation research, Dr. Yanez has published eleven articles in scientific research journals, made or contributed to seventeen presentations at scientific conferences, and has a patent pending. He has accepted a post-doctoral position at UCF to study new probes and non-invasive imaging techniques to study cell organelles and cells in live animals. These techniques are expected to provide early tumor detection and aid in the study of cellular processes and photomedicine.
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