Thomas Reese

Biography:
Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I did my undergraduate in physics at Drexel University, advised by Frank A. Ferrone, and have published research on spectroscopy-based sickle cell characterization. Namely, I discovered that Irreversibly sickled cells are neither dense NOR dehydrated, challenging an accepted medical paradigm. I also have a background in medicine, having done research in the department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and was similarly published. I also like to sing, play the piano, mentor undergraduates, and ride electric scooters.

Research Description:
I am a soft matter physicist who loves to map nanoscale design to micron-scale traits. I design and utilize DNA Nanostars that undergo LLPS to measure phase diagrams in the temperature-concentration plane. Experimental techniques largely entail large-N droplet microfluidics, PSF-fitting corrections, and fluorescence microscopy to measure condensate volume fractions at previously inaccessible precision and accuracy. My work on this topic has been presented at the APS March Meeting 2025, and am additionally working to publish our methods and results. From flexibility, to size, to ionic strength, I map how nanoscale adjustments to a solution filled with nanostars manifest specific equilibrium parameters such as condensate volume fraction, concentrations within phases, and melting temperatures. I hope that my doctorate will make me among the first to not only push this precision measurement technique to the limits, but to also characterize how solutions of various DIFFERENT nanostars reach equilibrium LLPS.