Thao received her B.S in 2019 from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in South Korea, where she studied Biomedical Engineering (major) and Design (minor). At the same university, she completed her M.S degree in TMB lab, under Prof. Joo Hun Kang. She then briefly worked as a researcher in Gryzbowski group before moving to University of Illinois at Chicago in August 2021. In June 2022, she started her PhD at the University of Barcelona under supervision of Prof. Josep Puigmarti Luis.
Her main research focus was on microfluidic device fabrication, especially towards improvement of cytotoxicity testing reliability for drugs. She worked directly with chip development processes such as chip machining, bonding, evaluating as well as in-chip culturing of primary and stem cells. For biology applications, Thao used her compartmentalized microfluidic platforms to mimic blood-brain-barrier (BBB) microenvironment for effective in-vitro drug testing and drug delivery. She also used her chips for co-culture of liver or heart cells, magnetic separation of bacteria as well as pressure driven gradient formation through 3D gels. For chemistry applications, she used her droplet generator device to form crystals, which could then be manipulated using laser for advanced manipulation. Her doctoral research will be an extension of her latest work and more.
