Post-Docs
Dr. Gurjit Mandair 
Gurjit Mandair graduated with Masters in Chemistry in 2000 from the University of Southampton, UK. His graduate projects involved modeling standing wave patterns in reactor vessels attached to ultrasound inducers and the fabrication of nanostructured platinum electrodes for methanol fuel cell studies. Afterwards, he started his PhD with Dr. Andrea E. Russell in the Combinatorial Center of Excellence (CCE) at the University of Southampton , where he developed infrared mapping and imaging techniques to screen resin-bound combinatorial libraries. During his PhD he synthesized anti-viral drug libraries and screened them spectroscopically using a novel miniaturized infrared-flow cell device built in-house and tested at the Eli Lilly Research Center , Surrey , UK . He received his PhD in 2004 and joined the Morris group in 2005 as a Research Fellow.
His early work, in collaboration with Karen Esmonde-White and Prof. Blake Roessler, involved the use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) techniques to detect changes in synovial fluid hyaluronic acid levels, a potential biomarker for osteoarthritis. His current research is focused on using unpolarized and/or polarized Raman spectroscopy to monitor time-course mineralization events in osteogenic cell cultures, as well as using correlative fluorescence and Raman imaging approaches to study the effect of non-collagenous proteins on mineral formation in cell cultures and whole-tissue sections.
He has a keen interest in bone tissue-engineered constructs and collaborates with graduates from the David Kohn group using Raman to analyze biomimetic materials and other apatitic constructs. In an external collaboration with the Ted Bateman group at Clemson University , he is exploring the feasibility of using Raman spectroscopy to detect mineral changes in hindlimb suspended rodents.
He has been a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) since 1994 and became associate member (AMRSC) in 2005. Outside the lab, he enjoys Argentine tango, running and cooking pasta dishes.
Dr. Peizhi Zhu
Dr. Zhu is currently working on the dynamics of mRNA and a translating ribosome using single molecule
imaging and microfluidic methods in collaboration with Nils G. Water lab, Chemistry and Mark Burns Lab,
Chemical Engineering. The overall goals of this project are to study the dynamics of ribosome movement along
mRNA, the penultimate step in protein assembly, and to progress towards a clearer understanding of the
processes that control this movement. A step-by-step approach was implemented to localize the ribosome
with near-codon (~2 nm) spatial resolution as it moves along mRNA. Dr. Zhu is also working on a bone
and mineral research program, which includes studies in decollagenated bone and bone structural
change under mechanical loads, in collaboration with Rams lab, Chemistry and David H. Kohn lab, School of
Dentistry.
Dr. Peizhi Zhu got his B.S. and M.S. from Nanjing University, and Ph.D. from University of Hong Kong. Before
joining the Morris Lab, he worked as a research associate at the Department of Molecular Biology at Scripps
Research Institute for about 2 years.
Dr. Jacqueline Cole 
As an undergraduate, Cole worked on the Baja and Formula SAE vehicle design teams for four years, where she served at various times as the chief welder, drivetrain design leader, chief engineer, and team captain. As a graduate student, Cole examined age- and sex-related differences in the cancellous bone mass, architecture, and material properties of human vertebral bone tissue as assessed by micro-computed tomography and mechanical testing. She also developed finite element models to evaluate the role of bone material properties on bone strength.
The Morris laboratory recently developed a Raman spectroscopic fiber optic probe that can observe bone spectra non-invasively through the skin and overlying soft tissue. Cole is currently modifying the existing probe design to develop non-invasive probes 1) to measure bone composition contributions to bone quality transcutaneously and 2) to assess the viability and function of a tissue-engineered human oral mucosal equivalent in situ in patients following engraftment of the construct.
Education:
1. Ph.D. 2007 Cornell University - Mechanical Engineering (Specialization in biomechanics and minors in
biomedical engineering and biometry)
2. M.S. 2004 Cornell University - Mechanical Engineering
3. B.M.E. 2001 Auburn University - Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Francis Esmonde-White