Jodie L. Conyers, Ph.D.
Adjoint Professor |
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Jay L. Conyers, Ph.D.
Adjoint Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Background
Jay Conyers grew up in Fort Worth, Texas and graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas in 1995. In 2000, he completed his Ph.D. in Physical/Analytical Chemistry at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. Conyers research experience began as an undergraduate at Trinity, where he spent time in the labs of Drs. John A. Burke, Jr. and Christopher J. Pursell. While working under the direction of Dr. Burke, Dr. Conyers helped develop new ruthenium complexes of terpyridine and binaphthyridine for use as electrocatalysts. Dr. Conyers then worked with Dr. Pursell investigating the photochemical decomposition of matrix-isolated chlorine dioxide under atmospheric conditions. After graduation from Trinity, Dr. Conyers completed a Henry Eyring Research Fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Charles Wight at the University of Utah, where he prepared and characterized thin films of carbonic acid via condensed-phase spectroscopy. Shortly thereafter, he joined the laboratory of Dr. Henry S. White and began his thesis work in the area of electroanalytical chemistry. His research included instrumentation design (STM, quartz crystal microbalance, high-speed data acquisition systems for cyclic voltammetry), electron transfer kinetics (Ag/Ag2S), well-oriented electrode preparation (Ag/Au 111), and electrochemical characterization of nanometer electrodes. Dr. Conyers also completed a one-year fellowship at Utah’s Surface Analysis Facility while in graduate school.
After completing his doctoral work in 2000, Dr. Conyers accepted a Research Scientist position at Lynntech, Inc. in College Station, Texas. During his time there, he directed a research program focused on developing nanoelectrode arrays for analyzing biological pathogens, ground water contaminants, and genetic materials (DNA/RNA). Dr. Conyers also developed programs in electrocatalysis (ozone, acetic acid, oxygen), microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and microfluidic devices for dielectrophoretic separations. In 2003, Dr. Conyers joined the Texas Heart Institute as a technical consultant, where he managed the Vulnerable Plaque Research Department’s patent portfolio comprising technologies such as non-invasive diagnostic imaging, coronary catheters, and coronary dialysis systems. Later that year, he accepted a full-time position at The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, where he began as an Instructor in Internal Medicine in the Cardiology division. Since joining the research faculty at the Health Science Center, Dr. Conyers has developed an interdisciplinary “nanomedicine” research program focused on developing nanomaterial-based contrast agents for medical imaging and smart drug delivery platforms comprising nanometric liposomes. Now an Assistant Professor in the Health Science Center’s Office of Biotechnology, Dr. Conyers has helped establish the Alliance for NanoHealth, a consortium of local research institutions dedicated to applying nanotechnology to solving some of medicines most challenging problems.
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