Chad Cowles, Ph.D.
Personal Statement:
My research interests integrate biomedical and engineering concepts to generate a more
comprehensive understanding of pregnancy, specifically focused on preventing pre-term labor. I
specifically selected preterm labor as my research focus because of the devastating nature of premature
birth, the lifelong consequences for families, and the relatively high incidence rate at ~12.5% of births
world-wide. I currently employ biophysical methods to identify proteins that are critical for uterine
relaxation. After identifying promising targets for pharmacological intervention in preterm labor, I will
integrate previous training in nanomaterial synthesis to research novel nano drug delivery systems. The
utilization of biophysical methods to investigate the efficacy of nano pharmacological drug delivery
systems to prevent premature labor is state-of-the-art, exciting, and promising.
Publications:
1. Cowles, C.L., Publicover, N.G., and Zhu, X. Fluorescence signal transduction mechanism for
immunoassay based on zinc ion release from ZnS nanocrystals. 2011. Analyst 136, 2975- 2980.
2. Cowles, C.L., Pai, C.Y., and Zhu, X. Using fluorescence measurement of zinc ions liberated from ZnS
nanoparticle labels in bioassay for Escherichia coli O157:H7. 2011. J. Nanopart. Res. 13, 5407- 5413.
3. Cowles, C.L. and Zhu, X. Sensitive detection of cardiac biomarker using ZnS nanoparticles as novel
signal transducers. 2011. Biosens. Bioelectron. 30, 342- 346.
4. Cowles, C.L., Chen, B., and Zhu, X. Facile synthesis and biosensing application of hybrid zinc
nanoparticles. 2012. J. Nanosci. Nanotechno. 12, 4546- 4552.
5. Cowles, C.L. and Zhu, X. Dual signal amplification for bioassays using ion release of nano-labels and
ion-activated enzyme kinetics. 2012. Analyst 137, 4815-4821.
6. Cowles, C.L. and Zhu, X. MicroRNA detection using magnetic separation and zinc-based nanolabels
as signal transducers. 2013. Anal. Methods, 2013,5, 801-804.
7. Heyman, N.S., Cowles, C.L, Barnett, S.D., Wu, Y.Y., Cullison, C., Singer, C.A., Leblanc, N., Buxton, I.L.O.
TREK-1 currents in smooth muscle cells from pregnant human myometrium. Am. J. Physiol-Cell Ph.
DOI: 10.1152/ajpcell.00324.2012.
8. Wu, Y.Y., Cowles, C.L., Lee, M.T., Barnett, S.D., Heyman, N.S., Buxton, I.L.O. Characterization of
variants of stretch‐activated 2‐pore potassium channel TREK‐1. Submitted.
Presentations:
1. Cowles, C.L., and Zhu, X. 2010. Ultrafiltration and immunoassay based bacterial pathogen detection.
Abstract for poster presentation, Pittconn, Orlando, FL.
2. Cowles, C.L., and Zhu, X. 2011. Fluorescence signal amplification of immunoassay based on cation
release from zinc sulphide nanoparticles. Abstract for poster presentation, Pittconn, Atlanta, GA.
3. Cowles, C.L., and Zhu, X. 2012. Sensitive detection of cardiac marker using zinc sulfide nanoparticles
as novel fluorescence signal transducers. Abstract for poster presentation, Pittconn, Orlando, FL.
4. Cowles, C.L., Chen, B., and Zhu, X. 2012. Facile synthesis and biosensing application of thioglycolic
acid modified ZnO nanoparticles” Abstract for oral presentation, Pittconn, Orlando, FL.
5. Cowles, C.L., Wu, Y.Y., Barnett, S.D., Lee, M.T., Buxton, I.L.O. 2013. “Functional Studies of Genetic
Splice Variants of TREK-1 and the Relationship to Uterine Quiescence.” Abstract for poster
presentation, Society for the Study of Reproduction Annual Meeting, Montreal, QC, CA.