Mona Minkara
Assistant Professor, Bioengineering
Affiliated Faculty, Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Office
- 325 ISEC
- 617.373.2031
Related Links
Research Focus
Pulmonary surfactant (PS), Surfactant immunoproteins, Innate immune response, Computational methods, Computational modeling, Molecular Dynamics, Monte Carlo Simulations, Interfacial Phenomena, Biological interfaces, Therapeutics, Molecular Biophysics, Computational chemistry, Bioengineering, STEM Accessibility
About
Dr. Mona Minkara is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and an Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Northeastern University. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College and her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Florida. Dr. Minkara is the head of the COMBINE (Computational Modeling for Biointerface Engineering) Lab, which focuses on the study of pulmonary surfactant, a complex protein-lipid substance secreted by the alveoli in the lungs and its potential therapeutic applications in the medical field. Dr. Minkara specializes in using an array of computational tools to apply to biomolecular problems, and her laboratory is developing innovative approaches that combine protein and surfactant modeling to investigate the PS system computationally. As a blind scientist, she is committed to making science more accessible and inclusive through engineering new tools for blind and partially sighted scientists, and she is involved in several projects dedicated to promoting accessibility in STEM fields. The importance of interdisciplinary research is emphasized in her work, which highlights the efficacy of computational methods in drug discovery and elucidating the complexities of the pulmonary surfactant (PS) system.
Education
- PhD, Chemistry, University of Florida Gainesville, 2015
- BA, Chemistry and Middle-Eastern Studies, Wellesley College, 2009
Honors & Awards
- 2022 Martin Essigmann Outstanding Teaching Award
- Ford Foundation Fellowship from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Professional Affiliations
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- American Institute of Chemical Engineering (AIChE)
- The Biophysical Society
- The Protein Society
Research Overview
Pulmonary surfactant (PS), Surfactant immunoproteins, Innate immune response, Computational methods, Computational modeling, Molecular Dynamics, Monte Carlo Simulations, Interfacial Phenomena, Biological interfaces, Therapeutics, Molecular Biophysics, Computational chemistry, Bioengineering, STEM Accessibility
Prof. Minkara’s research programs, which center around pulmonary surfactant research and computational techniques, are situated at the intersection of molecular biophysics, computational chemistry, and bioengineering, and are comprised of five distinct programs aimed at enhancing accessibility and advancing scientific understanding.
Program 1: The structure and function of surfactant immunoproteins for the engineering of potential therapeutics.
Program 2: The study, understanding, and modeling of the monolayer to bilayer transition of PS to help engineer a more effective synthetic PS.
Program 3: Modeling drug delivery mechanisms.
Program 4. Engineering computational techniques and methods for the study of biological interfaces.
Program 5. Engineering tools and techniques to make STEM research accessible to the blind.
Selected Research Projects
- Modeling and Computation for Discovery of Molecular Probes for SARS-CoV-2 Proteins
- – Co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- Li, D.; Minkara, M.* Elucidating the Enhanced Binding Affinity of a Double Mutant SP-D with Trimannose on the Influenza A Virus Using Molecular Dynamics. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal 2022, 20, 4984-5000. DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.08.045
- Koone, J.C.; Dashnaw, C.M.; Alonzo, E.; Iglesias, M.A.; Patero, K.S.; Lopez, J.; Zhang, S.Y.; Zechmann, B.; Cook, N.; Minkara, M.; Supalo, C.A.; Wedler, H.B.; Guberman-Pfeffer, M.; Shaw, B.F. Data for all: tactile graphics that light up with picture-perfect resolution. Science Advances 2022, 8 (33). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq2640
- Minkara, M.; Josephson, T.R.; Venteicher, C.L.; Greenvall, B.R.; Lindsey, R.K.; Koenig, P.H.; Siepmann, J.I. Nonane and Hexanol Adsorption in the Lamellar Phase of a Nonionic Surfactant: Molecular Simulations and Comparison to Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory. Journal of Chemical Physics 2022, 126 (21), 3940-3949. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c02871
Mar 10, 2023
We Need People with Different Perspectives to Solve Problems
BioE Assistant Professor Mona Minkara speech at the United Nations about the need for visually impaired people in the field of science earned her a standing ovation.
Mar 01, 2023
Celebrating National Engineers Week 2023
The College of Engineering celebrated National Engineers Week with events including a ‘Break the Mold’ Fireside Chat with award-winning engineer and commentator Dr. Shini Somara and Dean Gregory Abowd; Cookies with the Dean event, which included snacks, photo and video booths, COE swag and a lot of COE pride; Breakout sessions with Shini Somara with select students and faculty showing our progressive engineering program, research, and community; and an Engineering for Everyone Expo hosted by the Center for STEM Education.
Feb 16, 2023
Students With Visual Impairments Empowered to Explore Chemistry Through SEPA Project
BioE Assistant Professor Mona Minkara was featured in the NIH Biomedical Beat article “Students With Visual Impairments Empowered to Explore Chemistry Through SEPA Project.”
Oct 07, 2022
Announcing Fall 2022 PEAK Experiences Awardees
Several engineering students and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Fall 2022 PEAK Experiences Awards. This extraordinary group of students is taking on a range of exciting projects, from exploring axolotl limb regeneration to building a snake-inspired robot to understanding accessibility on Broadway. ASCENT AWARDS Justin Almendral COE’24, “Wearable Art” Mentor: […]
Aug 22, 2022
This Technology Makes Data Accessible to Blind and Visually Impaired People
BioE Assistant Professor Mona Minkara was featured in the NPR podcast “This technology makes data accessible to blind and visually impaired people.”
Jul 13, 2022
BioE Alum Wins 2022 Innovator Award
Bioengineering alumna Samantha Johnson, E’21, ME’21, was the first place winner of the 2022 Innovator Awards given out by Northeastern’s Women Who Empower in the young alumnae graduate category, which she will use to develop a robotic arm that can sign in ASL.
Apr 15, 2022
Faculty and Staff Awards 2022
Congratulations to all the winners of the faculty and staff awards, and to everyone for their hard work and dedication during the 2021-2022 academic school year.
Oct 22, 2021
BioE’s Minkara Participates in Zero-Gravity Flight
BioE Assistant Professor Mona Minkara participated in a zero-gravity flight with a crew of 12 ambassadors with mobility, vision, and hearing disabilities to test how spacesuits and vessels can be made more accessible. AstroAccess has a mission dedicated to advancing disability inclusion in space exploration. As featured in the UK Daily Mail. Read full story: Making Space […]
Oct 22, 2021
Dr. Mona Minkara creates docu-series to share the global perceptions of disabilities through travel
BioE Assistant Professor Mona Minkara was featured by WCVB in the article “Dr. Mona Minkara creates docu-series to share the global perceptions of disabilities through travel” for her creation of the documentary “Planes, Trains, & Canes.”
Oct 22, 2021
Making Space Accessible to All
BioE Assistant Professor Mona Minkara participated in a zero-gravity flight with a crew of 12 ambassadors with mobility, vision, and hearing disabilities to test how spacesuits and vessels can be made more accessible.