Vesna is a micro engineer interested in the behavior of liquids at a microscale. During her PhD, she developed a new concept for microscale flow control that enables programmable microfluidic devices, which have the potential to revolutionize the next generation of programmable diagnostic tests.
As a Schmidt Science Fellow, Vesna will work with Professor Abraham Stroock and Professor Margaret Frank at Cornell University to develop new technologies and models for studying the transport of nutrients and long-distance signaling in plants. Her research could provide unprecedented access to the whole-plant dynamics that control growth, yield, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses.
Vesna hopes that her research will fill a critical gap in our current understanding of plants, enabling progress in the productivity and sustainability of agriculture in an increasingly food-insecure world. She also wants to inspire more engineers to pivot into plant sciences to develop interdisciplinary discovery and innovation.