iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Cracked me up that "y'all", "roly poly", and "coke" are what cracked the code on where I'm from 😂. So many places take diphthongs *really* seriously

A map of the United States showing regional American English dialect patterns. Blue indicates “least like you” and red indicates “most like you,” with strongest red across much of the South and central U.S. and strongest blue in the Northeast. Cities marked include Oklahoma City, Dallas, and Miami.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

The BME Faculty Jobs List is back for 2026-2027! My goal is to support early-career faculty candidates with a centralized & open-access database. Please share & contribute! #FacultySearch #BME #BMEJobsList Add a job: forms.gle/Qq4GmF9axXHE... Jobs list: ericaprattlab.com/bme_jobs_list/

Header of Pratt Laboratory website showing a colorful word cloud with terms like "computational," "biomaterials," "medical," and "systems," above the text "Tenure Track Faculty Positions in Biomedical Engineering." *alt-text generated using OpenAI GPT-4.1 mini*

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Me, watching Dale briefly consider the consequences of his actions and then still doing the Dalest thing possible. #WidowsBay

Guy pulling off his headset in disgust meme

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Thrilled to receive the NoA for our first #NIH grant, a NIBIB R21 Trailblazer award! This high-risk/high-reward mechanism will support development of new tools to functionally profile circulating tumor cells (CTCs). A huge round of thanks & applause to NIH staff who are working around the clock!

Screenshot of an NIH Notice of Award document from the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

I feel like Hild would have approved of this impromptu usage of her story! @needhibhalla.bsky.social it was indeed an amazing read!

Spike of flowering purple orchids draped across book standing upright. The book is entitled "Menewood" by Nicola Griffith. The book cover features a flaxen-haired woman holding a sword pose.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

I am too neurodivergent for this shit

Captcha with the prompt 'Find all animals that are in a calm , dormant state' with AI-generated cartoon animals in various poses as options.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

And congratulations to 2nd year PhD student Liz Medvedeva on being appointed to the BU T32 program in Synthetic Biology & Biotechnology (SB2)! She will receive two years of research support and advanced career development opportunities, including a summer industrial internship. Well done!

Person with shoulder-length curly brown hair wearing a light beige blazer over a black top, accessorized with a gold necklace featuring a small butterfly pendant, standing against a plain light gray background

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Back-to-back great news in the Pratt Lab to close out 2025! Congratulations to Loran on successfully completing her qualifying exam!

Loran ringing a small tabletop gong in celebration

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Announcing such a major change to NSF GRFP this late in the cycle is incredibly cruel. 2nd yr students (mine included) have been working so hard on their proposals despite ongoing uncertainty. They are driven and passionate about being outstanding scientists and helping those coming up behind them.

This means individuals in the following statuses at the time of application are eligible:

Undergraduate in the final (senior) year of a bachelor’s degree program
Bachelor’s degree-holder with NO enrollment in a graduate degree program (non-degree graduate coursework allowed)
Individual enrolled in a joint bachelor’s-master’s degree program with at least three undergraduate years completed
First-year graduate student in their first graduate degree program with less than one academic year completed in the degree program (according to institution’s academic calendar)
Individuals enrolled in joint bachelor’s-master’s degree programs are considered graduate students. For GRFP, joint bachelor’s-master’s degrees are defined as degrees concurrently pursued and awarded.
Not be a current NSF employee.

Applications that do not meet eligibility requirements will be returned without review as being ineligible for a fellowship.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

Pulled out some old sketchbooks for inspiration and instead ended up fully intimidated by doodles drawn by 15-year-old me! She would be *disgusted* with my work now😆😆😆.

Open sketchbook displaying two pencil drawings of two female models.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

The BME Faculty Jobs List is back for 2025-2026! Our goal is to support early-career faculty candidates with a centralized & open-access database. Please share & contribute! #FacultySearch #BME #BMEJobsList Add a job: forms.gle/bwEzwHAEehBj... Jobs list: ericaprattlab.com/bme_jobs_list/

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Colin then tackled amplicon recovery. He compared reported droplet disruption methods and developed a new thermal protocol combining key features from each. His method achieved the highest DNA recovery of all tested strategies. (5/8)

A two-panel scientific figure comparing four methods of droplet demulsification for recovering DNA after droplet preamplification.

Panel A (workflow schematic):
The top portion outlines a three-step overview of the experimental process:

Preparation of the reaction mix with primers, dNTPs, KRAS WT/G12D template, and buffer control.

Nine cycles of thermal cycling for preamplification.

Droplet destabilization to recover DNA.

The lower portion compares four demulsification methods:

Chemical (gray): Chloroform is added, followed by vortexing, centrifugation, and purification.

Physical (orange): Droplets are disrupted using a spin column with purification.

Thermalᵃ (blue): Droplets are frozen in liquid nitrogen (LN₂) for 1 minute, then purified.

Thermalᵇ (magenta, new method): A new protocol introduced in this study. Droplets are mixed with TE buffer, vortexed, centrifuged, frozen with LN₂ for 1 minute, thawed, and the cycle is repeated before purification.

Each method was tested using synthetic samples in biological triplicates (n = 8 per group).

Panel B (box plot):
Box plots showing DNA recovery (%) for each demulsification method across 24 replicates (n = 24).

The Thermalᵇ method shows the highest median recovery (~68%) with less variability.

Chemical and Physical methods show moderate recovery (~50%), while Thermalᵃ shows the lowest.
Statistical comparisons above the plot indicate significance levels: p < 0.01 to p < 0.0001 across groups.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Extracted amplicons can be quantified by either ddPCR or NGS. However, popular commercial ddPCR chemistries are not designed for this type of workflow. Colin figured out a way to reappropriate existing ddPCR reagents to stably emulsify high-fidelity buffers for automated droplet generation. (3/8)

A multi-panel scientific figure demonstrating the optimization of droplet preamplification reactions using ddPCR Buffer Control.

Panel A (top schematic):
A five-step schematic overview of the experimental workflow:

Preparation of the preamplification master mix with high-fidelity polymerase, primers, dNTPs, and a KRAS WT/G12D template.

Stabilization by adding varying volumes (0–7 µL) of ddPCR Buffer Control.

Droplet generation using oil-based emulsification.

Preamplification (9 cycles), followed by purification.

Analysis using ddPCR.

Panel B (tube images):
Photographs of PCR tubes before and after thermal cycling, showing increasing droplet stability with higher volumes of Buffer Control (0 to 7 µL). After thermal cycling, emulsions with low buffer appear coalesced, while those with ≥2 µL maintain discrete droplets.

Panel C (dot plot):
Graph showing preamplification efficiency (%) versus µL of Buffer Control (1.5 to 4.5 µL). Efficiency increases with Buffer Control volume, peaking at 4 µL. Statistical significance is indicated between groups (*p < 0.05 to ****p < 0.0001).

Panel D (ddPCR 2D plots):
Two 2D cluster plots from ddPCR analysis showing droplet fluorescence (FAM vs. VIC) for 1.5 µL (left) and 4 µL (right) Buffer Control conditions. The 4 µL condition shows significantly more amplified copies of both KRAS G12D (blue) and KRAS WT (red), with higher separation and cluster integrity.

Panel E (scatter plot):
Linear correlation plot comparing preamplified G12D vs. G12WT copy number across samples. The trend line (R² = 0.997) and slope near 1 indicate no significant amplification bias between alleles.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

Rain or shine, @prattlab.bsky.social will always be enthusiastic participants for #PanCANPurpleStride! It is a privilege to honor patients, families, and caregivers. The mission of advancing pancreatic cancer research is more important than ever. Thank you @pancan.bsky.social and PanCAN Boston!

Pratt Lab members pose while wearing matching PurpleStride t-shirts. The backdrop overhead states "Taking Steps to End Pancreatic Cancer."

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

These Yolink temp/moisture sensors have been such a great way to calm my #NewPI anxiety. And it's interesting to compare data and see if the extra $$ was worth it! Highly recommend (if IT allows it).

Screenshot from app showing 2x3 panel with temperature readings for various pieces of equipment.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Our 3rd Annual Floor Holiday party approaches! I am looking forward to the White Elephant shenanigans 🐘!

Various gift wrapped items piled in, on, and around a cardboard box labeled "6th Floor Holiday Party White Elephant Gifts." The box label features a line drawing of a white elephant wearing a red Santa hat.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

What better way to end the first rotation than a lab cleanup followed by bubble tea? Much laughter and cool data was had over the last two months.

Pratt Lab members + rotation students at a milk tea store

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 27/10/2024

And it's a wrap! #BMES2024 was such a blast, in no small part due to my amazing co-Track Chair, Madeleine Oudin! What a wonderful opportunity to work with a trailblazing scientist & great human being. A big thank you to our session chairs and speakers. You made it easy to put on an amazing program!

Erica and Madeleine high five behind large block letters that spell out BMES

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 24/06/2024

Happy to see #PrattLab has arrived to GRC Bioanalytical Sensors! This is their first ~*PI-free*~ conference outing. If you're around please say hello and stop by their posters! @GordonConf #GRC

Pratt Laboratory members at Salve Regina University entrance gate.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 21/06/2024

The BME Faculty Jobs List is back for another cycle! Our goal is to support early-career faculty candidates with a centralized & open-access database. Please share & contribute! #FacultySearch #BME #BMEJobsList Add a job: forms.gle/HPzAKkS1x44t... Jobs list: ericaprattlab.com/bme_jobs_list/

Splash page for BME Tenure Track Jobs List

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 30/05/2024

The second Pratt Lab candidate takes the floor! Congratulations to Maren on an excellent presentation and prospectus defense. Very proud!

Maren and Erica smiling together. A green textured wall is in the background.

Maren celebrating by ringing the lab gong.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 13/05/2024

The first Pratt Lab PhD candidate has entered the building! Congratulations to Colin on successfully passing his prospectus defense 🎉🎉🎉. Very proud!

Colin celebrates after ringing the lab gong

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 19/04/2024

So excited that I got to run this choose-your-own-adventure ethics case study for my design class today. It was so much fun and got some great conversations going! Ty to the creators for an amazing exercise and generously sharing their materials. Read more here: monolith.asee.org/public/confe...

A jar of marbles, playing cards, large foam dice, and fake coins next to instruction cards for an ethics case study.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 03/04/2024

Very excited to co-chair the Cancer Technologies Track with @madeleineoudin.bsky.social for #BMES2024! We have made adjustments to the sub-tracks to reflect innovations in the field. Please volunteer as an abstract reviewer & submit your exciting research!

Sub-tracks:

Novel strategies in cancer detection, diagnosis, and prognosis
Cancer immunoengineering, immunomodulation & immunotherapy
Cancer drug delivery & nanotechnology
Computational modeling of cancer & systems biology
Cancer mechanobiology
Engineered cancer models for in vitro studies
Tumor microenvironment
Cancer migration and metastasis
Circulating biomarkers: CTCs, extracellular vesicles and DNA
Other/Non-specified

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 28/03/2024

I need to watch more tv, because I don't know who half these characters are! Also the female version of my archetype is clearly underrepresented in the media🤣!

Quiz result showing 81% match with Elliot Alderson (Mr. Robot)

Top results from match list:
1. Ellior Alderson (Mr. Robot): 81%
2. Ray Ploshansky (Girls): 79%
3. Jonathan Byers (Stranger Things): 79%
4. Will Graham (Hannibal): 78%
5. Allison Reynolds (The Breakfast Club): 78%
6. Liz Lemon (30 Rock): 78%
7. Connor Deslauriers (Degrassi: The Next Generation): 78%
8. Tycho Brahe (Penny Arcade): 78%
9. Viktor (Arcane): 78%
10. Toby Ziegler (The West Wing): 77%

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 27/12/2023

Calendly's year-end summary is a depressing confirmation that forking out for a subscription was an excellent idea🤣. And this is not even counting my recurring 1:1s with trainees! I was truly *not* ready for how much of #NewPI life is meeting palooza.

Screenshot showing 166 meetings booked over the course of a year using Calendly (appointment scheduling software).

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 27/11/2023

Office enplampening* intensifies *Yes, plamp not plant. I don't make the rules 🤷🏾.

Potted pothos with trailing vines on a window shelf

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 08/11/2023

🙏to agheaven on tumblr for this amazing blast from the past! I was and am so thankful to the illustrator for bringing my short story to life. A few years later, my handling editors would gamely provide a reference for me to attend the Oklahoma School of Science and Math🤣!

Left: cover of the July/August 1999 issue of American Girl magazine. A smiling young girl is holding a pair of binoculars.

Right: The title page from one of two short story contest winners. The title is "Promises, promises" written by Erica D. Pratt.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 01/11/2023

Nabbed from @marklewismd on Twitter. Great figure showing the difference between stages of localized pancreatic cancer. And so many organs! And vasculature! Surgeons and radiation oncologists make miracles happen every day. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34547082/

Medical illustration of pancreatic cancer progression from resectable to locally advanced, shown through increased tumor size and increased vascular involvement.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 24/10/2023

A big shift in priority due dates this cycle, interesting 👀. #FacultySearch #BME #BMEJobsList A reminder that a priority date is just that. Many committees will continue to read 'late' submissions so they select the best shortlist possible. So don't give up!

Bar chart of the number of institutions with a specific application due date by month. Groups are the current year (2023) versus the average average of 2021-2022. Data reported as Month: 2023, 2021-2022 average:

June: 0, 2
July: 1, 3
Aug: 0, 2
Sept: 7, 8
Oct: 16, 15
Nov: 34, 23
Dec: 8, 28
Jan: 1, 15
Feb: 0, 5
Mar: 0, 1
Apr: 0, 1
May: 0, 2

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 20/10/2023

New Pratt Lab Lore has dropped! I've realized how it's truly important to celebrate every win, whether it's a fellowship/grant submission, a conference presentation, or an award won. So now we ring the gong to celebrate our accomplishments! Keep an 👂out for us 😂.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 30/08/2023

Pumped to unveil our *brand new* lab logo! Many thanks to the amazing team at scientific-illustrations.com for perfectly capturing our research.

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 03/07/2023

The 2023-2024 BME Faculty Jobs List is here! Our goal is to support early-career faculty candidates with a centralized & open-access database. Please share & contribute! Add a job: forms.gle/DudzrxyfXQnSa1Uh8 Jobs list: ericaprattlab.com/bme_jobs_list/

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