Team — Ma Research Lab

Principal Investigator

Boran Ma, she/her

Assistant professor at SPSE

Faculty advisor for Women in Science and Engineering

Dr. Boran “Bo” Ma is an Assistant Professor in the School of Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Southern Mississippi. Prior to joining SPSE in January 2023, Bo was a postdoctoral associate at Duke University. She received her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University in 2019 and her BEng in Materials Science and Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology in 2014.

The Ma Research Lab focuses on multiscale modeling and simulation of polymeric materials and systems for energy and sustainability applications. Bo performs stand-up comedy in her free time, and enjoys hiking, running, and paddle boarding.

full cv

Graduate Students

Joined MRL summer 2023

Alex Rosario, he/him

Graduate Research Assistant

Alex comes to us from the University of Florida where he graduated in 2022 with a B.S. in Chemistry. He had the opportunity to work with three great professors and mentors during his undergraduate studies: Dr. Patrick Hillesheim working with ionic liquids, Dr. James Newton working on a pharmaceuticals project, and Dr. Zhe Qiang working with polymers.

Growing up in a military family he’s had the opportunity to travel the world and try many foods, his favorite of which was gelato in Italy, and perhaps the strangest was a silkworm in South Korea. His hobbies include building legos, watching anime, and playing piano. His favorite polymer is poly(4-chlorostyrene) to which he owes his start in the polymer world.

Joined MRL summer 2023

Bradley Lamb, he/him

Graduate Research Assistant

Co-advised with Dr. Zhe Qiang

After spending a few years in community colleges, Bradley transferred into Western Washington University where he completed his B.S. in Polymer Materials Engineering. During his time at Western, he had the incredible opportunity to join the Ocean Plastics Research team where he discovered his favorite polymer, ABS, during a recycling project. Through his research he was invited to live on a boat at Katmai National Park for a week, collecting plastic marine debris. This is where he saw first hand how our current way of life impacts the environment and the animals that inhabit it. From that moment he decided to dedicate himself towards helping move our society to a more sustainable future and protect the environment. However, his love for the environment doesn’t stop in the lab! Over the years he’s welcomed countless pets into his life including cats, a snake, an axolotl, and many more amazing critters.

Joined MRL summer 2023

Bryant Grove, he/him

Graduate Research Assistant

Co-advised with Dr. Derek Patton

Bryant came to the University of Southern Mississippi in 2020, after graduating from Mississippi College with a B. S. in Chemical Physics. Initially, he worked under Dr. Patton in creating chemical composites. In 2023, he shifted to being co-advised by Dr. Boran Ma and Dr. Patton, with a focus on computational modeling of graphene nanocomposites and engineering advanced components using finite element method. Bryant’s current hobbies include going to restaurants, watching movies, TV shows and comedy, reading audiobooks and working out seven days a week.

Joined MRL spring 2024

Dan Struble, he/him

Graduate Research Assistant

After taking an extremely roundabout path to STEM, Dan obtained a B.S. in Polymer Materials Engineering from Western Washington University where his undergraduate research focused on small-molecule synthesis of novel biobased thermoset monomers and diluents to impart targeted degradability to legacy thermoset systems. This (unsuccessful) work inspired his interest in leveraging computational methods to develop deeper understandings of the complex chemical and physical properties of polymer systems. Dan is passionate about science communication and education, particularly where they intersect with pragmatic solutions for plastics use and sustainability.

Outside of the lab, he likes bikes, cooking, and yoyos; and has been known to develop unreasonably strong opinions about trivial things including but absolutely not limited to: the difference between a spatula and a turner, celebrities as voice actors, and light color temperature. In July 2012 he got a perfect score in Wii Bowling.

Undergraduate Students

Joined MRL fall 2024

Menna Khalifa, she/her

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Menna enrolled in the University of Southern Mississippi in 2024, where she is pursuing a B.S. in Polymer Science and Engineering. She is currently assisting in the Machine learning- assisted analysis of polymeric materials to design new materials with optimal properties.

Menna’s hobbies include crocheting, baking, learning languages, listening to movie scores, and watching K-dramas.

Joined MRL spring 2025

Mashrafee Aryan, he/him

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Mashrafee is an international freshman at the University of Southern Mississippi, originally from Bangladesh. He enrolled in Fall 2024 and is currently working in Dr. Ma’s lab, focusing on finding optimal ways to measure contact angles using images. He plans to pursue a career in research. His hobbies include building software, writing stories, and cooking.

Joined MRL summer 2025

Enzo Acosta, he/him

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Currently attending Villanova University as a Chemistry major, Enzo works in the Zubris Group synthesizing and characterizing organometallic complexes as polymerization catalysts. Enzo is working at the Ma Group this summer as a part of the USM PMSE REU program, where he is working on semi-interpenetrating network hydrogels. He currently plans to pursue his PhD in chemistry following his upcoming senior year. Outside of lab his hobbies are playing the trumpet and string bass, working out, taekwondo, and cooking.

Joined MRL summer 2025

Felix Campbell, he/him

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Felix is enrolled in Sewanee, the University of the South, as a chemistry and philosophy double major. For summer 2025, He is an undergraduate research assistant in the Ma lab thanks to funding from the NSF, where he is assisting Dan Struble in a study of contact angle analysis and polymer inks. At his home university, Felix works in the Summers lab, taking bacterial samples from caves for genetic analysis.

Outside of the lab, he plays volleyball for the Sewanee Men's club team, occupies an executive board position in his fraternity, and leads Student Outing Program trips caving and hiking.

Visiting Scholars

Joined MRL summer 2025

Trevor Dunn, he/him

RET

Trevor Dunn is a high school math and science teacher with six years of experience teaching in Missouri and Mississippi. He primarily teaches Trigonometry and Precalculus, Physics, and has previously taught Algebra II, Geometry, College Algebra, Physical Science, and Chemistry. At school, he has co-sponsored a Scholar Bowl team that qualified for a national tournament in 2022 and will be sponsoring the Mu Alpha Theta math honor society in the upcoming school year.

Trevor earned a B.S. in Applied Mathematics with an emphasis in Secondary Education from Missouri University of Science and Technology in 2019. He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Instructional Technology and Design, with an expected graduation in Spring 2026.

Outside the classroom and lab, Trevor enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons with friends and spending time with his wife and their two guinea pigs, Hubble and Kepler.