Prof. Henslee, an assistant professor in the Engineering Department at WFU was awarded the prestigious NSF CAREER award. With support from this award she and her students will address critical gaps in our knowledge of red blood cells (RBCs) using a variety of techniques that will probe internal, external, and membrane alterations due to changes in RBC health. This will elicit further understanding of early changes in RBC-related diseases such as malaria, anemia, and cardiovascular diseases.She will also focus on mentoring, teaching students how to conduct rigorous, ethical research, expose them to novel cell characterization and state-of-the-art technologies, and empower them to communicate their work with the public.