Marko Zimic — the URECA researcher of the month for April — is a senior in the Honors College, majoring in chemical and molecular engineering, with minors in chemistry and materials science.
In his first year at Stony Brook, he joined the research group of Professor Tadanori Koga and Research Professor Maya Endoh in the Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, where he investigates how proteins and bacteria attach to polymer surfaces and how surfaces can be engineered to prevent bacterial attachment and limit biofouling. His research has involved conducting experimental work at both Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to understand nanopatterns and bacterial attachment.
His advice to fellow students: “Make sure you do your research beforehand, before getting involved. The reason I hit it off with Dr. Koga so well when I started was that I did my homework beforehand, and I read not just his research, but a lot of the research that was going on in the department.”
In 2024, Zimic earned the Education Collaboration Program Summer Scholarship from Oak Ridge National Laboratory to perform work on his project. He was also awarded URECA summer funding in 2025 to support his work on “Rational Surface Design to Optimize Antibacterial Properties” and has received URECA travel awards to support conference presentations. Zimic is also completing a senior thesis project, titled “Evaluating the Antifouling Properties of TPX™ Polymethylpentene Thin Films,” under Distinguished Professor Miriam Rafailovich, as well as a senior design project, titled “A Generic Synthesis of Niraparib, an Ovarian Cancer Drug,” under Professor Devinder Mahajan.
To date, Zimic has showcased his work in the Endoh/Koga group at eight poster sessions, including the URECA Symposium, the 2024 American Chemical Society Meeting and the 2025 Oak Ridge National Laboratory Joint Nanoscience and Neutron Scattering User Meeting. He gave an oral presentation at the Spring 2025 American Physical Society Global Summit in Anaheim, California, supported by a URECA conference award. He is also a co-author on “Antifouling Property of Nanostructured Surfaces Prepared by Block Copolymer Self-Assembly: Bacterial Adhesion,” published in the Journal of Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Research in 2025.
Zimic has been admitted to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and intends to pursue a career as a physician-scientist.
Look for Zimic’s poster presentation at several upcoming events on campus, including the CEAS Senior Design Showcase (April 28), the Honors College Symposium (April 30) and the URECA Poster Symposium (May 5).
Read the full interview with URECA Director Karen Kernan.
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