Dr. Califano is pursuing research that she hopes to one day apply to helping people fight cancers like Leukemia. She is an expert in liquid phase separation and bio-separations, which would be used to efficiently separate out the cancerous proteins in the body from healthy ones, basically filtering away the cancer. Her current research on protein purification was conducted on E. coli bacteria, but successful trials mean Dr. Califano hopes to transfer her work to mammalian cells. “I want to use my background in bio and chemical engineering to do something where I can really help people,” said Dr. Califano.

Much of her research is conducted with the help of students at St. Francis College, who get not only the practical research experience, but also share authorship of the work.

Dr. Califano conducted postgraduate work at Princeton and is able to still conduct research there. She has also developed a relationship with Brookhaven National Labs and is an active member of the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), an organization dedicated to increasing interest among minority communities in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering.

Languages
Dr. Califano is fluent in Italian.

Publications
Professor Califano’s work has been published in books and several national and international journals including Nature Protocols, Physics of Fluids Journal and Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal.