Marko Zimic, a senior in the Honors College at Stony Brook University, was named URECA researcher of the month for April, according to an April 7 announcement. Zimic majors in chemical and molecular engineering with minors in chemistry and materials science.
Zimic’s research focuses on how proteins and bacteria attach to polymer surfaces, aiming to engineer surfaces that prevent bacterial attachment and limit biofouling. He joined the research group of Professor Tadanori Koga and Research Professor Maya Endoh during his first year at Stony Brook University. His experimental work has taken place at both Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.
In offering advice to other students interested in research, Zimic said: “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.”
Zimic received several awards supporting his work: he earned the Education Collaboration Program Summer Scholarship from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 2024; URECA summer funding for his project “Rational Surface Design to Optimize Antibacterial Properties” in 2025; as well as URECA travel awards for conference presentations. He is completing a senior thesis titled “Evaluating the Antifouling Properties of TPX Polymethylpentene Thin Films” under Distinguished Professor Miriam Rafailovich and a senior design project called “A Generic Synthesis of Niraparib, an Ovarian Cancer Drug” under Professor Devinder Mahajan.
He has presented his work from the Endoh/Koga group at eight poster sessions including university symposia and national conferences such as the American Chemical Society Meeting (2024) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Joint Nanoscience User Meeting (2025). In addition to giving an oral presentation at the Spring 2025 American Physical Society Global Summit supported by a URECA award, he co-authored an article published in 2025 entitled “Antifouling Property of Nanostructured Surfaces Prepared by Block Copolymer Self-Assembly: Bacterial Adhesion.”
Looking ahead, Zimic plans to attend Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai with intentions to become a physician-scientist. His upcoming poster presentations will be featured at campus events including the CEAS Senior Design Showcase on April 28, Honors College Symposium on April 30, and URECA Poster Symposium on May 5.
