June 2019 Newsletter

June 2019

UPBM E-NEWSLETTER Undergraduate Program in Biology & Medicine

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2019

J. Adam Fenster / University of Rochester

LINKS • Biology Department Newsletter

• UPBM E-News Archive

• Class of 2019 Slideshow

• UPBM Home Page

• Biology Department Diploma Ceremony Video

• UPBM Facebook Page

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On Sunday, May 19th, 2019, approximately 200 seniors majoring in Biology, Biochemistry, Computational Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, and Neuroscience were eligible to participate in the graduate activities for 2019.

One of the most rewarding sights for the UPBM Office is seeing the success that our students achieve throughout their time on campus. Graduation is a bitter sweet occasion.

We will miss all who are moving on this year. Please do not forget about us and keep us all up to date on your extraordinary achievements and exciting adventures that lie ahead.

Be sure to follow the developments of the Biology Department by visiting our website, liking us on Facebook, and reading the UPBM E-Newsletters. Stop in and say “Hi” when you’re back on campus for Meliora Weekend or any other occasion.

Congratulations!

The UPBM Office

Table of Contents The Class of 2019

3

Honors in Research

5

Thank You-Peer Advisors

6

O’Brien Book Award

6

Undergraduate Research Expo

6

de Kiewiet Fellows

7

Independent Research

8

Biotechnology Certificates

12

Our Unsung Heroes

13

Honor Societies, Awards & Accomplishments

14

Keep in Touch

16

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UPBM CLASS OF 2019 Cum Laude- CL

Magna Cum Laude- MCL

Bachelor of Arts Biological Sciences Alexa Annotti

Nicholas Balch

Aparajita Chandrasekhar

Jason Cherin CL

Pech Chhun

Yoonjung Choi**

Alison Ciurzynski

Vanessa Fan CL

Elizabeth Finer

Audrey Goldfarb MCL ΦBK **

Carley Haft SCL ΦBK

Redietu Haile

Mahwish Hamayun T5

Daniyal Kamal

Aelin Kim CL

Natalie Linden

Keon Lum

John Martinez CL

Philip Milman

Benjamin Ramey

Ashok Rana

Delaney Raymonda

Patrick Saba

William Schlageter T5

Nawshin Sharif

Michael Shepard

Christophe Simpson

Simmon Tekilu

Prem Thapa

Shaun Turner

Hongjue Wang CL ** T5

Benjamin Wong

Zhihao Wu

Helen Xu

Sifan Yang

Leta Yi MCL ΦBK

Shaiesh Yogeswaran MCL

Jiaxi Zhao

Summa Cum Laude- SCL

Take 5 Scholars-T5

Bachelor of Science Biochemistry Casey Aten

Joshua Brown CL

Stephanie Busch MCL ΦBK **

Julian Buttitta

Marco Caiola SCL ΦBK

Anne Cheng T5

Varun Chowdhry

Nikhil Dubey CL

Quinn Fitzpatrick CL

Nicholas Frankiewicz T5

Karina Hiroshige CL

Madeline Hoey CL ΦBK

Broc Miller CL

Megan Ngai CL **

Krista Pipho **

Haani Qudsi CL

Iyad Sayed Issa T5

Kadiatou Traore CL

Bachelor of Science Computational Biology Abhishek Dedhe CL

Oleg Demus

Matthew Deng CL

Tiffany Dias MCL ΦBK

Kailey Ferger CL

Sagar Gulati

Michelle Hollenberg CL

Nicole Honeysett

Michael Hwang

Matthew Jiang CL

Andrea Johnson T5

Sang Lee

Wesley Lewis

Sydney Anne Lim CL

Tamas Nadasi

Anthony Pane

Reeshad Rahman

Kayla Scinto **

Andrew Soborowski MCL

Iain Speece

Isaac Wong

Yiqiong Xiao

Qidi Yang MCL ΦBK

Phi Beta Kappa- ΦBK

Honors in Research- ** Bachelor of Science Cell and Developmental Biology Ryan Bell CL **

Allison Bhattacharya

Hayley Chang MCL ΦBK

Daniella Cook **

Amogh Kare

Maria Majid

Monica Masterson SCL T5

Stephanie Mendez

Rebecca Nguyen CL

Avnee Patel

Benjamin Phelan CL **

Jude Polit-Moran MCL

Pamelia Slattery CL

Joanna Stasik CL

Josephine Tai CL

Natalie Thornton

Nicholas Weeks CL

Jinyeong Yim T5

Kitty Zheng CL

Bachelor of Science Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Pamela Chan

Gabrielle Henry

Criswell Lavery

Megan Murante T5

Shaman Patel **

Khin Win Lei Phyu CL

Elizabeth Thomas

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UPBM CLASS OF 2019 Cum Laude- CL

Magna Cum Laude- MCL

Bachelor of Science Microbiology Jessica Allen

Kavya Bana MCL ΦBK

Rachel Bargabos

Colby Dayton

Yingying Ding

Eleanor Esbrook CL

Angus Fung

Heather Gebhardt

Noah Gianni

Courtney Herms MCL ΦBK

Sachi Inoue MCL

George Jones CL

Victoria Kass

Fayth Kim

Timothy Kwan CL T5

Jina Lee MCL T5

Dustyn Levenson T5

Nicholas Lim MCL ΦBK **

Samantha Maynes

Amie Patel CL

Noah Pollack **

Anna Stolarczyk CL **

Sophia Turbide CL

Alexa Turgeman

Noel Vega

Tara Vrooman CL

Katherine Woo CL ΦBK

Rachel Yang CL

Bachelor of Science Molecular Genetics Jillian Abendroth

Megan Betancourt SCL ΦBK

Tonya Bortz CL

Andreanna Bowers T5

Courtney Bush

Summa Cum Laude- SCL

Take 5 Scholars-T5

Colleen Dunlea MCL

Roisin Flanagan T5

Alyssa Gontzes

Nicole Gorski

Jasmine Han ΦBK T5

Leena Khoury CL

Arif Kodza CL T5

Celina Manley T5

Taylar Mouton **

Ena Oreskovic SCL ΦBK **

Yuhua Qin MCL **

Charles Quatela

Devin Robinson

Kayla Sargent CL

Benjamin Sawin

Noah Soxpollard

Jacob Squicciarini SCL ΦBK

Sydney Stremick CL

Lauren Testa MCL

Lauren Turecki

Joshua Vanderbilt

Bachelor of Science Neuroscience Kabir Al-Tariq

Byron Arevalo

Jason Atlas CL

Hanna Batchelor MCL ΦBK

Dennis Bremer

Allen Chen MCL ΦBK

Lauren Conley

William Davenport

Sheila Doll E5

Lea Domondon

Andrew Duffy T5

Peter Evancho

Tyler Falter

Ryan Fanning **

Phi Beta Kappa- ΦBK

Honors in Research- ** Matthew Farbizio

Christina Feller MCL ΦBK

Brian Gearinger CL

Hia Ghosh T5

Kaitlyn Glasener

Justin Gudell T5

Alexander Hay CL ΦBK

Carrie Heusinkveld MCL ΦBK

Lucinda Hinojosa

Maia Homsi CL

Jinwook Jung

Jonathan Kasper

Sam Lee

Steven Li CL

Hannah Lipe CL

Robert Love CL

Rebecca Matthews

Jemima Mendomo Mvomo

Valerie Montague

Payal Morari

Allison Morningstar SCL ΦBK

Alyssa Pigott

Wen Qin Qiu MCL **

Isabel Rothman MCL

Sarah Sandkuhler MCL

Kimberly Scofield

Lisa Shah CL

Junchao Shen

Ashley Smith

Adren Tran

Natasha Verma

Courtney Vidovich MCL ΦBK

Bailey Walters

Julia Whitten **

Anneliese Wilkins

Michael Woodbury CL

Amy Xiao CL

Lichi Zhang CL

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Honors in Research

Twenty Seniors Successfully Wrote and Defended their Senior Thesis The Undergraduate Program in Biology and Medicine (UPBM) provides majors in the B.S. or B.A. tracks the opportunity to graduate with honors in research. Students must achieve a minimum GPA of 2.7 and defend their written thesis at a meeting of their advisory committee.

Most students seeking a degree with honors in research have worked on a research project for a year or more and have achieved significant results. They then immerse themselves in a time-consuming process of writing the thesis.

Those who successfully complete their research and then write and successfully defend a senior thesis are rewarded with the phrase “Honors in Research” added to their transcripts. This year, the following graduates earned honors in research: Ryan Bell, BCD Thesis: “Quantification of Inosine Nucleic Acid Modification in tRNAs”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dragony Fu

Biology

Stephanie Busch, BBC Thesis: “Development of a Purified Murine Mesenchymal Stromal cell (MSC) Culture.”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Laura Calvi

Medicine - Endocrinology and Metabolism Division

Yoonjung (Claire) Choi, BIO Thesis: “Role of PRMT-1 in Neuroblastoma Cell Growth”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Xingguo Li

Pediatrics

Daniella Cook, BCD Thesis: “Effects of EXCAP on Cognitive Impairment and Inflammation in Breast Cancer Patients”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Karen Mustian

Cancer Center

Ryan Fanning, BNS/CHM Thesis: “Steering in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease: Neural Signal Integration in RealTime Parallel Processing”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Charles Duffy

Neurology

Audrey Goldfarb, BIO Thesis: “Proteomic Interrogation of UDPGlcNAc in Longevity and Cancer Avoidance”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sina Ghaemmaghami

Biology

Nicholas Lim, BMB/CHM/BSB Thesis: “Elucidating the Mechanism of Persistent Infection of Human Parainfluenza Virus Type 1”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Toru Takimoto

Microbiology

Taylar Mouton, BMG Thesis: "Effect of Inversions on Suppressor Sensitivity for Segregation Distorter in Drosophila melanogaster”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Amanda Larracuente

Biology

Megan Ngai, BBC/CHM Thesis: “Applying New Methods for Studying Mitochondrial Supercomplexes”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Paul Brookes

Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

Ena Oreskovic, BMG Thesis: “Innate Immune Surveillance of Cytosolic DNA as a Control of Genomic Instability and Cellular Over-proliferation”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Vera Gorbunova

Biology

Shaman Patel, BEB Thesis: “Variant Community Composition of Nudibranchia along Mozambican Coastline”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. John Jaenike

Biology

Benjamin Phelan, BCD Thesis: “A Mutation in ADAT3 Results in Decreased ADAT2 Binding and Reduction of Wobble Inosine Leading to Intellectual Disability”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dragony Fu

Biology

Krista Pipho, BBC Thesis: “Does Lifespan have a Positive Correlation with Cellular Resistance to Stress?”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Andrei Seluanov

Biology

Noah Pollack, BMB Thesis: “Exploration of Vaccinia F13L Function and Interactions”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brian Ward

Microbiology and Immunology

Yuhua (Ann) Quin, BMG Thesis: “Role of Histone H3-K79 Methylation in DNA Damage Checkpoint”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Xin Bi

Biology

Wen Win (Wendy) Qin, BNS Thesis: “The Role of Sez6 Family Proteins in the Brain.”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennetta Hammond

Neurology

Kayla Scinto, BCB/PSC Thesis: “Oral Hydrolyzed Type 2 Collagen Protects Against the OA of Obesity and Mitigates Obese Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michael Zuscik

Pathology

Anna Stolarczyk, BMB Thesis: “The Effects of Infant Fecal Supernatants on Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells Extracted from LR Filters and Whole Blood”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kirsi Jarvinen-Seppo

Pediatric Allergy and Immunology

Hongjue Wang, BIO/STT Thesis: “Generation of a Fluorescent Frog Virus 3 Recombinant”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jacques Robert

Microbiology

Julia Whitten, BNS Thesis: “The HHV-6A Latency Gene U94A and its Effect on Gene Expression and Morphology of Developing Neurons”

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Chris Proschel

Biomedical Genetics

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Thank you, Peer Advisors!

The 2018-19 academic year marks the fourth year that UPBM has participated in the College’s Peer Advising Program. The college continues to grow and improve this program, becoming an outstanding resource to current and prospective students. This success is primarily due to the talented students who apply and are selected.

A key feature of peer advisors is their ability to relate to others by drawing from their personal experiences and training. This collaboration allows peers to provide unique prospectives for navigating college life, academics, connecting with faculty, research experiences, applying to medical school/graduate school, studying abroad, and much more. With the experiences and dedication of our of peer advisors, another layer of support to student success has been added.

We are grateful for all of their contributions to the department this year. Ranging from meeting with prospective students to starting peer advisor’s office hours.

Thank you

Hayley Chang ’19 BCD

Audrey Goldfarb ‘19 BIO

Madeline Hoey ’19 BBC

Michelle Hollenberg ’19 BCB

John Martinez ’19 BIO

Andrew Soborowski ’19 BCB

Jacob Squicciarini ’19 BMG

Leta Yi ’19 BIO

UPBM Majors Receive O’Brien Book Award Three Biology majors have been honored with the Suzanne J. O’Brien Award. Students are chosen by a committee of faculty and staff Phi Beta Kappa officers who believe these students went above and beyond in their academics and proven themselves as strong leaders as a first-year student at UR.

Congratulations

Alyida Meinecke ’21 BIO

Mary Panepento ’21 BIO

Emma Strawderman ’21 BNS

Read the full article here.

Undergraduate Research Exposition (URE) UPBM Majors Show UP and Show Out: April 19, 2019

The Undergraduate Research Exposition is a college-wide event in which UR students at all levels and in all areas of study are invited to present their investigative and creative work. The Expo reflects the passion for learning that enliven the University, professors and students alike, and that finds expression in varied forms, in every area of study. The following UPBM majors were selected to present at the 2019 URE: Ronak Amir Sardari ’20 BMB

Ryan Bell ’19 BCD

Hayley Chang ’19 BCD

Arokoruba Cheetham-West ’20 BNS

Sammy Cheng ’21 BMB

Kailey Ferger ’19 BCB

Angus Fung ’19 BMB

Adit Ganguly ’20 BBC

Audrey Goldfarb ’19 BIO

Zoe Irving’20 BNS

Madina Jumbaeva ’20 BMB

Deniz Kesmen ’20 BNS

Emma Kruger ’20 BBC

Nicholas Lim ’19 BMB

Zhengfeng Liu ’20 BMG

Shaopeiwen Luo ’20 BBC

Colleen Maillie ’20 BCB

Alexis Marciniak ’20 BNS

Rafal Mazur ’20 BNS

Brian Miller ’20 BMG

Jasmine Moon ’21 BNS

Noah Pollack ’19 BMB

Benjamin Phelan ’19 BCD

Wen Qin Qiu ’19 BNS

Kelly Reese ’20 BCD

Jacob Rozowsky ’20 BCB

Pamelia Slattery ’19 BCD

Alexandre Trapp ’20 BBC

Isaac Wong ’19 BCB

Rachel Yang ’19 BMB

Sifan Yang ’19 BIO

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de Kiewiet Fellowship

Competitive Summer Research Fellowship

Summer 2018 & 2019 Participants

The undergraduate Program in Biology and Medicine (UPBM) has been awarding

de Kiewiet Summer Research Fellowships since 1983 to UR students majoring in UPBM tracks. The fellowship is designed to give University of Rochester students an opportunity to obtain substantial research experience in the laboratories of program faculty. Students in their junior year are invited to submit competitive applications.

Kamel Awayda '20, BBC Title:“Characterization of THUMP Domain- Containing Protein 1 (THUMPD1), a Putative Regulator of RNA Modification” Mentor: Dr. Mitchell O'Connell Biochemistry and Biophysics

Yifei Lin '20, BIO Title: “Centenarian SIRT6 in Cancer Cells” Mentor: Dr. Vera Gorbunova Biology

Daniel Barnett '20, BNS/CSC Title: “The Mechanism of PP1B Function in Synaptic Transmission.”

Mentor: Dr. Houhui Xia Pharmacology and Physiology

Krista Pipho '19, BS BBC Title: "Does Lifespan Positively Correlate with Cellular Resistance to Stress?"

Mentor: Dr. Andrei Seluanov Biology

Joshua Brown '19, BS BBC Title: "Duel Expression of KCNH2 in the Rabbit Brain and Heart" Mentor: Dr. David Auerbach Cardiovascular

Melissa Proven ’20, BBC Title: “Characterization of Novel Mutations in the Human ADAT3 Gene, Causing Intellectual Disability” Mentor: Dr. Dragony Fu Biology

Michaela Burrell '20, BEB Title: "Examining the Effects of Sub-Lethal Ethanol Exposure on the Mating Behaviors and Success of Drosophila melanogaster."

Mentor: Dr. James Fry Biology

Yongsoo Ra '20, BNS/CSC Title: “The Origin of Dynamic Perspective Signals in the Macaque Brain” Mentor: Dr. Gregory DeAngelis Neuroscience

Stephanie Busch '19, BS BBC Title: "Development of a Purified Sca1+ Murine Mesenchymal Stem Cell Culture" Mentor: Dr. Laura Calvi Wilmot Cancer Institute Hayley Chang '19, BS BCD Title: "Characterizing the Function of the Predicted RNA Modification Enzyme TRMT1L" Mentor: Dr. Dragony Fu Biology Abhishek Dedhe '19, BS BCB Title: "The Role of PRMT1 in Neuroblastoma Cell Proliferation" Mentor: Dr. Xingguo Li Wilmot Cancer Center, Pediatrics Paula Guerra '20, BBC Title: “Proteome-wide Analysis of Enzyme-catalyzed Methionine Oxidation” Mentor: Dr. Sia Ghaemmaghami Biology

Sarah Sandkuhler '19, BS BNS Title: "The Role of Autophagy Adaptors in Mediating Tau Clearance" Mentor: Dr. Gail Johnson Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine Research Iyad Sayed Issa '19, BS BBC Title: "Chemical Chaperone Modulation of Global Thermodynamic Protein Stability" Mentor: Dr. Sina Ghaemmaghami Biology Alexandre Trapp ’19, BCB Title:”Long-Term Culture and Transcriptional Profiling of Naked Mole-Rat Hematopoietic Stem Cells” Mentor: Dr. Vera Gorbunova Biology Austin Varela '20, BCB / DSC Title: “Applying Evolutionary Rate Correlation to Identify Protein Interactions” Mentor: Dr. John Werren Biology

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Pushing the Boundaries of Knowledge

Nearly Half of this Year’s Graduating Class Conducted Research for Credit

Class of 2019 Students and Faculty Who Participated in Independent Research Courses One of the more popular aspects of the program is Independent Research. Independent Research courses allow students to gain scientific experience while earning academic credit for their work in the laboratories of program faculty located on UR’s River Campus or Medical Center. Typically, a student and faculty member agree to register a research project as a course. Although research courses are not typical lecture hall experiences, they are still considered a class that requires defined objectives, learning outcomes, contact hours, and criteria for evaluation that is typical of regular credit-bearing courses.

Approximately half of this year’s graduating UPBM majors have taken advantage of this opportunity.

Accessibility to undergraduate research experiences is made possible by the proximity of the Medical Center and the River Campus and by the enthusiasm of the faculty for cooperative teaching aimed at providing the most up-to-date education in biomedical science.

Jillian Abendroth '19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. Elaine Sia

Biology

Jason Atlas '19 BNS/PSY Research Mentor: Dr. Ania Majewska

Neuroscience

Nicholas Balch '19 BIO Research Mentor: Dr. Ben Miller

Dermatology

Rachel Bargabos '19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Dragony Fu

Biology

Ryan Bell '19 BCD Research Mentor: Dr. Dragony Fu

Biology

The following UPBM graduates registered for one or more Independent Research courses during their academic career and we celebrate their contributions of extending the boundaries of knowledge even further.

Anne Cheng '19 BBC Research Mentor: Dr. Iben Lundgaard & Dr. Rashad Hussain

Neurosurgery

Yoonjung Choi '19 BIO Research Mentor: Dr. Nina Schor & Dr. Xingguo Li

Pediatrics

Varun Chowdhry '19 BBC Research Mentor: Dr. Gloria Culver

Biology

Daniella Cook '19 BCD Research Mentor: Dr. Mark Noble

Biomedical Genetics

Abhishek Dedhe '19 BCB/BCS Research Mentor: Dr. Nina Schor & Dr. Xingguo Li

Pediatrics

Megan Betancourt '19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. Vera Gorbunova & Dr. Andrei Seluanov

Biology

Oleg Demus '19 BCB Research Mentor: Dr. Matthew McCall

Biostatistics and Computational Biology

Stephanie Busch '19 BBC Research Mentor: Dr. Laura Calvi

Pharmacology and Physiology

Tiffany Dias '19 BCB/IRL Research Mentor: Dr. Nancy Chen

Biology

Hayley Chang '19 BCD Research Mentor: Dr. Dragony Fu

Biology

Yingying Ding '19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Craig Mullen

Hematology and Oncology

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Sheila Doll '19 BNS Research Mentor: Dr. Houhui Xia

Neuroscience

Karina Hiroshige '19 BBC/BBA Research Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Findeis-Hosey

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Lea Domondon '19 BNS Research Mentor: Dr. Rashad Hussain

Neurosurgery

Madeline Hoey '19 BBC Research Mentor: Dr. Sina Ghaemmaghami & Dr. Anne Meyer

Biology

Nikhil Dubey '19 BBC Research Mentor: Dr. Fabeha Fazal

Pharmacology and Physiology

Colleen Dunlea '19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. Gail Johnson

Pharmacology and Physiology

Vanessa Fan '19 BIO Research Mentor: Dr. Ian Dickerson & Dr. Joshua Munger

Neuroscience & Biochemistry and Biophysics

Ryan Fanning '19 BNS/CHM Research Mentor: Dr. Charles Duy

Neurology

Kailey Ferger '19 BCB Research Mentor: Dr. David Lambert

Biology

Quinn Fitzpatrick '19 BBC Research Mentor: Dr. Michael John Zuscik

Orthopaedics

Roisin Flanagan '19 BMG/EBA Research Mentor: Dr. Daven Presgraves

Biology

Nicholas Frankiewicz '19 BBC Research Mentor: Dr. Michael Bulger

Pediatrics

Angus Fung '19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Steven Gill & Dr. Lisa Beck

Microbiology and Immunology & Dermatology

Hia Ghosh '19 BNS Research Mentor: Dr. Suzanne Haber

Neuroscience

Noah Gianni '19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Stephen Dewhurst

Microbiology and Immunology

Audrey Goldfarb '19 BIO Research Mentor: Dr. Sina Ghaemmaghami, Dr. Vera Gorbunova & Dr. Andrei Seluanov

Biology

Alyssa Gontzes '19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. Xin Bi

Biology

Nicole Gorski '19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. Benoit Biteau

Biomedical Genetics

Michelle Hollenberg '19 BCB Research Mentor: Dr. Sarah Kerns

Radiation Oncology

Sachi Inoue '19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Sanjay Maggirwar

Microbiology and Immunology

Matthew Jiang '19 BCB Research Mentor: Dr. Jan Czyzyk

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

George Jones '19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Martin Pavelka

Microbiology and Immunology

Jinwook Jung '19 BNS Research Mentor: Dr. Maiken Nedergaard

Neuroscience/Neurology

Aelin Kim '19 BIO/PSY Research Mentor: Dr. Michael Sellix

Pharmacology and Physiology

Fayth Kim '19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Jacques Robert

Microbiology

Arif Kodza '19 BMG/MTH Research Mentor: Dr. Amanda Larracuente & Dr. Richard Moore

Biology & Obstetrics and Gynecology

Timothy Kwan '19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Jacques Robert

Microbiology

Jina Lee '19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Vera Gorbunova & Dr. Andrei Seluanov

Biology

Dustyn Levenson '19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Stephen Dewhurst

Microbiology and Immunology

Wesley Lewis '19 BCB Research Mentor: Dr. Maiken Nedergaard

Center for Translational Neuromedicine

Steven Li '19 BNS Research Mentor: Dr. Xin Bi & Dr. Harris Gelbard

Biology & Microbiology and Immunology

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Nicholas Lim '19 BMB/CHM/BSB Research Mentor: Dr. Toru Takimoto

Microbiology and Immunology

Noah Pollack ‘19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Brian Ward

Microbiology and Immunology

Sydney Anne Lim '19 BCB Research Mentor: Dr. Michael O'Reilly

Pediatrics

Yuhua Qin ‘19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. Xin Bi

Biology

Maria Majid '19 BCD Research Mentor: Dr. Ian Dickerson

Neuroscience

Wen Qin Qiu ‘19 BNS Research Mentor: Dr. Harris Gelbard & Dr. Jennetta Hammond

Microbiology and Immunology & Neurology

John Martinez '19 BIO/AH Research Mentor: Dr. Scott Butler

Microbiology and Immunology

Jemima Mendomo Mvomo '19 BNS/PHL Research Mentor: Dr. Scott Steele

Public Health Sciences

Haani Qudsi ‘19 BBC Research Mentor: Dr. Coeli Lopes

Department of Medicine

Patrick Saba ‘19 BIO Research Mentor: Dr. Ahmed Ghazi

Urology

Broc Miller '19 BBC Research Mentor: Dr. Suzanne Haber & Dr. Paul Kammermeier

Pharmacology and Physiology

Sarah Sandkuhler ‘19 BNS Research Mentor: Dr. Gail Johnson

Pharmacology and Physiology

Taylar Mouton '19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. Amanda Larracuente

Biology

Kayla Sargent ‘19 BMG/HBS Research Mentor: Dr. Ann Marie Dozier & Dr. Scott Mcintosh

Public Health Sciences

Megan Ngai '19 BBC/CHM Research Mentor: Dr. Ellen Matson & Dr. Paul Brookes

Chemistry & Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine

Iyad Sayed Issa ‘19 BBC Research Mentor: Dr. Sina Ghaemmaghami

Biology

Rebecca Nguyen '19 BCD/PSY Research Mentor: Dr. Michael Sellix

Pharmacology and Physiology

Kayla Scinto ‘19 BCB/PSC Research Mentor: Dr. Michael John Zuscik & Dr. Roman Eliseev

Orthopaedics

Ena Oreskovic '19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. Vera Gorbunova & Dr. Andrei Seluanov

Biology

Anthony Pane ‘19 BCB/HIS Research Mentor: Dr. Alan Marc Grossfield

Biochemistry and Biophysics

Avnee Patel ‘19 BCD Research Mentor: Dr. Vera Gorbunova & Dr. Andrei Seluanov

Biology

Benjamin Phelan ‘19 BCD Research Mentor: Dr. Dragony Fu

Biology

Khin Win Lei Phyu ‘19 BEB Research Mentor: Dr. Vera Gorbunova, Dr. Andrew Elliot & Dr. Jeremy Jamieson

Biology & Psychology

Krista Pipho ‘19 BBC Research Mentor: Dr. Andrei Seluanov

Biology

Jude Polit-Moran ‘19 BCD Research Mentor: Dr. Vera Gorbunova

Biology

Kimberly Scofield ‘19 BNS Research Mentor: Dr. Mark Noble

Biomedical Genetics

Lisa Shah ‘19 BNS/PSY Research Mentor: Dr. Patricia White

Neuroscience

Pamelia Slattery ‘19 BCD Research Mentor: Dr. Edward Schwarz

Orthopaedics

Iain Speece ‘19 BCB Research Mentor: Dr. Alayna Loiselle, Dr. Amanda Larracuente & Dr. Michael Welte

Biology & Orthopaedics

Jacob Squicciarini ‘19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. Vera Gorbunova

Biology

Joanna Stasik ‘19 BCD/HBS Research Mentor: Dr. Xin Bi

Biology

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Anna Stolarczyk ‘19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Michael John Zuscik & Dr. Kirsi Jarvinen-Seppo

Orthopaedics & Microbiology and Immunology

Sydney Stremick ‘19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. David Yule

Pharmacology and Physiology

Lauren Testa ‘19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. David Dean & Dr. Joseph Miano

Pharmacology and Physiology & Medicine

Natalie Thornton ‘19 BCD Research Mentor: Dr. Harris Gelbard & Dr. Andrew Samuelson

Microbiology and Immunology & Biomedical Genetics

Lauren Turecki ‘19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. John Frelinger

Microbiology and Immunology

Alexa Turgeman ‘19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Majed Refaai

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Joshua Vanderbilt ‘19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. Archibald Perkins

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Natasha Verma ‘19 BNS Research Mentor: Dr. Alayna Loiselle

Orthopaedics

Tara Vrooman ‘19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Scott Gerber

Microbiology and Immunology

Hongjue Wang ‘19 BIO/STT Research Mentor: Dr. Jacques Robert

Microbiology

Nicholas Weeks ‘19 BCD Research Mentor: Dr. Dan Bergstralh

Biology

Isaac Wong ‘19 BCB/CSC Research Mentor: Dr. Amanda Larracuente

Biology

Katherine Woo ‘19 BMB/PSY Research Mentor: Dr. Jacques Robert

Microbiology

Amy Xiao ‘19 BNS Research Mentor: Dr. Ania Majewska

Neuroscience

Yiqiong Xiao ‘19 BCB Research Mentor: Dr. Elaine Sia & Dr. Bin Zhang

Biology & Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Qidi Yang ‘19 BMG Research Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Grayhack & Dr. Matthew McCall

Biology & Biostatistics

Rachel Yang ‘19 BMB Research Mentor: Dr. Michelle Janelsins

Cancer Center

Sifan Yang ‘19 BIO Research Mentor: Dr. Dan Bergstralh

Biology

Leta Yi ‘19 BIO Research Mentor: Dr. Jacques Robert

Microbiology

Jinyeong Yim ‘19 BCD Research Mentor: Dr. Jacques Robert & Dr. Michael Welte

Microbiology

Shaiesh Yogeswaran ‘19 BIO Research Mentor: Dr. Irfan Rahman

Environmental Medicine

Kitty Zheng ‘19 BCD Research Mentor: Dr. Vera Gorbunova & Dr. Andrei Seluanov

Biology

Julia Whitten ‘19 BNS Research Mentor: Dr. Chris Proschel & Dr. Margot MayerProschel

Biomedical Genetics

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Biotechnology Certificates

Six UPBM Graduates Receive Certificates in 2019

The Certificate Program in Biotechnology is deisgned to give students the background needed for entry into biotechnology and for advanced student, it also gives recognition for specialization in the field. The graduates who have met the requirements for the Biotechnology Certificate for 2019 are: Yingying Ding, BMB

Fayth Kim, BMB

Avnee Patel, BCD

Noah Gianni, BMB

Nicholas Lim, BMB/CHM/BSB

Tara Vrooman, BMB

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Tribute to the “Unsung Heroes” of the Biology Department The BIO Course Teaching Assistants of the 2018-19 Academic Year

We could not do it without you!

We are especially grateful to the “Unsung Heroes” of our program— our undergraduate teaching assistants.

They are real agents of change by offering themselves as strong role models, cheerleaders, counselors, as well as tutors. They share our pain when our students don’t do quite as well as expected, politely point out small mistakes that instructors make before they can become larger ones, and work tirelessly with their students. They accept without reservation the charge to become true advocates of their peers. Thank you!

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Anna Gao Yidan Gao May Goldenberg Audrey Goldfarb Redietu Haile Lindsey Hall Jasmine Han Alexander Hay Khoa Tuan Hoang Martha Hoffman Jessica Hunsicker Nivedita Iyer Anna Jia Qingyuan Jia Nancy Juan Megan Kice Aelin Kim Arif Kodza Camila Lage Chavez Emily Lainoff Criswell Lavery

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85. Anthony Pane 86. Mary Panepento 87. Amie Patel 88. Shaman Patel 89. Avnee Patel 90. Luke Peterson 91. Benjamin Phelan 92. Noah Pollack 93. Sierra Prior 94. Melissa Proven 95. Yuhua Qin 96. Wen Qin Qiu 97. Devin Robinson 98. Patrick Saba 99. Kayla Sargent 100.Robert Scappaticci 101.Fatima Shah 102.Isabel Sia 103.Leah Sikand 104.Andrew Soborowski 105.Iain Speece 106.Jacob Squicciarini 107.Joanna Stasik 108.Hannah Stuart 109.Sabrina Sun 110. Sheridan Sweet 111. Pratyusha Tadepalli 112. Anika Tahsin 113. Cameron Tate 114. Sarah Therrien 115. Caroline Thomas 116. Elizabeth Thomas 117. Alexandre Trapp 118. Grace Tung 119. Bhavana Upadhyaya 120.Jason Weeks 121.Nicholas Weeks 122.Amy Xiao 123.Rachel Yang 124.Jenny Yau 125.Nicole Yu 126.Gregory Zapas 127.Kitty Zheng

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Honor Societies, Awards & Accomplishments Received by UPBM Majors During the 2019-20 Academic Year

Ayman Amin-Salem Memorial Award The Ayman Amin-Salem Memorial is a college-wide award which is to be presented each year at Commencement to that member of the senior class who best evidences the quality of good character and good citizenship, such as decency, reliability, responsibility, and congeniality. Preference may be given to students who also have an interest in biology or the biological sciences, music, art, writing, or athletics.

Hayley Chang ‘19, BCD

Katherine Woo ‘19, BMB/PSY

Bilski-Mayer Research Fellowship Melissa Bilski and Chris Mayer created an undergraduate fellowship program supporting summer research projects of BCS and Neuroscience students. Since the program was established in 2009, students have benefited from the program and pursued research in numerical cognition, psycholinguistics, brain plasticity, visual perception, and more.

This fellowship has become a model for other department-based undergraduate research opportunities.

Hanna Batchelor ’19, BNS

Allen Chen ’19, BNS

Ryan Fanning ’19, BNS

Catherine Block Memorial Fund Prize This annual prize is awarded by the University to a woman in the junior class in recognition of her outstanding ability and achievement in the field of science. Selection is based on recommendations by the respective departments, which are evaluated by a committee appointed by the Dean of the College

Colleen Maillie ‘20, BCB

Melissa Proven ’20, BMB

Paula Guerra ’20, BBC

DAAD-Rise Scholarships German Academic Exchange Service Research Internships in Science & Engineering The highly competitive RISE (Research Internships in Science and Engineering) program is sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service, known by its German initials as DAAD. Rochester students will pursue science and engineering internships this summer at prominent research institutions in Germany. Learn more about the DAAD Scholars.

Melissa Chang ’20, BNS

Nivedita Iyer ’21, BBC

Fullbright U.S. Student Program The Fullbright Scholarship competition is sponsored by the Department of State, designed to promote mutual understanding and peace between the United States and other nations through educational and cultural exchange. It offers opportunities for career-launching study, teaching, and research abroad. Scholars pursuing study or research design their own programs and arrange institutional affiliations in the host countries.

More information about this year’s competition.

Madeline Hoey ’19, BBC-Denmark

Allison Morningstar ’19, BNS-Germany

Rachel Yang ’18/T5 ’19, BMB-South Korea

Grace McCormack Fund for Biology Prize This award is given annually to worthy students who, in the judgement of the Department, have great potential and have demonstrated excellence in academics, teaching, service to the department, or scientific research.

Ryan Bell ’19, BCD

Megan Betancourt ’19, BMG

Hayley Chang ’19, BCD

Abhishek Dedhe ’19, BCB

Tiffany Dias ’19, BCB

Audrey Goldfarb ’19, BIO

Criswell Lavery ’19, BEB

John Martinez ’19, BIO

Taylar Mouton ’19, BMG

Ena Oreskovic ’19, BMG

Yuhua (Ann) Qin ’19, BMG

Andrew Soborowski ’19, BCB

Jacob Squicciarini ’19, BMG

Isaac Wong ’19, BCB

Qidi Yang ’19, BCB

Kitty Zheng ’19, BCD

Helen S. Jones Memorial Fund The Helen S. Jones Award is given annually to a student who demonstrates significant achievement in the areas of sociology international relations, and/or political science

Kavya Bana ’19, BMB/PSC

Irene Bush Steinbock Award This award is given to a senior in the School of Arts and Sciences who has made the most noteworthy contribution to human relations. Selection is based on recommendations which are evaluated by a committee appointed by the Dean of the College.

Nicholas Lim ’19, BMB/CHM/BSB

Janet Howell Clark Prize This prize is awarded annually to a senior woman who has shown the greatest promise in creative work in one of the following fields—Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy—and has shown outstanding versatility in the mastery of allied fields.

Audrey Goldfarb ’19, BIO

Fayth Kim ’19, BMB

Madeline Hoey ’19, BBC

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Honor Societies, Awards & Accomplishments Received by UPBM Majors During the 2019-20 Academic Year

Kearn’s Scholars The Kearns Scholars Program currently supports over 110 undergraduate students, freshmen through seniors. Students who are in the program are retained in STEM at substantially higher rates than non-participants, and three quarters enroll in graduate study. More information.

Steven Li ’19, BNS

Allison Morningstar ’19, BNS

Provost’s Circle Scholars The Department of Athletics nominates student athletes who exemplify excellence in academics as well as in their sport for recognition as a Provost’s Circle Scholar.

Eric Albuquerque ’20, BNS

Rafal Mazur ’20, BNS

Abigail Reinhart ’20, BBC

Garrett Renslow ’20, BNS/PSY

Rigby Wile Prize Given to members of the first-year or sophomore class who demonstrates proficiency in Biology.

Peri Goldenberg ’22

Akhil Kholwadwala ’22

Ke Xin Li ’22

Caitlin Quinn ’22

Tuan Pham ’22

Justin Yu ‘21

Rocky’s Student Life Awards The annual University Student Life Awards recognize those underrate students who—through service to others, investment of talent and time, and the pursuit of excellence—have significantly and positively impacted the University of Rochester and/or surrounding community. Find out ore about the awards.

Andreanna Bowers ’19, BMG/BET

Rush Rhees Scholarship The Rush Rhees Scholarship is available to entering first-year and transfer students on the basis of academic excellence and can be renewed all four years.

Sarah Sandkuhler ’19, BNS

Susan B. Anthony Legacy Award Winners The Sue S. Stewart Award is presented to a senior undergraduate woman “whose life at the University has been distinguished by a commitment to justice, equality, and community service relating to diversity and inclusion.” Look at all seven Susan B. Anthony Legacy Award Winners.

Kavya Bana ’19, BMB/PSC

Take Five Scholars Program A unique program to the University of Rochester provides an additional semester or year, tuition-free. It offers the chance to pursue a demanding major and still enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the broad-based, intellectual enrichment of a liberal arts education. More information is on the Take Five webpage.

Andreanna Bowers T5 2018-19, BMG/BET

Anne Xiaoan Cheng T5 2018-19, BBC

Sheila Doll E5, BNS

Andrew Duffy T5 2019-20, BNS/PSY

Roisin Flanagan T5 2019-20, BMG/ENG

Nicholas Frankiewicz T5 2018-19, BBC

Hia Ghosh T5 2019-20, BNS

Justin Gudell T5 2018-19, BNS/RLS

Paula Guerra T5 2020-21, BBC

Mahwish Hamayun T5 2019-20, BIO/HIS

Jasmine Han T5 2019-20, BMG

Andrea Johnson T5 2019-20, BIO/BCS

Arif Kodza T5 2018-19, BMG/MTH

Timothy Kwan T5 2018-19, BMB

Jina Lee T5 2018-19, BMB

Dustyn Levenson T5 2018-19, BMB

Yifei (Sylvia) Lin T5 2020-21, BIO

Celina Manley T5 2019-20, BMG/PSY

Monica Masterson T5 2018-19, BCD

Megan Murante T5 2018-19, BEB

Iyad Sayed Issa T5 2019-20, BBC

William Schlageter T5 2019-20, BIO/CHM/EVS

Hongjue Wang T5 2018-19, BIO/STT

Rachel Yang T5 2018-19, BMB

Jinyeong Yim T5 2018-19, BCD

Undergraduate Writing Colloquium The College Writing Speaking and Argument Program holds an annual undergraduate writing contest to recognize and celebrate outstanding student writing and to share that writing with the University of Rochester community. Each spring, the College Writing Program accepts submissions from students in four categories: Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Applied Sciences. Prizes are awarded for the best paper in each of the four categories.

Carrie Heusinkveld ’19, BNS/FR

Audry Mattle ’20, BIO

Nathaniel & Helen Wisch Scholarship The Dr. Nathaniel and Helen Wisch Undergraduate Scholarship provides income that supports a promising junior or senior undergraduate student or students majoring in Biology at the University of Rochester. This year’s recipients are:

Andrew Soborowski '19, BCB

Michaela Burrell '20, BEB

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Keep in Touch!

Department of Biology Director: Dr. Cheeptip Benyajati

Email: cheeptip.benyajati@rochester.edu

Phone: 585-275-8040

Department of Biology Director: Dr. Elaine Sia

Email: elaine.sia@rochester.edu

Phone: 585-275-9275

Program Coordinator: Marianne Arcoraci

Email: marianne.arcoraci@rochester.edu

Phone: 585-275-3850

Undergraduate Course Coordinator: Allyson DeBoard

Email: allyson.withey@rochester.edu

Phone: 585-275-3685

Undergraduate Secretary: Chelsea Kuhn

Email: chelsea.kuhn@rochester.edu

Phone: 585-273-3685

Associate Director for Student Affairs: Danielle Presgraves

Email: danielle.presgraves@rochester.edu

UPBM Website

UPBM Facebook !16