written by Matthew Brady ‘25
The University of Rhode Island: An ESTEEMED University
The University of Rhode Island (URI) has many research avenues that students and faculty can engage in, but one of the most profound are the biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences.
Leading in this field is Samantha Meenach, the Victor Baxt Professor of chemical engineering, and biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences. She specializes in pharmaceutical engineering, but she is also the director of the URI ESTEEMED (Enhancing Science Technology EnginEering and Math Educational Diversity) program.
“This program allows early career undergraduate students to conduct honors level research in accordance with the National Institute for Health (NIH) definition,” Meenach says, noting that the research is both incredibly beneficial not only for student experience, but also for the University’s research enterprise.
Engaging a wide range of students
The ESTEEMED program is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and trains students interested in the biological sciences and includes a focus on student experience in biomedical, bioengineering, biomedical engineering, and health science research. The NIH program engages students enrolled in URI’s Talent Development program that focuses on recruiting and supporting historically underrepresented groups at the University.
“The ESTEEMED program at URI exposes first and second year students to research opportunities in the biomedical sciences,” Meenach explains. “It aims to encourage students to stay in STEM by getting them excited about research and exploring what ‘doing research’ really means.”
After students complete the Talent Development program the summer before their first semester at URI, the ESTEEMED program holds a weeklong orientation that emphasizes how research is conducted.
“These students participate in activities in which they learn about what it truly means to conduct research,” Meenach says. “They even have a chance to explore potential labs that they may choose to work in.”
Giving students a world-class experience
Liza Agyemang is a student in the ESTEEMED program working with Assistant Professor Irene Andreu in chemical engineering. Agyemang’s research involves the construction of a new apparatus for observing magnetic nanoparticles and monitoring how they move over time. In her search for the lab that interested her, she explains that she toured multiple labs at URI to find the one that best suited her. In this search, she notes that her decision could have been drastically different depending on the areas of research to consider.
“Initially I chose working with DNA because I liked how it was a lot of physical work,” Agyemang says. “But I ended up with Professor Andreu, whose work was more mechanical focused, and it was something I was used to.”
Collaboration in science is nothing new, and with that comes a sense of togetherness and camaraderie. In addition to the ability to conduct unique experiments and research in these new facilities, Agyemang also hopes to see the already thriving community within the labs at the University continue to grow in a new building.
“Certain labs work together on projects… and it would be beneficial to expand more on those collaborations,” says Agyemang. “So, if I can find a way to expand my research to a different field, I’d like that too.”