Student News

Congratulations to our current and former students on their accomplishments!

2025

2024

  • Julia Ward ’25, RI-INBRE Mentor A. Akosman, Roger Williams University
    • Award: Best Visual Presentation, NIH NISBRE 2024 Coference
  • Erik Pontes ’24, RI-INBRE Mentor J. Bueno De Mesquita, Roger Williams University
    • Masters Program: Master of Public Health ’26, University of New England
  • Audrey Long ’24, RI-INBRE Mentor T. Stack, Providence College
    • PhD Program: The University of Texas at Austin, Biochemistry
  • Emma Mortara ’24, RI-INBRE Mentor T. Stack, Providence College
    • PhD Program: Boston University, Chemistry
  • Luke Perreault ’24, RI-INBRE Mentor J. DiGiorgis, Providence College
    • Dental Program: Tufts University School of Dental Medicine

2023

  • Camila Cersosimo (SURE ’22). RI-INBRE Mentor S. Meenach, URI
    • Award: Goldwater Scholarship. The most prestigious national scholarship for undergraduate students studying and planning research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering. April 2023
  • Qiwen Chen (Bridge ’20, SURF ’19). RI-INBRE Mentor R. Deng, URI
    • PhD Student Seminar: “Dysregulation and downstream targets of ubiquitin specific peptidase 2b in hepatocellular carcinoma.” URI Avedisian 240. February 2023 
  • Ramsha Gul (SURF ’22, 23). RI-INBRE Mentor K. Scaplen, Bryant
    • Award: Outstanding Scholarly Achievement by a Student in the Form of a Poster. Bryant University. April 2023
  • Kristen Harder (SURE ’22). RI-INBRE Mentor J. Ross, URI
    • Award: BS in Pharmaceutical Science, 2nd Place Project. URI College of Pharmacy Student Research Showcase. April 2023
  • Hailey Hendricks (SURF ’20). RI-INBRE Mentor M. Kiesewetter, URI
  • Aidan Kindopp (SURF ’21). RI-INBRE Mentor D. Roxbury, URI
    • Award: Goldwater Scholarship. The most prestigious national scholarship for undergraduate students studying and planning research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering. April 2023
  • Kayleigh LaPre (SURF ’19). RI-INBRE Mentor KA Quinlan
  • Joseph Leszczynski (SURF ’22). RI-INBRE Mentor S. Weicksel, Bryant
    • Masters degree student: Enrolled in the Master of Public Health program at Brown University. Fall 2023
  • Tallya Maciel (SURF ’21). RI-INBRE Mentor B. Barbagallo, SRU
    • New Position: Research Technician, Multiple Myeloma Center, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Longwood Medical Center Boston MA. June 2023
  • Christopher Miller (SURF ’21). RI-INBRE Mentor M. Bertin, URI
    • Graduate School Student at URI. Fall 2023.
  • Rebecca O’Toole (SURF ’22-23). RI-INBRE Mentor KL. LaPlante, URI
    • Presentation: “Staphylococcus aureus mature biofilm viability after daptomycin or vancomycin combination with an anti-EPS agent”. 33rd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. April 2023
  • Jameson Pommenville (‘20 SURF, ‘21 SURF+, ’23 Bridge). RI-INBRE Mentor E. Kiesewetter, RIC and B. McDonald, Brown
    • PhD Student: Brown University’s Chemistry program. Fall 2023.
  • Taryn Rauff (SURF ’21-22). RI-INBRE Mentor K. Scaplen, Bryant
    • Award: Outstanding Senior in Research Award, Biology and Biological Sciences, Bryant University. April 2023
  • Haley Tallman (SURF ’22). RI-INBRE Mentor B. Barbagallo, SRU
    • PhD Student: UConn Health’s Biomedical Science program, Fall 2023. Graduate SRU ’23 BS Biology, & Chemistry/Neuroscience minors.
    • Award: 2023 SRU Researcher of the Year award, Biology Senior Banquet. April 2023. “…it was truly an honor to receive as I found my passion for research throughout my undergraduate career and realized it was something I wanted to keep doing after graduation!”
  • Hannah Trautmann (ECD ’20-22). RI-INBRE Mentor K. Ramsey, URI
    • PhD Defense: URI Thesis, Heterogeneous ribosomes and bS21: An investigation of impacts and mechanisms of altered translation in Francisella tularensis. March 2023. 

2022

  • Dana Allababidi (SURF ’21). RI-INBRE Mentor JU. Menon, URI
    • Fellowship: Research Experience for Undergraduates at Johns Hopkins University, in Nanotechnology for Biology and Bioengineering program. May 2022
  • Michaela Anelundi (Bridge ’21, SURF ’20). RI-INBRE Mentor N. Seeram, URI
    • New Position: Research Associate at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. September 2022
  • Alan Ardito (Bridge ’22, SURF ’21). RI-INBRE Mentors S. Delaney, Brown; N. Howlett, URI
    • PhD Student: Brown University, Dr. S. Delaney. September 2022.
    • Fellowship: RI-INBRE Bridge to Graduate School Fellow. May 2022
  • Giovannia Barbosa (Bridge ’20, SURF ’18). RI-INBRE Mentor S. Delaney, Brown
    • Award: Received the Outstanding Poster Presentation award from the Division of Chemical Toxicology for her work in Dr. Delaney’s lab. August 2022
  • Layni Bellavia (SURF ’22). Mentor D. Garcia , Brown
    • Internship: Boston Medical Center Intern Program. Professional Year 1 in Central Pharmacy and Pediatrics. Layni’s four-year award began in September 2022 and includes collaboration with students from other pharmacy schools, and pharmacists from various backgrounds.
  • Dana Blasi (SURF ’18), Prerna Dayal (SURF ’18), and Caroline Forest (SURF ’18). RI-INBRE Mentor H. Lacey, Bryant
  • Callen Bleick (SURF ’20-21). RI-INBRE Mentor KL. LaPlante, URI
    • New Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate at Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
    • Masters/PhD Program:  Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, studying molecular biology and biochemistry. Fall 2022.
    • Presentations/ Poster abstracts with RI-INBRE Mentor KL. LaPlante, URI include:
      1. “Staphylococcal Biofilm: Penetration and Bioavailability of Vancomycin with or without Rifampin.”  URI Pharmacy Student Research Showcase. April 2022. 
      2. “Creating a Rapid Response Survey Network to Investigate Engagement and Optimize Community Pharmacy Care in RI.” 2022 American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting and Exposition. March 2022. San Antonio, TX
  • Katelyn Caldarone (SURF ’22) and Anh Nyugen (SURF ’21). RI-INBRE Mentor: KM. Scaplen, Bryant
    • Presentation/Poster: “Distinct dopamine microcircuits underlying alcohol-induced locomotor activity and alcohol-associated memories in Drosophila melanogaster.” Society for Neuroscience. San Diego CA. November 2022
  • Katelyn Caldarone (SURF ’22), Anh Nyugen (SURF ’21), Taryn Rauff (SURF’21). RI-INBRE Mentor: KM. Scaplen, Bryant
    • Presentations/Posters: “Neural circuits for low and moderate alcohol responses in Drosophila melanogaster.” (1) Boston Area Drosophila Meeting. Boston College, MA. June 2022; (2) International Behavioral and Neural Genetics Society’s Genes, Brains, and Behavior. Memphis TN. May 2022; and (3) NEURON Regional Conference. Quinnipiac University, N. Haven CT. April 2022.
  • Marino Carro (SURF ’19), Nana Oblie (SURF Affiliate ’21), Christine Wu (SURF ‘21), and Riley Kirk (’18 FD, Graduate). RI-INBRE mentors M. Bertin, URI; D. Rowley, URI
    • Publication Co-Authored: “Screening the PRISM library against Staphylococcus aureus reveals a sesquiterpene lactone from Liriodendron tulipifera with inhibitory activity” with M. Bertin and D. Rowley. ACS Omega. September 2022. PMID36249352 PMC558601
  • Dioscaris R. Garcia, Ph.D. (SURF ’04). RI-INBRE Mentor D. Rowley, URI
    • Speaker: Dr. Garcia was selected to speak at the first triennial International Trauma Conference NVT/Orthopaedic Trauma Association meeting. Amsterdam, Netherlands. December 15-20, 2022
    • New Position: Appointed Director of the Center for Student Belonging. Alpert Medical School of Brown University (September 2022)
    • Mentoring: Launched two mentoring initiatives aimed at streamlining a pipeline for local high school students to pursue a career in medicine via the Women’s Orthopedic Leadership Forum, and the Department of Orthopaedic Research Summer Leadership Academy (September 2022)
  • Alyssa M Garrett (SURF ’21). RI-INBRE Mentor KA. Quinlan, URI
  • Moez Ghumman (EVEREST ’21). RI-INBRE Mentor JU. Menon, URI
    • New position: Research Biologist at Character Biosciences. May 2022
  • Andrea Gonsalves (ECD ’18-20). RI-INBRE Mentor JU. Menon, URI
    • Award: The Graduate Student First Prize Poster Award for “Development of Inhalable Biomimetic PLGA Nanoparticles for Pulmonary Delivery of Chemotherapeutics.” URI Pharmacy Student Research Showcase. April 2022. Co-authors: J. Bazinet (SURF ’19), M. Ghumman (EVEREST ’21), D. Dhamecha (ECD ’18-20), and JU. Menon.
    • Presentation: “The physicochemical properties of inhalable lipid-polymer nanoparticles post-nebulization” was presented at the AAPS PharmSci 360 annual meeting in Boston. October 2022
  • Marieke Guitink (SURF ’21-22) and Taryn Rauff (SURF’21). RI-INBRE Mentor: KM. Scaplen, Bryant
    • Presentation/Poster: “Mapping neural circuits important for alcohol reward memories in Drosophila.” NEURON Regional Conference. Quinnipiac University, N. Haven CT.  April 2022.
  • Josephine Johnson (’21-22 CR Supplement) and Ayden Mudd (’21-22 CR Supplement). RI-INBRE Mentors J. Towle-Weicksel, RIC; EY. So, RIH
  • Miguel Martinez Guzman (SURF ’20-21). RI-INBRE Mentors S. Delaney, Brown; W. Holmes, RIC
    • PhD Student: Brown University, Dr. S. Delaney. September 2022
    • Fellowship: RI-INBRE Bridge to Graduate School Fellow. May 2022. 
  • Ryan Miller, Ph.D. (SURF ’12). RI-INBRE Mentor: CW. Reid, Bryant
    • PhD Thesis Defense. “The discovery of Dynobactins, a novel class of peptide antibiotics.” May 2022. Northeastern University Mentor Dr. Kim Lewis.
    • New Position: Senior Microbiologist at Odyssey Therapeutics in Boston. Summer 2022.
    • Publication: “Computational identification of a systemic antibiotic for gram-negative bacteria.” Journal of Nature Microbiology. September 2022. PMID36163500
  • Joseph Prete (SURF ’19). RI-INBRE Mentor: CW. Reid, Bryant
    • Medical School: Accepted into the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Middletown NY. Fall 2022. 
  • Taryn Rauff (SURF’21). RI-INBRE Mentor: KM. Scaplen, Bryant
    • Award: Suzannah Bliss Tierman Outstanding Poster Award. NEURON Regional Conference. Quinnipiac University, N. Haven CT.  April 2022.
    • Presentations/Posters: “Exploring the connectivity patterns of Mushroom Body Output Neurons.”(1) Boston Area Drosophila Meeting. Boston College MA. June 2022; and (2) NEURON Regional Conference. Quinnipiac University, N. Haven CT.  April 2022.
  • Paige Ring (SURF ’21). RI-INBRE Mentor: CW. Reid, Bryant
    • Presentation: Paige presented her RI-INBRE research “Development of a Fluorescent Based Assay for Characterization of Candida sp. β-(1,3)-Glucan Transglycosylase Phr1” at the American Chemical Society Fall National meeting in Chicago. August 21-26, 2022
  • Gabrielle Rozumek (SURF ’18-19). RI-INBRE Mentor: J. Shen, URI
    • Internship: Graduate Summer Opportunities to Advance Research (G-SOAR) Fellow at the NIH National Eye Institute (NEI). NEI Mentor R. Hufnagel
  • Keesha Sanchez (SURF ’21). RI-INBRE Mentor KL. LaPlante, URI
    • Fellowship: Summer Research Opportunity Program at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. 2022
  • Cassandra Santos (SURF ’21). RI-INBRE Mentor B. Cho, URI
    • Award: Cassandra joined her CCRI Phi Theta Kappa Pi Omicron chapter in winning a Distinguished College Project Award! The collaboration with the RI DoH created a series of videos supporting mental health awareness. April 2022. 
  • Hannah S. Trautmann (ECD ’20-21). RI-INBRE Mentor KM. Ramsey, URI
    • Award: Hannah received the 2022-2023 Phillip L. Carpenter Memorial Scholarship- Education Update: Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Kathryn Ramsey’s lab, URI
    • Presentation: A talk entitled “Investigating heterogeneous ribosomes and gene expression in the pathogen Francisella tularensis” was presented at both the Boston Bacterial Meeting (Boston, MA, June 13-14, 2022) and the Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phages Meeting (Madison, WI August 1-5, 2022).
    • Publication Co-authored: “A Ribosomal Protein Homolog Governs Gene Expression and Virulence in a Bacterial Pathogen” published with KM Ramsey (URI). Journal of Bacteriology. PMID36121290. September 2022.
  • Jewel Voyer (SURF ’20). RI-INBRE Mentor R. Schwartz, URI
    • New position: Research Assistant, Harvard Medical School/Boston Children’s Hospital

Acronyms

  • CR: Collaborative Research Award
  • DOI: Date of Issue
  • ECD: Early Career Development Award
  • EVEREST: Enhanced Virtual Education, RESearch, and Training Pilot Award
  • PMC: PubMed Central
  • PMID: PubMed Reference Number
  • RA: Laboratory Research Assistant
  • SURF: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow
  • Tech: Laboratory Technician

Institutions

  • Brown University: Brown
  • Bryant University: Bryant
  • Community College of Rhode Island: CCRI
  • Johnson & Wales University: JWU
  • Rhode Island College: RIC
  • Rhode Island Hospital: RIH
  • Roger Williams University: RWU
  • Salve Regina University: SRU
  • University of Rhode Island: URI

Please share your award with us and we will share it with your peers! Send email to RIINBRE@etal.uri.edu