GSBMS Hosts Largest STAR Program to Date

The Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences’ Summer Trainees in Academic Research (STAR) program welcomed more than 60 high school and undergraduate students to New York Medical College (NYMC) this summer.

August 20, 2018
STAR program welcomed more than 60 high school and undergraduate students

They spent their days in laboratories, attended weekly seminars on various scientific topics, learned laboratory practices and safety and conducted research in an active laboratory under the guidance of a NYMC faculty mentor. The culmination of their summertime work was the Seventh Annual STAR Student Research Forum on August 9. The Medical Education Center’s Wilner Lobby was packed where participants presented their work in poster format, followed by oral presentations in the Chouake Auditorium. Dana G. Mordue, Ph.D., interim dean of the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences and associate professor of microbiology and immunology, engaged the young audience with her presentation, “Babesiosis: the Emerging Malaria-like Disease in Your Backyard.”

“I am extremely proud and satisfied with what this year’s participants have achieved during their six short summer weeks here. STAR is a great education program that promotes name recognition for NYMC locally and nationally, and at the same time prepares these young people to be the next generation young scientists and physicians. It is a win-win situation for our institution.” said Austin M. Guo, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology and director of the STAR program.

View the STAR Research Forum photo gallery.

GSBMS STAR Research Forum

Oral Presentation

Identification of Genetic Elements Associated with Borrelia burgdorferi Dissemination

Christopher Pritting

Wofford College, Spartanburg, S.C.

Faculty Mentor: Weihua Huang, Ph.D., associate professor of pathology

 

Poster Presentations 

Immune Stimulation by Bacterial Small RNA’s

Olivia Alvarez

Fox Lane High School, Bedford, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Carl V. Hamby, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology‌

 

The Effects of Cannabidiol on the Memory of Drosophila Melanogaster

Supriya Baskaran

Hendrick Hudson High School, Montrose, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Frances Hannan, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell biology and anatomy‌

 

The Effects of Estrogens on Spatial and Environmental Novelty

Henry Blair

Horace Greeley High School, Chappaqua, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Jana Velíšková, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cell biology and anatomy, and obstetrics and gynecology

 

Assessment of DNA Damage Associated with Trans-2-Hexenal (HEX) in the Chicken Egg Genotoxicity Assay (CEGA)

Annika Braun

Hackley School, Tarrytown, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Tetyana Kobets, M.D., M.S.P.H., assistant professor of pathology

 

The Effect of Sequence Variation on Lyme Disease Patient Antibody Binding to C6 Peptide

Jennifer Coronel

Peekskill High School, Peekskill, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Paul Arnaboldi. Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology

 

Inhibition of sEH Rescues Nitric Oxide Bioavailability in High Fructose Fed Young Rats via Decreasing Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress

Roopa Duvvi

Yorktown High School, Yorktown, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Dong Sun, M.D., Ph.D., professor of physiology

 

Functional Analyses of Pannexin 1 and its Variants

Nancy (Xiaojun) Feng

Scarsdale High School, Scarsdale, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Eliana Scemes, Ph.D., professor of cell biology and anatomy

 

Test for Cannibalism of Multipotent Adult Stem Cells by an A549 Cancer Cell Line

Julia Friedman

Sleepy Hollow High School, Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Paul Lucas, Ph.D., associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of orthopaedic research

 

Immune Checkpoint Proteins Contribute to Drug Resistance in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer

Nabil Kamal

Yorktown High School, Yorktown, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Raj Tiwari, Ph.D., professor and interim chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology

 

Quantification of Myocytes that Exhibit a Fetal Gene Program in the Infarcted Mouse Heart

Jeun-Fai Lam

Dobbs Ferry High School, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Carol A. Eisenberg, Ph.D., associate professor of physiology

 

Interactive Consequences of Immune Checkpoint Proteins and Vemurafenib in Melanoma

Aryan Malhotra

University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.

Faculty Mentor: Raj Tiwari, Ph.D., professor and interim chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology

 

3, 3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM) Inhibits Growth of Triple Negative Breast Cancer by Up-Regulation of ERβ

Nikhil Malik

Edgemont Junior-Senior High School, Scarsdale, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Raj Tiwari, Ph.D., professor and interim chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology

 

Evaluating the Effects of Altering Pannexin on Seizures

Robin Masterson

Somers High School, Somers, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Jana Velíšková, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cell biology and anatomy, and obstetrics and gynecology

 

The Role of Inflammation and IL-6 in Infantile Spasms

Jacqueline Mundadan

Ossining High School, Ossining, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Libor Velíšek, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cell biology and anatomy, pediatrics, and neurology

 

Evaluation of Genotoxic Potential of 4-Chloro-Ortho-Toluidine Using the Chicken Egg Genotoxicity Assay (CEGA)

Miraj Pithadia

Dobbs Ferry High School, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Tetyana Cheairs (Kobets), M.D., M.S.P.H., assistant professor of pathology

 

Effect of CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Gene 33 Deletion on Cr(VI)-Transformed Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells

Sarah Platkin

Horace Greeley High School, Chappaqua, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Dazhong Xu, Ph.D., assistant professor of pathology

 

The Effect of Caffeine on the Behavior and Dopaminergic Neurons in Drosophila Models Developing Parkinson's disease

Kalsoom Rashid

White Plains High School, White Plains, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Frances Hannan, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell biology and anatomy‌

 

In the Bullseye: Borrelia burgdorferi Generates Differential Regulation in the Skin Microbiome of Lyme Disease Patients

Ila Rosen

John Jay High School, Cross River, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Mary Petzke, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology

 

Micro-RNA-21 is Associated with Nitrogen Mustard Treated Skin Inflammation on Mouse Keratinocyte Pam212 Cell

Samantha Saca

Peekskill High School, Peekskill, N.Y.

 

Grace Lena

Pawling High School, Pawling, N.Y.

Daly Stoop

Briarcliff High School, Briarcliff, N.Y.

Faculty Mentors: Diane E. Heck, Ph.D., professor of public health and Hong-Duck Kim, Ph.D., associate professor of public health

 

Pathways affected by the Brd2 Gene in the Development of Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy

Patrick Saint Ange
Ossining High School, Ossining, NY

Faculty Mentor: Libor Velíšek, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cell biology and anatomy, pediatrics, and neurology

 

Role of Estrogens in Pattern Separation

Raissa Zuim Dantas de Souza

Nebraska Wesleyan U, Lincoln, NE

Faculty Mentor: Jana Velíšková, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cell biology and anatomy, and obstetrics and gynecology

 

Utilizing Drug Intervention to Inhibit Delayed Neuronal Death by Migrainous Spreading Depolarizations

Jacquelyn F. Stochel

Yorktown High School, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Patric K. Stanton, Ph.D., professor of cell biology and anatomy and neurology

 

Postnatal-Induced Autism Impairs Social Behavior, Alters the Seizure Threshold and Reduces Neun Antigenicity within the Amygdala Cortical Complex

Strzeletski G.R.

Ossining High School, Ossining, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Linda K. Friedman, Ph.D., research associate professor of cell biology and anatomy

 

Cloning PcrV for a Vaccine Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection

Christina Toumanios

Colgate University, Hamilton, NY

Faculty Mentor: Paul Arnaboldi. Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology

 

The Benefits of Resveratrol and the Increased Lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster Fed Diets High in Fat

Sarina Iraj

Barnard College, New York, NY

Larissa Iraj

Harrison High School, Harrison, NY

Faculty Mentors: Faculty Mentor: Frances Hannan, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell biology and anatomy‌, and Barbara Doonan, Ph.D., research fellow in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy

 

Abstracts

Exploring Cells within Adult Skeletal Muscle that Exhibit Cardiogenic Potential

Joshua Amir

Ardsley High School, Ardsley, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Carol A. Eisenberg, Ph.D., associate professor of physiology

 

Isolation and Immunoassay of Exosomes in the Avian Optic Chiasm

Ashwin Sriskanthan

Scarsdale High School, Scarsdale, N.Y.

Faculty Mentor: Stuart A. Newman, Ph.D., professor of cell biology and anatomy