Ashleigh Bouchelion
Major: Biological Sciences
High School: Reservoir High School, MD
Research Interest:
Career Goal: MD/PhD
Current Research Mentor:
Research Experience:

Benyam Kinde
Major: Biological Sciences
High School:
Research Interest:
Career Goal: MD/PhD
Current Research Mentor: Michael F. Summers, Ph.D.
Research Experience:

Alexandra Scott
Major: Biological Sciences
High School: Enloe High School, NC
Research Interest:
Career Goal: Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor:
Research Experience:

Gebeyehu Maruye
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High School: Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt, MD
Research Interest:
Career Goal: Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor:
Research Experience:

Gabrielle McRae
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High School: Flowers High School, Maryland
Research Interest:
Career Goal: MD/Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor:
Research Experience:

 

Dina Popovkina
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High School: Walter Johnson High School , MD
Research Interest:
Career Goal: MD/Ph.D.
Current Mentor:
Research Experience:

Nicholas Pinkin
Major: Chemistry
High School: Governor Thomas Johnson High School, MD
Research Interest:
Career Goal: MD/Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor:
Research Experience:

Tamika John
Major: Bilogical Sciences
High School: Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Mitchellville, MD
Research Interest: My research include Immunology or Microbiology.
Career Goal: Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor: David Scott, Ph.D. , UMB
Research Experience: Alleviating autoimmunity diseasevia B cell gene
therapy .

Sean Patro
Major: Biochemistry and Molcular Biology
High School: Archbishop Spalding High School, MD
Research Interest: My research interests include Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology.
Career Goal: Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor: Michael F. Summers, Ph.D.
Research Experience: Structural Analysis of the Myristoylated Matrix
Protein of the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus.

 

Jessica McGrath
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High School: Damascus High School, MD
Research Interest: My research interest include Biochemistry and Molecular Biology .
Career Goal: MD/Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor: Michael F. Summers, Ph.D.
Research Experience: The relationship between the structure of Feline
Immunodeficiency Virus matrix protein and its ability to target the
plasma membrane.

Steven Tuhishime
Major: Biological Sciences
High School: William G. Enloe High School, Raleigh, NC
Research Interest: My research interest include Genetics or Pharmacology
Career Goal: Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor: Janice Zengel, Ph.D.
Research Experience: Finding Spiramycin resistant mutations in E. Coli.

 

Whitney Fields
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High School: Elizabeth Seton High School, MD
Research Interest: My research interests lie primarily in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Career Goal:Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor: Janice Zengel, Ph.D.
Research Experience: Isolating and analyzing mutations in the ribosomal protiens L4 and L22 in Escherichia coli that are resistant to the antibiotic tylosin.

Ramon Cabrera
Major: Bilogical Sciences
High School: Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Mitchellville, MD
Research Interest: A genetic approach to identify targets of ubiquitin ligases from animals and plants.
Career Goal: MD/Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor: Mauricio Bustos Ph.D.
Research Experience: Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Yanxi Tan-Cain ~V Effect of agitation speed and sinker use on drug dissolution. National Cancer Institute, Dr. Beverly A. Mock ~V Effect of Zebularine on the expression of the p16 tumor-suppressor gene.

Tiffany Fleet
Major: Biochemistry and Molcular Biology
High School: Western School of Technology and Environmental Science, MD
Research Interest: My research interests include Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology.
Career Goal: MD/Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor: Lasse Lindahl, Ph.D.
Research Experience: Attempting to delete the XRN-1 gene from a strain of yeast named YLL 534 in order to
analyze the function of Rnase MRP. XRN-1 is an exonuclease that degrades the D site, the mature 3~R end
of 18s, in ribogenisis. If the D site is left undegraded, then further experiments can be performed to
determine if MRP cleaves at the a# site in ITS-1.

 

Joy Ihekweazu
Major: Chemistry
High School: South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics, SC
Research Interest: My research interest include Chemistry.
Career Goal: Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor: Lisa Kelly, Ph.D.
Research Experience: Binding properties of Amino acids and Napthalimides.

 

Vovanti Jones
Major: Biological Sciences
High School: Hillside High School, The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Research Interest: My research interest include Rose of Second Site Suppressors of the Amp A pathway of Dictyostelium discoidium.
Career Goal: MD/Ph.D.
Current Research Mentor: Daphne Blumberg , Ph.D.
Research Experience: Cornell Medical School, Dr. Olga Boudker ~V Measurements of Glutamate
Transporters. UNC, Chapel Hill, Dr. Louise M. Ball ~V The effect of flourescent light on the mutagenicity
of porphyrins in Salmonella.

Nerg AchiriMofor
Major: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
High School: John F. Kennedy High School, Silver Spring, MD
Research Interest: My research interest include cellular and molecular biology.
Career Goal: MD/PhD - Biomedical Engineering
Current Research Mentor:
Research Experience: I conducted research in the Lab of Molecular Pharmacology at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health for over a year investigating the antitumor mechanisms of a drug Ecteinascidin-743 ("ecteinascadia turbinata") currently in phase II/III clinical trials. Transcription is a process imperative for the survival and reproduction of cells. This drug acts as a selective transcription inhibitor, inhibiting transcription in the cells it is applied to. The ability of the drug to cause such a malfunction depends on the presence of transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair, a repair complex in human cells that tries to rid the cell of the drug but in this particular instance fails. My project was aimed toward better understanding this drugs antitumor mechanisms so that more logical clinical applications can be implemented. This research project was conducted under the supervision of Yves Pommier, MD/PhD, and my mentor Gregory Aune B.A., B.S., MD/Phd student.

Amber Gaither
Major: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
High School: William G. Enloe High School, Raleigh, NC
Research Interest: My research interests lie in the areas of immunology and cancer research.
Career Goal: MD/PhD - Immunology or Oncology
Current Research Mentor:
Research Experience: I conducted research on the fungus Magnaporthe grisea, which causes the disease known as Rice Blast. Rice Blast causes one third of the rice crop to fail every year. This one third could feed over 60 million people. In order to find controls, scientists must understand the genetic make-up of M. grisea. In this research, the method used was mutagenesis with Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Based on prior research, inserting new genes into Magnaporthe and observing the effects were the most efficient way to learn about its genes. This research was conducted at N. C. State University under the supervision of Dr. R. Dean, Ms. Kate Schadel, Mrs. Audrey Taro, and Dr. Thomas K. Mitchell .

Marcus Gillis
Major: Biological Sciences
High School: Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt, MD
Research Interest: My research interest include neuroscience and physiology.
Career Goal: MD/PhD - Neuroscience
Current Research Mentor:
Research Experience:

Khadijatou Leila Njimoluh
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High School: Springbrook High School, Silver Spring, MD
Research Interest: My current research interests include investigating the structure and function of HIV proteins. The goal is to eventually develop antiviral agents that inhibit the process of retrovirus assembly in infected cells. I am also interested in Dermatological research. .
Career Goal: MD/PhD - Dermatology
Current Research Mentor: Michael F. Summers, Ph.D. , UMBC, Baltimore, MD
Research Experience:

Frances Onyimba
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High School: River Hill High School, Clarksville, MD
Research Interest: My research interests include genetics, immunology and neuroscience.
Career Goal: DDS/PhD - Neuroscience or Immunology
Current Research Mentor:
Research Experience:

John Ajetunmobi
Major: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
High School: Woodlawn High School, Baltimore, MD
Research Interest: My research interests lie in the areas of viral immunology, neurobiology.
Career Goal: MD/PhD - Immunology or Neurobiology
Current Research Mentor: Lasse Lindahl, Ph.D.
Research Experience: I conducted research on the Ribosomal protein, L4, which is one of the many proteins found in ribosomes. Based on its 3d structure, L4 has a bulky globular region that sits on the surface of the ribosome, and a "tentacle" that penetrates into the peptide exit tunnel. In order to determine if the tentacle tip serves a function, a deletion mutation was made in the tentacle tip of ribosomal protein L4.

Foyin Fasanmi
Major: Biological Sciences
High School: Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt, MD
Research Interest: My research interests include immunology, infectious disease and developmental biology.
Career Goal: MD/PhD - Cell & Developmental Biology
Current Research Mentor: Rachel Brewster, Ph.D.
Research Experience: My current research investigates how our Central Nervous System (CNS) allows us to perceive process and store information, and determines how we interact with our environment. Despite the importance of the CNS, little is known about how it is assembled during embryogenesis. A failure in proper CNS development leads to a variety of birth defects, the most common of which is spina bifida, the leading cause of childhood paralysis in the United States. A key to understanding the cause of neural tube defects is the identification of genes required for proper CNS formation.

Candace Mainor
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High School: James M. Bennett High School, Salisbury, MD
Research Interest: My research interest include pharmacology, cancer treatments and reproductive biology.
Career Goal: MD/PhD - Immunology or Pharmacology
Current Research Mentor: Jodi Flaws, Ph.D.
Research Experience: My research is on the the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) which is a ligand-activated transcription factor that functions to mediate the toxic effects of environmental contaminants. Previous studies have shown that AhR deficient (AhRKO) mice have reduced fertility compared to their wild-type littermates. The reduced fertility in AhRKO mice is partially due to a reduced number of ovarian preantral/antral follicles.

Gebeyehu Maruye
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High School: Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt, MD
Research Interest: I am interested in research that relates to infectious diseases such as HIV and cell/developmental biology.
Career Goal: MD/PhD - Immunology

Stephanie Nunez
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High School: Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt, Maryland
Research Interest: My research interests lie primarily in oral and craniofacial reconstruction, the variance in pain tolerance among diffrent people, and how the brain perceives and signals pain.
Career Goal: DDS/PhD - Neuroscience
Current Research Mentor: Jin Ro, Ph.D.
Research Experience: My current research involves the investigation of opioid receptor function in the peripheral nervous system of craniofacial muscle tissue. I am also interested in developmental biology, the involvement of stem cells in craniofacial development, and understanding the mechanisms for expression of genes involved in mineralizing tissue, such as bones and teeth.

 

Adjoa Smalls-Mantey
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High School: Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt, MD
Research Interest: My research interests include HIV, cancer, Sickle Cell Anemia, proteomics, virology, obesity, diabetes, pharmacology, and immunology.
Career Goal: MD/PhD - Immunology or Pharmacology
Current Mentor: Michael F. Summers, Ph.D.
Research Experience: My research is on the Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus (MMLV) which is one of the most widely used vectors as a gene delivery system in gene therapy trials. Thus, there has been substantial interest in studying the mechanism by which this retrovirus selectively packages two copies of its full length RNA genome which is joined at the 5' ends by the dimer linkage structure (DLS).

Tiffany Williams
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High School: North Carolina School of Science and Math, Durham, NC
Research Interest: My research interests lie primarily in oral and craniofacial reconstruction, the variance in pain tolerance among diffrent people, and how the brain perceives and signals pain.
Career Goal: MD/PhD-Immunology or Pathology
Current Research Mentor: Suzanne Ostrand-Rosenberg, Ph.D.
Research Experience: My current research involves that more than 60% of Signal Transducer Activator of Transcription 6-deficient (Stat6-/-) mice immunologically reject spontaneous metastatic mammary carcinoma and survive indefinitely if their primary tumors are surgically removed, while 95% of Stat6-competent BALB/c mice die.