URECA Biology Alumni Awards Recipients
Undergraduate Biology, with generous alumni support, is partnered with the office
of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URECA) to support full-time, faculty
mentored research experiences in the biological sciences to Stony Brook undergraduates
URECA provides funding to students doing faculty-mentored research and/or creative activities, through the URECA Summer Program. This provides students with a $5,000 stipend for a ten-week period of work.
As some students may not know, URECA also provides money for students to attend conferences
or purchase materials or supplies for research during the academic year through their
URECA Small/Travel Grants program.
Please see the URECA site for more information.
URECA Biology and Biochemistry Awards Recipients Archive (2012-2024)
Summer 2025 Research Award Recipients
Biology Alumni Research Award Recipients
Benjamin Costa, Biochemistry (Francisco-Anderson Family Undergraduate Research Award) Cas-T Away: Cas13a and gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Dayris Hernandez Dominguez, Biology (Ellen Geis Undergraduate Research Award) Determining the Binding Capacity of ANP32E to H3/H4 (Dr. Dongyan Tan, Pharmacological Sciences)
Trinity Hausch, Biochemistry (Mitchell and Jennifer Wortzman Undergraduate Research Award) Determination of Upstream Enhancer Elements in the Regulation of Hnf1b mRNA Transcription using Region Capture Micro-C (Dr. Siu Chiu Chan, Medicine, Nephrology and Hypertension)
Manahil Kashif, Biochemistry (Francisco-Anderson Family Undergraduate Research Award) Characterization of the Scribble Signaling Complex in Activity-Dependent AMPA Receptor Endocytosis (Dr. Maya Shelly, Neurobiology and Behavior)
Aman Mistry, Biochemistry (Denise Loring Undergraduate Research Award) Elucidating the Role of Tcf15 in Muscle Progenitor Fate, Somite Morphogenesis, and Neural Crest Migration (Dr. Benjamin Martin, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Shalom Obimba, Biochemistry (Steven K. Galson Undergraduate Research Award) Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Randhula Wickramasinghe, Biochemistry (Biology Alumni Undergraduate Research Award) Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Jennifer Zeng, Biology (Jeanette & Joseph Farraye Undergraduate Research Award) Using Dental Morphology to Investigate How Habitat Change Influences the Dietary Ecology of a Fossil Gopher, Entoptychus (Dr. Tara Smiley, Ecology and Evolution)
Ann Zhang, Biology (Biology Alumni Undergraduate Research Award) Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
URECA Biology Alumni Research Award Recipients
Damian Davila, Biochemistry Categorization of Human Protein Kinase C1 Domain Isoforms Based on Diacylglycerol (DAG) Binding Interactions from Novel Pkcδ Crystal Structures (Dr. Michael Airola, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Meha Dyhani, Computer Science Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
URECA Summer Research Awards
Kevin Byun, Biochemistry Study of Human Phenotypic Pituitary Variants from Mutations in the SLC16A2(MCT8) Gene (Dr. Leonard Cheung, Physiology and Biophysics)
Natalie Eng, Biology Identifying the Substrate Binding Site of the Mitochondrial Yme1 Protease (Dr. Steven Glynn, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Sophia Cadolino, Biology (Neurobiology Undergraduate Research Award) The Effects of TSA and MK801 on Neural Crest Migration, Somite Formation, and Neurogenesis in Zebrafish(Dr. Lonnie Wollmuth, Neurobiology and Behavior)
Parker Fording, Applied Mathematics and Statistics Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Doorva Garg, Biomedical Engineering Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Mariam Hassan, Biochemistry Characterization of Unconventional Fatty Acid Binding-Protein Secretion and Activation of Transient Receptor Protein Ankyrin 1 in Arachidonic Acid Metabolism (Dr. Martin Kaczocha, Anesthesiology)
Mahir Hossain, Biochemistry Hammett Study of Styrene Alkoxyl Radical Cyclization vs. β-Scission Mechanisms via Ti-LMCT (Dr. Jeffrey Lipshultz, Chemistry)
Emily Htam, Biology Understanding the Glycosylation of ApoJ in Human Diabetic Kidney Disease Patients (Dr. Sandeep Mallipattu, Medicine, Nephrology and Hypertension)
Anss Hyka, Biology, Psychology Re-activation of EGFR Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Causes Drug Resistance to MET inhibitors in HGF Receptor (MET) amplified Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers (Dr. John Haley, Pathology)
Ashish Jalwan, Computer Science, Mathematics Automatic Annotation of Single Cells (Dr. David McKinnon, Neurobiology and Behavior)
Hannah Jegal, Biology, Psychology Neural Response to Social and Cultural Interactions (Dr. Brady Nelson, Psychology)
Dan Jian, Biochemistry Quantification of the Efficacy of Triplex-Forming Oligonucleotides (Dr. Gábor Balázsi, Biomedical Engineering)
Mariami Kochiashvilli, Biology, Psychology Assessing Deep Brain Stimulation for Enhancing Parkinson’s Disease Treatment Through Computer-Based Motion Analysis of Tremor, Shuffling Gait and Facial Expressions. (Drs. Charles Mikell and Sima Mofakham, Neurosurgery)
Soo Ah Kwak, Biochemistry Treatment of Acute Kidney Injury by Activation of BCAA Catabolism (Dr. Sian Piret, Medicine, Nephrology and Hypertension)
Samuel Li, Biology, Psychology Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Jinnat Mahmood, Biology Examining the Role of Nicotine in Neurotransmitter Dysregulation in Schizophrenia: A Multimodal MRI and MRS Data Analysis Study (Dr. Jodi Weinstein, Psychiatry)
Tatiana Nika, Biology Social Status-Based Polymorphisms in African Turquoise Killifish and Their Potential Underlying Causes (Dr. Chi-Kuo Hu, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Hamza Raja, Biology, Psychology Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Hector Romeo, Biochemistry Testing Efficacy of Novel DES1 Inhibitors on Anchorage-Independent Survival of Breast Cancer Cells (Dr. Christopher Clarke, Medicine, Hematology and Oncology)
Diya Saini, Biology NMDA Receptors in Neurodevelopment and Seizure Pathogenesis (Dr. Lonnie Wollmuth, Neurobiology and Behavior)
John Sengstock, Biochemistry Investigating Non-Cell-Autonomous Effects of Astrocyte Senescence and SOD2-Mediated Oxidative Stress Rescue in a Human iPSC-derived Model of Rett Syndrome (Dr. Nurit Ballas, Neurobiology and Behavior)
Mariam Sheikh, Biology Effect of Irradiation on Regenerative Signaling Pathways in Differentiated Intestinal Organoids (Dr. Agnieszka Bialkowska, Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology)
Simran Singh, Biology Impact of the Dual Domain Protein ProE on C-di-GMP Signaling in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Dr. Elizabeth Boon, Chemistry)
Taylor Singh, Biology Janus-Mediated Copper-Iron (CuFe) Alloy Nanorods (Dr. Stanislaus Wong, Chemistry)
Aberam Sriganesh, Biochemistry Development of a Single Cell Tracking Program Using Particle Image Velocimetry to Identify the Role Of Bach1 in Cell Motility and the Cancer Phenotype (Dr. Gábor Balázsi, Biomedical Engineering)
Aaron Tu, Biochemistry Investigating the Role Of Spectrins and F-Actin Turnover in Amoeboid Cell Migration (Dr. Benjamin Lin, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Jeremiah Varghese, Biology Investigating Motor Kinematics as Correlates of Stroke Severity and Behavioral Outcomes in Post-Stroke Mice Using Deep Learning and MRI Data (Dr. Neil Nadkarni, Neurology)
Sophie Xiao, Biochemistry Characterization of Circulating Micro-RNA181b as a Liquid Biopsy Biomarker for Early-Stage Colorectal Cancer (Dr. Jun Chung, Pathology)
Xingyu Xiao, Biochemistry Mechanistic Insight into the Role of Transient Heme Binding and Effect of Nosp Heme Binding on the Kinase Activity of Nahk in the Presence of Nitric Oxide (Dr. Elizabeth Boon, Chemistry)
Rebecca Xie, Biology Novel Compound Synthesis of Neutral Ceramidase (nCDase) Inhibitors (Dr. Peter Tonge, Chemistry)
Amo Zheng, Biochemistry Mechanistic Study of Nitro-Oxidation on Cellulose via Model Mono- and Disaccharide Synthesis (Dr. Dale Drueckhammer, Chemistry)
Becky Zhu, Biochemistry In Vivo Study of the Patency of Patient-Specific Aneurysm Artificial Grafts Made with a Poly(vinyl) Alcohol (PVA) Blend (Dr. Chander Sadasivan, Neurosurgery)
AmFam - PSEG Explorations in STEM Awards
Sierra Fiano, Biochemistry Characterizing the Interaction Between STAT3 and V-ATPase (Dr. Stuti Sharma, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Ceania Gonzales, Biology The Role of grin2B in Anxiety and ASD: Insights from Zebrafish Behavioral Assays (Dr. Howard Sirotkin, Neurobiology and Behavior)
Career Center Explorations in STEM Awards
Gao Coco, Computer Science Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Bevis Jiang, Biochemistry Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Leslie Liu, Biology Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Rachel Liu, Biology Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Duaa Zeeshan, Biology Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Jessy Zhang, Biochemistry Cas-T Away: Cas13a & gRNA Induced Cleavage of Viral HIV ssRNA (2025 iGEM team, Dr. J. Peter Gergen, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Simons STEM Scholars Explorations in STEM Awards
Ashiyana Chander, Biology Evaluating the Effect of Combinatory Treatment in Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer Across the Four Consensus Molecular Subtypes(Dr. Agnieszka Bialkowska, Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology)
Elizabeth Charpentier, Chemistry NMDA Receptors in the Brain (Dr. Lonnie Wollmuth, Neurobiology and Behavior)
Eliana Nungaray, Marine Vertebrate Biology Phenotypic Plasticity in Marine Invertebrates(Dr. Dianna Padilla, Ecology and Evolution)
Tatiana Romero, Biology, Psychology Cx50 Knockout in the Mouse Lens Downregulates the Cell Cycle in Epithelial Cells (Dr. Barbara Rosati, Physiology and Biophysics)
SUNY Summer Opportunity for Academic Research (SOAR)
Samiah Cann, Biochemistry High-Throughput Evaluation of gRNA Efficiency Using Compartmentalized CRISPR Reaction(Dr. Eric Josephs, Biomedical Engineering)
Xing Ying Chen, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Biology Creation of HNF-1β K42A Mutant Epithelial Cell Lines by Adenine Base Editor (Dr. Siu Chiu Chan, Medicine, Nephrology and Hypertension)
Suyee Chi, Biology Investigating the Role of RhoC Protein in Metastasis and Cell Motility in MDA-MB-231 Cells(Dr. Gábor Balázsi, Biomedical Engineering)
Fatemeh Dehpanah, Biochemistry Deoxysphingolipids Activate cGAS-STING in Colon Cancer cells and Enhance Anti-tumor Immunity(Dr. David Montrose, Pathology)
Brandon Jaipersaud, Computer Science The Algorithms Behind the Biology: Examining Statistical and Machine Learning-Based Approaches to DEG Analysis on scRNA-Seq Datasets(Dr. David McKinnon, Neurobiology and Behavior)
Jailin Li, Biochemistry Vitamin B6-Inspired Photo-Decarboxylase Catalysis (Dr. Jeffrey Lipshultz, Chemistry)
Justin Lim, Biochemistry MDC1, a New Target of Therapy-Induced Senescence and Chemosensitization in Breast Cancer (Dr. Hyungjin Kim, Pharmacological Sciences)
Jun Lin, Biology Mitochondria in Mitosis: Positioning with a Purpose(Dr. Lina Carlini, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Lucille McKenzie, Biology Mapping the Extent of Phragmites australis in South Shore Long Island Wetlands (Dr. Elizabeth Watson, Ecology and Evolution)
Raisa Suha, Biology, Psychology Vesicular Distribution of Non- Zymogen Pancreatic Enzymes(Dr. Kathryn Gunn, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Charles Wang, Biology Recovery of Nitrate and Phosphate from Onsite Wastewater Using a Porous Chitin and Cellulose Based Material for Revalorization as a Fertilizer (Dr. Benjamin Hsiao, Chemistry)
Erica Zheng, Biology Using Genetically Modified Mouse Models to Investigate Lung Carcinogenesis Mechanisms (Dr. Zhishan Wang, Pathology)
Frances Velay Women and Science Research Fellowship Awards
Loy Hashimoto, Biology The Mechanism of Myo-Inositol and Taurine in Hgd-Ntd Crystallin Aggregation (Dr. Eugene Serebryany, Physiology and Biophysics)
Alexandria Lewkowski, Biochemistry Understanding Transport Across Dense, Intracellular Cytoskeletal Networks (Dr. Lina Carlini, Biochemistry and Cell Biology)
Elaine Mei, Biochemistry, Psychology Identification of Novel Benznidazole Resistance Genes Using a Forward Genetic Approach in Trypanosoma brucei (Dr. Galadriel Hovel-Miner, Microbiology and Immunology)
Amber Wilson, Biology Understanding Aversive Behaviors in TSC 2 Mice (Dr. Prerana Shrestha, Neurobiology and Behavior)