Biology Department 42nd Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium
This year’s symposium featured twenty-four posters and twelve oral presentations, displaying research contributions from various College of Arts and Sciences departments including Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Biomedical Sciences, and Psychology, as well as institutions such as the College of Nanoscale and Engineering, the RNA Institute, the New York State Department of Health, and Albany Medical College.
Each year, the Symposium is highlighted by the presentation of monetary awards that recognize outstanding research quality and effective communication.
The recipient of the 2025 Glenn L. Bumpus Award received $1,000 while several oral and poster presenters were each granted $150 as recipients of the Department of Biological Sciences Award for Excellence in Research and the Dr. Robert Osuna Oral Presentation Award.
Click on the following link for additional information on the Department of Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Program: Undergraduate Bio Research | University at Albany.
The Department would like to recognize the UAlbany Foundation for administering the awards for this event.
Congratulations to all the 2025 Undergraduate Research Symposium Participants and Awardees!
Department of Biological Science Undergraduate Poster Awardees:
Audrey Coons
Mentor: Jia Sheng
Department: Chemistry
Zyon Small
Mentor: Ken Halvorsen
Department: RNA Institute
Humayra Oishi
Mentor: Andy Berglund
Department: Biology/RNA Institute
Cameron Childs
Mentor: Chang Hwan Lee
Department: Biology/RNA Institute
Department of Biological Science Undergraduate Oral Presentation Awardees
Amal Siddiqui
Mentor: Damian Shin
Department: Albany College of Medicine, The University of Louisville School of Medicine
Robert Osuna Oral Presentation Award
Honoring the work done by Dr. Osuna to teach and train students. Dr. Osuna organized the Undergrad Symposium for the past 25 years prior to his retirement in 2025.
Jessica Airhienbuwa
Mentor: Max Turner
Department: Biology
Glenn Bumpus Oral Presentation Award
The highest award given in the Department of Biological Sciences - In remembrance of Glenn Bumpus, a former student in the department who lost his battle to cancer.
David Reilly
Mentor: Damian Zuloaga
Department: Psychology
Leyla Caliskan
Advisor Name: Dr. Li Nui
Presentation Title: 'U9 Aptamers Usage in Memory Testing on Mice.'
Cameron Childs (Winner, Undergraduate Poster Award)
Advisor Name: Dr. ChangHwan Lee
Presentation Title: 'Elucidating the link between organismal longevity and reproductive function.'
Audrey Coons (Winner, Undergraduate Poster Award)
Advisor Name: Dr. Jia Sheng
Presentation Title: 'Novel RNA Therapeutic Rescues Key Alternative Splicing Events in HeLa-Based DM1 Cell Model.'
Izabella Czajkowski
Advisor Name: Dr. Annalisa Scimemi
Presentation Title: 'Circadian Modulation of Layer- and Cell-Specific Properties in the Hippocampus.'
Ridita Das
Advisor Name: Dr. Bijan Dey
Presentation Title: 'Transcriptome-wide gene expression analysis in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).'
Hunter Evans
Advisor Name: Dr. Melinda Larsen
Presentation Title: 'Quantifying the Fibrotic Response in Ligated Mouse Salivary Glands.'
Omar Gulmohamad
Advisor Name: Dr. Michael Gerdes
Presentation Title: 'RNA Modifications of Zooxanthellae and Thermal Bleached Corals.'
Adam Iqbal
Advisor Name: Dr. Annalisa Scimemi
Presentation Title: 'Circadian Modulation of Layer- and Cell-Specific Properties in the Hippocampus.'
Ethan Krupa
Advisor Name: Dr. Cara Pager
Presentation Title: 'Development of a Zika virus single cell fluorescent reporter.'
Nay Kyaw
Advisor Name: Dr. Michael Gerdes
Presentation Title: 'Analysis and Extraction of Coral Mucus and Tissue for Potential Drug-like Activity.'
Michaela Lacey
Advisor Name: Dr. Cara Pager
Presentation Title: 'Development of a Zika virus single cell fluorescent reporter.'
Sofia Marshall
Advisor Name: Dr. Andrew Poulos
Presentation Title: 'Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning in Male and Female Rats.'
Antoinette Mastrangelo
Advisor Name: Dr. Arun Richard Chandresekaran
Presentation Title: 'Synthesis and Characterization of DNA Nanocarriers. Kyeerah'
Humayra Oishi (Winner, Undergraduate Poster Award)
Advisor Name: Dr. Andy Berglund
Presentation Title: 'Small Molecule Therapeutics in the Treatment of Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1.'
Emma Osuji
Advisor Name: Dr. Gabriele Fuchs
Presentation Title: 'Role of RACK1 in Regulating ATF4 IRES-Mediated Translation.'
Thomas Rapp
Advisor Name: Dr. Yubing Xie
Presentation Title: 'Fabrication and Characterization of Biomolecule-Modified Alginate Hydrogel Microstrands for Cell Delivery.'
Mohamed Salamah
Advisor Name: Dr. Bum-Kyu Lee
Presentation Title: 'Cloning trophoblast-specific transcription factors into a dox-inducible overexpression vector.'
Mackenzie Salentre
Advisor Name: Dr. Michael Gerdes
Presentation Title: 'Porites cylindrica Stress Responses.'
Mina Shamloo
Advisor Name: Dr. Ben Bovin
Presentation Title: 'Characterization of the purification and reversible oxidation of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B (PTP1B).'
Zyon Small (Winner, Undergraduate Poster Award)
Advisor Name: Dr. Ken Halvorsen
Presentation Title: 'Measuring Catalytic Efficiency of a Hammerhead Ribozyme for RNA-Based Therapeutics.'
Gabriela Valdivieso
Advisor Name: Dr. Dylan Farnsworth
Presentation Title: 'Systems level transcriptomics in DM-model zebrafish at single-cell resolution.'
Jeanette Ward
Advisor Name: Dr. Kristen Zuloaga
Presentation Title: 'Investigation of the Long-Term and Short-Term Effects of Adolescent Social Stress on Depressive- and Anxiety-Like Behavior in WT and Tg-SwDI Mice.'
Jordene Wynter
Advisor Name: Dr. Todd Gray and Dr. Keith Derbyshire
Presentation Title: 'Characterizing Transcription Factor EspM and its Regulation of WhiB6 in Mycobacterial Conjugation.'
Sanjida Ahmed
Advisor Name: Dr. Tim Wang
Presentation Title: 'Potential Therapeutics for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 and Type 2 using small molecules.'
Jessica Airhienbuwa (Winner, Robert Osuna Oral Presentation Award)
Advisor Name: Dr. Maxwell Turner
Presentation Title: 'Stimulus Dependence of Fixation Behavior in Drosophila Melanogaster. '
Xhesika Azis
Advisor Name: Dr. Ting Wang
Presentation Title: 'Development of Small Molecule Therapeutics for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 and Type 2.'
Sydney Hanson
Advisor Name: Dr. Gabriele Fuchs
Presentation Title: 'Translation initiation in SARS-CoV-2 5 UTR: Canonical or Not?'
Sarah Kenny
Advisor Name: Dr. Alex Valm
Presentation Title: 'Growth Kinetics Analysis of the Impact of A naeslundii on the Growth of C. matruchotii.'
Massa Masri
Advisor Name: Dr. Andy Berglund
Presentation Title: 'Exploring Immune Gene Expression in Repeat Expansion Diseases: Huntington's Disease vs. Myotonic Dystrophy 1.'
Sakthi Muthukrishnan
Advisor Name: Dr. Jason Herschkowitz
Presentation Title: 'The Role of Super-Enhancer Long Noncoding RNAs in Triple Negative Breast Cancer.'
Ryan Naitbalk
Advisor Name: Dr. Michael Gerdes
Presentation Title: 'Extraction and Characterization of Natural Compounds from Aquaculture Tropical Corals.'
David Reilly (Winner, Glenn Bumpus Oral Presentation Award)
Advisor Name: Dr. Damian Zuloaga
Presentation Title: 'Stereotax Induced Apoptosis of CRFR2 Neurons in the PVN and its Effects on Stress-Related Behavior in Mice.'
Jessica Scarchilli
Advisor Name: Dr. Cara Pager
Presentation Title: 'Overexpression of PUS7 Reduces Zika Virus Protein Expression and Viral Titer In Vitro.'
Amal Siddiqui (Winner, Undergraduate Oral Presentation Award)
Advisor Name: Dr. Damian Shin
Presentation Title: 'Non-invasive Focused Ultrasound to Alleviate Constipation in Parkinsons Disease by Reducing Gut Inflammation.'
Nicole Zac Soligno
Advisor Name: Dr. Cheryl Andam
Presentation Title: 'Genomic diversity of Salmonella enterica serotype Braenderup in New York State.'
Taina Stevens
Advisor Name: Dr. Janice Pata
Presentation Title: 'Analysis of the RNA Binding Capabilities and Structural Predictions of the C-Terminal Domain of the Nucleocapsid Protein of Mouse Hepatitis Virus.'
Brianna Tsakh
Advisor Name: Dr. Annalisa Scimemi
Presentation Title: 'Circadian Modulation of Glutamatergic Transmission in the Mouse Hippocampus.'