Cohort 13

Asia Akperov
Lab PI & Menter: Ross Levine, Dr. Wenbin Xiao, MSKCC
Major: Human Biology, Chemistry

Asia Akperov is a third year student at Hunter College where she is pursuing a degree in Human Biology (BA) and a minor in Chemistry. She is the recipient of the McNulty scholarship, which has allowed her to engage in research on blood disorders at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In addition to McNulty, Asia is also a part of the Athena Scholar Program and Eva Kastan Grove Scholarship at Hunter College. In her studies, she is focusing on Biology and Chemistry on the pre-med track while paying close attention to public health and health disparities which are a particular interest of hers. Previously, Asia has worked as Research Associate at Bellevue Hospital's Emergency Department for the SBIRT-OEND (screening, brief intervention, referral to treatment, opioid education, and Naloxone distribution) study conducted by NYU Langone's Robert, O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine. Upon completion of her undergraduate studies, she intends to apply to medical school to further her knowledge of medicine and progress toward a career as a physician.

Malika Alamova
Lab PI & Menter: Dr. Ali Younes, Hunter
Major: Biochemistry

Malika Alamova is a junior at Hunter College where she is pursuing a degree in Biochemistry. Over the summer of 2022, Malika was interning at Fels Cancer Institute for Personalized Medicine. There, she worked as a research intern and studied the implication of inhibitors for treatment of leukemia. At Hunter’s Chemistry Department, she is involved in radiochemistry research where she studies the removal of radioisotopes to prevent contamination of internal organs that can lead to cancer. Malika also serves as the president of United for Youth and a senator at Hunter’s Undergraduate Student Government. In her free time, she mentors pre-health students through the Pre-Health Mentoring Initiative and volunteers at the Hospital of Special Surgery. Upon completion of her undergraduate studies, she plans to attend medical school to work towards becoming a physician and conducting clinical research in oncology.

Sherelyn Alejandro
Lab PI & Menter: Dr. Jackie Faherty, AMNH & Dr. Kelle Cruz, Hunter
Major: Physics, Philosophy

Sherelyn Alejandro is a third-year student at Hunter College: where she is pursuing a degree in Physics (BA) and a minor in Applied Mathematics and Philosophy. She is a recipient of the Athena Scholarship, which has allowed her to pursue different interests within her college. She is also the recipient of the AstroCom NYC fellowship, which has allowed her to engage in scientific research with astrophysicists from the American Museum of Natural History. She is currently working on code development for the SIMPLE archive of low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, and directly imaged exoplanets while also focusing on her sample of sources for a future project as a member of BDNYC. Her interest in physics and coding stems from her early experiences using scratch coding along with visiting her local planetarium. Upon completion of her undergraduate studies, she intends to apply to graduate school to further her knowledge of astrophysics and advance as a researcher.

Haya Alkiswani
Lab PI & Menter: Dr. Howard Fine, Dr. Peter Pan, Dr. Marcelo Nociari, Weill Cornell
Major: Biological Sciences, English Language Arts

Haya Alkiswani is a Macaulay Honors junior at Hunter College, where she is pursuing a Biological Sciences major with an intended English Language Arts minor. In addition to her deep commitment to scientific research, Haya is also currently the Founder and President of the Project HOPE Club (affiliated with the Project HOPE non-profit global organization) and the Co-President of the Heart at Hunter Club (affiliated with the American Heart Association) as she strongly advocates for health equity, the provision of essential health needs in underserved communities, food security, and cardiovascular health. As a future physician and leader in healthcare, Haya hopes to be a voice for marginalized communities and plans to provide direct care for disadvantaged communities around the world as a physician volunteer for Project HOPE mission trips.

Sangita Chakraborty
Major: Environmental Studies
Research Institution: Hunter College

Sangita Chakraborty is a junior at Hunter College where she is pursuing a degree in Biological Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies through the Thomas Hunter Honors Program. She is also minoring in Public Policy with an interest in the intersection between policy, science and healthcare. As a recipient of the Yalow Honors Merit Scholarship award, she is able to work with top-notch faculty, attend special events and conferences and gain access to resources that will help start a career in the sciences. In her studies, Sangita is focusing particularly on molecular and cell biology, and aspiring to more broadly incorporate matters of social justice into scientific research. Last summer, she was part of the MSTP Summer Scholars Program at University of Wisconsin-Madison where she worked in the Kimple’s lab studying cancer metabolism. Currently, she is working in the Finley lab at MSK, studying how metabolism influences cell fate decisions of stem cells and cancer cells. Upon the completion of her undergraduate studies, she plans on pursuing an MD/PhD in hopes of someday leading her own research group and being a source of empowerment for future generations of scientists.

Nusrat Jahan
Lab PI & Menter: Megan Bodell, Lily Zhao, Center for Computational Astrophysics
Major: Physics, Studio Art, Computer Science, Math

Nusrat Jahan is a fourth year student at City University of New York Hunter College studying Physics (BA) and Studio Art (BA). They are currently an AstroCom NYC and McNulty Scholar. They are currently researching at Center for Computational Astrophysics at the Simons Foundation studying spectra to understand the presence of exoplanets or stellar activity around stars. Upon completion of their undergraduate studies, they intend on applying to graduate school to further their knowledge of astrophysics and instrumentation to progress toward a career as a researcher.

Jeslyn Mei
Lab PI & Menter: Juhee Jeong, NYU College of Dentistry
Major: Psychology with a Concentration in Behavioral Neuroscience

Jeslyn Mei is a student at Hunter College’s Macaulay Honors College, where she is pursuing a degree in Psychology with a Concentration in Behavioral Neuroscience. As a recipient of the John P. McNulty Scholarship, she is currently a researcher in the Jeong lab at the New York University College of Dentistry. She studies the molecular genetic mechanisms behind calvarial development to improve our understanding of craniosynostosis, a related birth defect. Jeslyn is dedicated to utilizing her knowledge in brain and orofacial development to revolutionize interdisciplinary healthcare by uniting oral health with bodily systems. Upon completion of her undergraduate studies, she intends to apply to graduate school to develop expertise in dental care and continue pursuing research to become a leader in oral systemic health.

Edwina Mensah
Lab PI & Menter: Min Xu, Mariia Aleksandrovych, Hunter College
Major: Biochemistry

Edwina Mensah is a third-year student at Hunter College where she is on the Pre-Health track pursuing a degree in Biochemistry (BA). Her interest in biochemistry stems from her goal of using molecular mechanisms to advance the field of pediatrics. She is the recipient of the John P. McNulty Scholars Program. Edwina began research at the beginning of her junior year working with Professor Xu. She is currently working with her mentor Mariia on cancer analysis. We are currently working on the Asymmetrical DPC phase of the biomedical tissue enhancement by creating models to insert for phase recovery. Edwina will be starting at Clinical Internship next semester with UniversaCare and is working as an Advising Fellow for high school students matriculating to college. Her passion for helping others inspires her to develop her interest in medicine. Upon completion of her undergraduate studies, she intends to apply to medical school to further her knowledge of science and progress toward a career as a pediatrician.

Adrianne Nemchik
Lab PI & Menter: Dr. Piul Rabbani, NYU Langone (Hansjorg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery)
Major: Biological Sciences, Chemistry

Adrianne Nemchik is a third year student at Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Hunter College where she is pursuing a degree in Biological Sciences on the pre-med track. She is a recipient of the John P. McNulty scholarship which allows her to continue research in the field of bone and tissue regeneration at the Rabbani Lab in NYU Langone. Under the guidance of Dr. Piul Rabbani, Adrianne is working on collecting and analyzing data on the effects of certain treatments on the healing of calvarial defects in mice. Upon completion of her undergraduate studies, she intends to apply to graduate school to continue enhancing her knowledge about biology and apply her skills in a setting that can help improve the quality of life for others, whether that be in research or a clinical setting.

Swara Patel
Lab PI & Menter: Dr. Ross Levine, Aaron Stonestrom, MSKCC
Major: Biological Sciences

Swara Patel is a rising junior at Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College double majoring in Biological Sciences and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She is a 2022 Harvard-Amgen Scholar and conducted research synthesizing CAR-T cells targeting IL13Rα2 on glioblastoma cells at Brigham and Women's Hospital at the Center for Stem Cell and Translational Immunotherapy within the department of Neurosurgery. Born and raised in Mumbai, India till the age of 16, she is deeply invested in conducting stem cell and immunotherapy research. A volunteer experience in a pediatric oncology unit working with children suffering from aggressive blood and brain cancers sparked her interest in becoming a physician scientist to improve patient outcomes. She will be involved in leukemia research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for the rest of her undergraduate career and looks forward to pursuing a medical degree to become a physician scientist after her research intensive gap years.