2008 Amgen Scholars | The Undergraduate Research Program

2009 Amgen Scholars

	Carolyn Adamski Carolyn Adamski is a senior at The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN. She will soon be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in a related field. Her past research was conducted at the University of California, San Francisco where she looked at the neuronal pathway mediating satiation. At the University of Washington she works with the Schnapp Lab researching the role of the urokinase receptor-associated protein in lung injury and repair. Outside the lab, Carolyn enjoys sunshine, traveling, spending time with family, people watching, and music. Her greatest aspiration in life is to directly help others through her research.
	Sofia Annis Sofia Annis is a rising junior at Smith College in Northhampton, Massachusetts. She is majoring in Biology and Italian Language and Literature. This summer, she is doing research with Dr. Akey of the Genome Sciences department. Her project involves using computational techniques to analyze dog genomic sequences. The goal of the project is to discover links between genotype and phenotype. Next year, she will be studying abroad in Florence, Italy and is looking forward to an international experience and fine Italian coffee. When she's home, Sofia enjoys photography, reading, and playing with her 200+ rabbits.
	James Athappily James Athappilly is a junior at the University of Washington. Currently, he is pursuing degrees in Computer Engineering and Business. James' greatest aspiration is to use technology to help expand our current understanding of the human body. This summer he is working in Herbert Sauro's lab to create a simulation tool that will help researchers and teachers better understand cellular networks. After his undergraduate studies, James plans to earn an MD/PhD and continue using technology to further the limits of science. During his free time, James loves to learn, bike, run, and spend time with his family and friends.
	Stephanie Bachar Stephanie Bachar is a rising junior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) majoring in Biological Engineering. This summer she is working in Lih Lin's lab in Electrical Engineering. She is assisting in the development of low intensity optical tweezers which use the gradient forces of laser light to trap, move and rotate mesoscopic objects, such as cells. At MIT she is involved in yeast prion and heat-shock protein research at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and she is the co-chair of the Educational Students Program which offers unique educational opportunities to students in the Boston area. After graduation she hopes to pursue bioengineering as it pertains to international development initiatives.
	Rachel Baker Rachel Baker is a rising senior at Loyola University, Chicago majoring in Molecular Biology and minoring in Classical Studies. In the Amgen program, she is working with Dr. Merrill B. Hille on zebra fish development and studies the protein p120 catenin. She hopes to attend graduate school for Molecular Biology in the future. In her spare time, Rachel enjoys reading, putzing around the Internet, piano, and hiking.
	Nathan Cermak Nate is a fifth year student at the University of Washington, majoring in biochemistry, applied and computational mathematical sciences and sociology. He plans to apply for MD/PhD programs which will allow him to research health from a variety of perspectives- biologically, socially, and statistically. He is a Seattle native and enjoys research, talking, arguing, biking, petting cats, listening to minimally-produced music, tinkering with computers, drinking coffee, riding ferries, and reading e.e. cummings, Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut.
	Trinidad Cisneros Trinidad Cisneros is a rising senior at California State University Los Angeles majoring in Biology. This summer, he is using molecular biology techniques to study the roles of regulatory proteins involved in early zebrafish development. He is working in the Hille Laboratory subcloning various mutant classes of CDC42, a protein encoded gene that is responsible for cell migration and other signaling pathways. Prior to pursuing a degree in Biology, he spent several years working in social service agencies with various populations, from foster youth to families experiencing homelessness. He intends to continue to help others by pursuing an MD/PhD program after graduation. In his free time, he enjoys painting, drinking coffee, playing soccer, bird watching, writing poetry, hiking and volunteering.
	Edward Dale Edward is a senior at Knox College and is double majoring in Chemistry and Biochemistry. This summer, his research is in Dustin Maly's lab working on the synthesis of small molecule inhibitors of kinases. This will lead to applications in drug development and the characterization of kinases that are unusually active in afflicted cells. In his free time, he enjoys the outdoors, playing tennis and soccer, and spending quality time with friends. At Knox he runs the Chemistry Club and organizes chemistry demonstrations at local elementary schools. In the future, Edward hopes to pursue a PhD, but is uncertain of the specific area at this time.
	Rocky Eastman Rocky is a senior at the University of Washington, where he is pursuing degrees in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Philosophy. Rocky has worked with Dr. James Bassuk at the Seattle Children's Research Institute since January 2008, where he studies diseases of the lower urinary tract. Currently, he is working to engineer urethral tissue in vitro for use in surgical hypospadias repair. He has also studied the progression of proliferative lesions in the lower urinary tract. Outside the lab, you're likely to find him hanging out with his friends, attending Mariners games, enjoying the outdoors, or studying. After graduation next spring, he plans on attending either medical or graduate school, where he hopes to continue working in pediatric research.
	Christina Elias Christina Elias is a rising junior majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University. This summer, Christina is working in Danilo Pozzo's lab studying interaction between denatured proteins and surfactants for applications in gel electrophoresis. She enjoys running, intramural sports, reading and exploring new places.
	Eric Evangelista Eric is a rising senior at the University of Washington, majoring in Chemistry and planning to pursue a future career in the medical field. He was born in the Philippines, moved to Canada when he was eight, and moved to Washington when he was 18. This summer, Eric is working in Dr. Rheem Totah's lab in the UW Medicinal Chemistry Department where he will be working with cardiomyocytes, trying to get the cells to express the CYP 2J2 gene and then determining how various drugs will affect its expression. In his spare time, Eric likes to read, volunteer at the hospital, hang out with friends, play video games, and attempt things like playing the piano, cooking, dancing and drawing.
	Emily Fawcett Emily is a rising senior at Saint Mary's College of Maryland. She is majoring in Biology with a focus in Molecular Biology, and is minoring in Environmental Studies. This summer she is working in the Merz Lab studying the effects of point mutations in a region of the protein Vps11 on the function of membrane trafficking in yeast. Her previous research experience includes an REU at Arkansas State University determining the utility of elevating endogenous levels of ascorbate in tobacco producing recomninant protein, and independent research at SMCM determining the bacterial composition in organic soil and the guts of bacterial-feeding nematodes. She spends her free time kayaking and sailing on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay, as well as serving as President of the SMCM chapter of the Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society. In the future, Emily hopes to continue to graduate school and obtain her PhD in Molecular Biology.
	Ellie Frett Ellie Frett is a rising senior at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. She will graduate in the spring of 2010 with a major in Biomedical Engineering and has plans to pursue Physiology at the graduate level. At her home institution, she has performed research under the instruction of Dr. Kevin Campbell for 2.5 years and will finish off her undergraduate career in his lab. This summer she is working under Dr. Brian Kennedy, helping to determine the role of lamin A in disease. In her free time, Ellie enjoys spending time outdoors, reading and running.
	Natalie Grattan Natalie Grattan, a rising senior at Lawrence University, in Appleton Wisconson, is pursuing a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Music. This summer, Natalie is working in the Wilson Lab studying the immune invasion techniques of Yersinia pestis and Bordatella pertussis, the bacteria that cause the plague and whooping cough respectively. More specifically, she will use flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) to measure the cytokine response in splenocytes from mice with humanized TLR-4/MD-2 receptors in order to ascertain the importance of variant LPS structures in the stimulation of the immune response by these bacteria. After she graduates, Natalie hopes to combine her love of immunology with a year studying public health abroad, and to eventually work as a medical researcher studying infectious disease epidemiology. When she's not playing with bacteria, Natalie enjoys hiking, reading, playing violin, and spending time with her friends and family.
	Lisa Huffman Lisa comes from a wheat farm in Cavendish, Idaho, and is a rising senior at the University of Idaho majoring in Biological Systems Engineering. For the Amgen Scholars Program, she is working in the Regnier lab to help develop myocardial tissue patches to repair the heart after infarction. In her free time, she enjoys reading, the outdoors, running, and being with her family and friends. She intends to pursue a graduate degree in Biomedical Engineering in order to develop new ways to improve the quality of peoples' lives.
	Allison Ikeda Allison Ikeda is a rising junior at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. She is double majoring in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology, and Economics with a minor in Japanese. She is passionate about exploring how to engineer immune responses and is conducting research under the mentorship of Dr. Hong Shen, Chemical Engineering. Her research examines the interactions between dendritic cells and T cells in the presence of artificial bacterial components to mimic bacterial infection and exposure. This research aids in the development of synthetic nano particles that target cells of the immune system to create a more effective immune response. When not in the lab, Allison enjoys being outdoors, especially running and kayaking in the Seattle and San Juan areas.
	Scarlett Johnson Scarlett is a rising junior at Amherst College and is majoring in Psychology. This is her first extensive research experience; she will spend the summer working with yeast in Dr. Field's lab in the hopes of isolating and building a library of mRNA molecules with 2', 3'-cyclic phosphates. Outside of class, Scarlett is a resident counselor, tour guide and student health educator, and she plans to pursue a PhD or MD after graduation. When home in Hawaii, she enjoys running, going to the beach and eating fruit in her backyard.
	Elena Latorre Elena Latorre is a rising senior at University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, majoring in Biological Sciences. During the summer, Elena will be working in the Rabinovich Lab, where her research involves the detection of DNA damage and senescence markers in colon tissue from ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, in hopes of someday being able to determine which UC patients will be at high risk of developing high-grade dysplasia or cancer. Her previous research experience includes work in cutaneous leishmaniasis treatment as part of the Photodynamic Therapy Lab in the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Elena has also done research at her home school where she has worked in the synthesis of nanoparticles aimed towards the prevention of heart attacks. Born in Puerto Rico, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, traveling, and great food. In an effort to help her community, Elena created and developed the "HOPE FOR KIDS" Project, designed to bring financial aid and support to "La Esperanza" Home for Abused Children in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico. In the future, she hopes to become a physician and clinical researcher in order to help improve people's lives.
	Wynton McClary Wynton McClary is a Biology Pre-med major at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington and will graduate in the spring of 2010. He has a great interest in biochemistry and the health sciences. Currently his research is in Dr. Atkin's medicinal chemistry lab group and involves the study of glutathoine S-transferases, and important group of proteins involved in removing a wide range of xenobiotics from the body. In order to study these proteins he will be using azatryptophan-labeled nanodiscs which will act as an artificial membrane. The nanodiscs will provide the glutathione S-transferases with a more natural environment to be studied in. He hopes to one day earn either a MD/PhD or MD. Wynton is a certified tutor at his home institution and his interests include playing tennis, hiking along the coast, and playing jazz guitar.
	Christopher Mount Christopher Mount is a rising junior majoring in Bioengineering at the University of Washington. This summer he is conducting drug delivery research in Dr. Suzie Pun's lab. His primary work focuses on the development of an ampiphilic triblock copolymer micellar drug delivery system. He and his mentor are investigating the potential of this system to enhance the delivery characteristics and in-vitro stability of the near-infrared contrast agent Indocyanine Green. More recently, they have turned their attention to assessing whether micellar encapsulation can enhance the cell-killing properties of chemotherapeutics such as doxorubicin. Beyond the lab, this summer Chris is enjoying the great outdoors of Washington State, particularly fishing and hiking.
	Phillip Poonka Phillip is a rising junior in the UW Bioengineering Program. He is currently interested in the regulation of cells and tissue engineering. This summer, he hopes to get a better direction for his area of specialization by working with genetically modified cardiomyocytes in the HAMM Lab. Phillip's personal interests include playing and listening to the piano and practicing Taekwondo. Phillip did not regret declining several study abroad offers to participate in the Amgen Scholars Program and he feels very blessed to participate in such a rewarding program, especially after spending the previous summer in unrelated positions like a medical interpreter, graphic designer, marketing intern, manager, cook, barista, and server.
	Suzanne Rohrback Suzanne Rohrback is a rising junior at Kenyon College in Gambier, OH, majoring in biochemistry. This summer, she is exploring the field of toxicololgy in Dr. Kavanagh's lab, where she will be studying how exposure to diesel exhaust affects endothelial cells (for example, their ability to heal), and looking for possible compensatory mechanisms which may counteract the damage caused by this pollutant. Suzanne works in two labs while at Kenyon, studying the distribution of serotonin throughout the central nervous system of the Vanessa butterfly in one, and the expression and properties of the protein SCP, which is involved in muscle relaxation, in the other. After growing up in Redmond, WA, she is happy to return to the Pacific Northwest and to explore Seattle for the summer. In her time away from science, Suzanne likes to indulge her artistic side by knitting, dancing and playing the piano. She plans to pursue a PhD in neurochemistry and/or pharmacology.
	Michelle Sansky Michelle is a rising junior at Syracuse University where she is currently completing a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Policy Studies. through the Amgen Scholars Program, she is completing Human Embryonic Stem Cell research in the Ruohola-Baker Biochemistry Lab. Over the past year, Michelle has been working on a research project involving cancer chemotherapeutic drug development at Syracuse University alongside her mentor, Dr. Thomas Fondy. During her junior year, she was able to enhance her school's pre-health program by founding a student organization consisting of over two-hundred undergraduates. The organization, Shadows of Health, provides students with education and experience in the health field by coordinating lectures and shadowing opportunities between students and local health-professionals. A fundraising branch of Shadows of Health has recently been established to support the Duk Lost Boys Clinic of Southern Sudan. Apart from science and health-care, Michelle enjoys cooking, antiquing, drinking coffee, and reading.
	Kristin Santroch Kristin Santroch is a rising senior at Whitworth University where she is majoring in chemistry. This summer she will be working in the Khalil lab synthesizing and characterizing inorganic and organic model compounds to better understand electron transfer reactions in enzymes. After graduation, Kristin plans to either pursue a PhD in chemistry or go to dental school. In her spare time, Kristin enjoys spending time with friends and family, running, eating strawberry pie, and enjoying the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
	Ian Silverman Ian was born and raised in Albany, NY. He is currently a senior at Binghamton University, majoring in Biochemistry and working in a Microbiology lab where he studies dispersion in Pseudomonas aerugionsa Biofilms. As an Amgen Scholar he is conducting research in biophysics, specifically working to develop a new method for sequencing DNA. By electrophoretically driving ssDNA through a small hole (nanopore) in a lipid membrane and measuring the changes in ionic current through that pore, one can theoretically determine the exact sequence of the DNA. After graduation, Ian intends to go to graduate school and ultimately pursue a career in biotechnology. When not in lab, he enjoys sailing, golfing, hiking, and playing the guitar with his band.
	Rita Sodt Rita Sodt is a senior at the University of Washington majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Spanish. Her research interest is in computational biology and currently she works with Dr. Kristin Swanson in the Department of Pathology on a mathematical model that quantifies the growth of gliomas (a highly invasive type of brain tumor). She is writing a program to simulate the anisotropic growth of gliomas in a 3D visual brain. After graduating she plans to pursue graduate school in Computer Science with a focus on computational and mathematical biology. In her free time she likes to play frisbee and do outdoor activities including hiking and camping in the Northwest.
	Jeffrey Staples Jeff Staples is a rising senior at Brigham Young University. He will finish with a BS in Bioinformatics and minors in Computer Science and Ballroom Dance. Crayfish phylogenetics was his first research area; however, his real passion is using computational power to research human ailments, such as coronary artery disease, obesity, and mad cow disease. Jeff completed a successful research internship during the summer of 2008 with Harvard/MIT's Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics undergraduate research program. He has also received two individual research grants and is a 2009 Goldwater Scholar. Aside from research, Jeff is a sports enthusiast with an emphasis in soccer.
	Michelle Wang Michelle is a rising senior at the University of Washington majoring in Chemistry. She is planning on pursuing Pharm D/PhD Program for her future career. She has been working in Professor Chiu's laboratory on microfluidics droplet releasing projects for the past year. In the Amgen Scholars Program, she is working in Dr. Ho's laboratory on developing better contrast agent delivery cancer cells. She enjoys playing sports and spending her time with her family and friends.
	Mallika Yavatkar Mallika Yavatkar is a rising junior at Scripps College pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology with a minor in Hispanic Studies. This summer she is working in Dr. Maly’s Laboratory at the University of Washington on engineering a synthetic construct to study protein function in cells. Her focus is primarily on selectively regulating the Pim-1 kinase by exploiting the relationship between the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-XL and the pro-apoptotic protein, BAD. Previously at the Oregon Health Sciences University Casey Eye Institute, she conducted research directed at understanding the mechanisms of uveitis and the design and testing of therapies that specifically inhibit these mechanisms. Outside of the lab, she has numerous interests including reading, painting, playing her trumpet, and traveling.